 SURREY
DARTS
OCTOBER - by Martin Cullip
A Pack of Benson’s and Some Matches,
Please
It’s
around this time of the year, with the weather changing and the nights
getting shorter, that the nation consigns memories of Strawberry
Daiquiris on Mediterranean beaches to history and prepares for the onset
of the long, dreary months of rain for which we are world famous.
With
the change in climate comes an annual change in the way we live our
lives. Whilst the leaves on
the trees are plotting their yearly campaign of disruption on
Britain’s railways, those of a sporting inclination turn their
thoughts to the serious business of the winter season.
For
many sports, the bleak weather only increases the anticipation for the
coming months as the unfulfilled fixture lists are studied and everyone
has a hunch that this could be their year.
Footballers dream of scoring goals in the Cup Final, darts
players always believe that this team is better than last year and even
American Football players get excited about running about like
over-stuffed sofas for the following nine months!
Cupboards
and sheds that haven’t seen natural light since about May are jemmied
open and their contents changed over.
In goes the cricket bat and out comes a pair of dry mud-caked
football boots; the tennis racket is thrown on top of the garden
furniture as the rugby ball re-emerges and the local charity shop is
inundated with children’s summer clothing whilst we all dust down our
heavy coats.
We
in Surrey are no different, but along with all the other seasonal sports
apparel, there is one very important accessory that needs dusting off in
September around these parts, and that’s Keith Benson, Surrey’s Mens
Team Manager.
The
Summer Super League, so well run by Peter Munt, is so popular that there
is a waiting list for new teams, but a sighting of Benson at Epsom
Legion during those matches is rarer than a sighting of Graham Hollis
buying his round. He is so
conspicuous by his absence that a recent survey of newly-signed summer
players revealed that more believed in the tooth fairy than of the
existence of Benson!
However,
during the light summer evenings, the finely-crafted antique Benson must
surely have his ear trumpet firmly connected to the grapevine in some
darkened room in New Addington as, come September, the team selection
list lands on our doormats and his choices are strangely well-informed.
The
‘pack’ of Benson’s for the first match of this year’s
Inter-County season includes a couple of eye-opening names, not because
of any fears about their competence at county level, as their place is
deserved judging from their performances, but because of Benson’s
boldness in gambling on relative newcomers for our upcoming battle for
promotion from Division 1.
Is
it such a gamble though? With the difficult circumstances Benson has
faced since the start of the last campaign, he has had to bring through
inexperienced players earlier than he’d have liked on a few occasions.
Badshot Lea’s Roger Kitching and Sutton joker Jimmy Mann, are
two such players who have provided ample returns on Benson’s stake in
the past.
No
player from Benson’s squad can be better described as a newcomer than
Anthony Hopkins, who has been named as a reserve for the first match
with Lincolnshire. At 16,
he wasn’t even born when Eric Bristow won his 5th and final
Embassy World Crown in 1986 but regular readers of this column will
remember his name as Anthony pushed Andy Jenkins all the way to the
finishing line in the Pro event in Eastbourne in February and his
performances have continued to improve since then.
For
Benson though, this is a brave selection for a lad who is primarily seen
as a competition player but whose future potential is undoubtedly huge.
Anthony was a member of the Sussex youth side that lifted the
Youth Inter-Counties title this year and perhaps the Surrey Team manager
has moved to establish the youngster firmly as a Surrey player for the
future.
Another
surprise inclusion, this time in the B team, is Carl Ramsey of Worcester
Park. Carl, affectionately
called Ramjet, has been knocking on the door for a while now and is
quite possibly the keenest player that Surrey has ever fielded.
His burning desire to play on the county stage is well known and
now that he has his place, I’m sure he’ll be equally as determined
to keep it.
The
last of the new ‘caps’ is Tony Denman, or ‘Deadly’ as he is
termed in Redhill (a work-related reference).
Tony is a seasoned player who took up the game again after a long
absence and has found that it’s like riding a bike (or driving a
hearse) you never lose the talent if it’s there to begin with.
Hopefully, Deadly Denman will be burying quite a few opponents
this season (worked out his job yet?) as Surrey make the bid to regain
Premier Division status.
With
the wholesale changes that were required last year following the exodus
of a large numbers of players from the county set-up, these new
selections have made the team even more unfamiliar to the side that so
confidently travelled the country racking up Premier points two years
ago. However, Benson has
worked well with the players he has had at his disposal and the
re-building process is well under way.
It
seems that as well as bringing Benson out of the darkened cupboard in
which he has spent his summer, we also have a few new players that will
be thrust into the bright lights of the Inter-Counties.
Let’s hope they shine as brightly as their form suggests they
can.
Short
Time No See
With
the onset of the new season, it’s time to welcome another new member
of the Surrey fraternity, this being the new Ladies Team Manager.
Well,
actually, it’s more of a returning Manager as the lady at the helm of
our successful women has held the post before.
In fact, it’s almost like she hasn’t been away … which she
hasn’t!
After
a genuine vote of thanks to Rita Higginson in this column a couple of
months ago, it seems that no-one felt up to the task of emulating her
achievements and the county committee had to get on their collective
knees and beg the evergreen Rita to stay on for the coming season.
In what is the darts equivalent of a footballing caretaker
manager, Rita has kindly agreed to carry on with the job until such a
time as an adequate replacement can be found … that could be some
time, Rita!
What
a task Rita faced in naming her first team for the new campaign!
With players such as Kerry Simmons and Juliane Birchall leaving
for London in the close season, Rita had to use her wiles to persuade
others to play despite their insistence that, for one reason or another,
the county matches were not for them.
Rita is a particularly persuasive woman and those that have
stayed may have been left with a feeling that the decision was made FOR
them and not BY them … you KNOW when you’ve been Higginson-ed hehe!
Still,
there remained gaps, but Rita has filled these with competent players
who are making their debuts as Surrey players.
Angela
Frewin will finally get a taste of the stage atmosphere after being a
perpetual reserve last season and there are many who will be very
pleased to see her get her chance. Angela is a popular member of the
Misfitz Super League side who I’m sure will fit in well with the team,
as will her effervescent team-mate Gill ‘Shep’ Shephard. Wise-cracking Shep (cue Blue Peter gags) has trodden the
boards before and will certainly give a good account of herself … with
the help of a couple of egg boxes and some sticky-back plastic of course
(sorry, couldn’t resist it!).
Pat
Keenan also makes a welcome appearance for Surrey and is an experienced
former Sussex player so will know precisely what is required as will
Jane Johnson from Tadworth, a team-mate of B team regular Julie Austin,
who is named as reserve for the Lincolnshire match.
The
ladies had a tremendous season last time out and there were fears that
results would suffer with the loss of so many influential players.
Fortunately, our Rita has worked her magic and the team looks, on
paper, to be a strong Division 1 side.
Well done Rita, why were you gone so long?
They
Who Laugh Last
The
Summer Super League came to an explosive climax as the ‘You’re
Having a Laugh’ team successfully defended their title with a last
gasp dip for the line.
Throughout
the summer, the Ditton-based team ‘Top Four’ had headed the table,
but on a dramatic final night at Epsom Legion, Andy Nye’s players from
Walton gained a huge win to deny their closest rivals, who could boast
Lionel Sams and Jason Roberts in their number.
It
was a hefty blow to the Top Four team, too, as the difference between
first and second was a wallet-bulging £100.
It is testament to the success of the league, run by Peter and
Lisa Munt that the prize fund for the League alone was £1681.
It’s very difficult to get a team entered for this League as
it’s hugely over-subscribed … I wonder why!
The
summer competitions were a happy two weeks’ entertainment for
Middlesex player Phil Wathen, who managed to emerge victorious in both
the pairs, with Paul Hollis, and the singles.
It
was a particularly sweet victory in the singles for Phil as he overcame
Dave Askew in the final to avenge the 3-0 drubbing that the Diamond gave
him in the final of the winter equivalent.
The prize money was about the same in both competitions, the only
difference being that Askew took a trophy as well as a monetary prize.
Not that I expect Phil to have been too bothered by that … a
restored ego and a pocket full of paper bearing the Queen’s face
should more than make up for the undoubted pleasure of a year of silver
polishing.
A
Truly ‘Super’ League
Night
follows day, pudding follows main meal, hangover follows Saturday night
out with the lads; so goes the rhythm of life and as sure as divorce
follows marriage, as soon as the summer League is done, the preparations
begin for the new, deadly serious, winter Super League.
Surrey’s
mens league is in good shape at the moment (as illustrated by the
attendance at the League AGM bettering that of the County equivalent!)
and standard of play compares very favourably with other county leagues
in the vicinity, so it’s no surprise that there are 12 competitive
teams again this year, just about the optimum number and that bodes well
for a season of good quality darts.
Walton
Snooker will be, yet again, defending their title, and are boosted by
the rumoured signings of Roy and Aaron Turner for the upcoming campaign.
The League starts on the 9th September, so at time of
writing, actual team personnel is not yet known, but if the whispers are
to be believed, this could be one of the closest contests for quite a
while.
The
Golden Lion from Croydon will again be in the shake-up and the former
Champions will be mindful of the fact that had they more strength in
depth to avoid turning up at venues with less than a full team, it could
have been THEM and not Tim Stedman’s side that contested the Champion
of Champions play-offs in Kent earlier this year.
Ditton
are another side with great ambitions and they also have the personnel
to be contenders for the title this year.
Fourth two years ago and third last year, they will be hoping to
go even better this campaign and have strengthened their side with the
acquisition of players of the calibre of Jimmy Mann amongst others.
They have a tendency to collectively switch off occasionally but
if they can manage to rectify this, with players such as the
ever-improving Spike Harris and Lionel Sams, they can be real
challengers this time out.
Amongst
those that will be bubbling under and are capable of causing a few
shocks along the way are a new-look side from Carshalton run by Peter
Arnold. The team is the core of the Ex-Service side of last year, but
if reports have reached me that this is a stronger side than the one
that finished a creditable 5th in last year’s League. Their
tussle with Keith Benson’s Lion A side was one of the highlights of
the last campaign, which leaves this Super league secretary licking his
lips at the thought of presiding over such a strong cast of characters
… let battle commence!
Ken
Brown
It
was with a great deal of sadness that we learned of the death of Ken
Brown on September 1st.
Ken held two counties close to his heart, and we are proud that
Surrey was one of them.
Everyone
knew Ken as a pioneer of darts in this country, but for many Surrey
players and officials, he was primarily a great friend and a true
gentleman.
Ken
and his son Steve, who was born in Sutton, did a lot for our county and
we will always be grateful. On
behalf of all involved in Surrey darts, we extend our heartfelt thanks
to Ken and his family. A
truly great man who will be sorely missed.
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