Lancashire GMC Super League

CASTLETON...0

BURY...10

IT has taken a couple of seasons but Bury can now say that they have a town darts team they can be proud of.

The return of former county ace, Martin Holt, plus the recruitment of several up-and-coming local players has produced a team the like of which has not been seen since the heady days when Bury came within a whisker of taking the Premier Division title.

Their latest outing at Castleton saw a team performance which would have taken care of most teams in the super league, regardless of which division they were in.

First to play was Dave Studholme and although he didn't score with his normal consistency, the finishing more than made up for it as he won 3-1. Next on for the local side was John Tucci. Of late, John has been struggling for form but on the day this wasn't forgotten as he came back to his brilliant best with games finished in 19, 13 and 17 darts to win 3-0 with a man-of-the-match average of over 92 per throw.

Tony Severs found himself next into the fray and he produced steady darts to win in straight legs to further increase Bury's lead. Games four and five also went to the local side as Craig Mansell and Jamie Tracey proved themselves far too good for their challengers.

With a 5-0 lead at the break the aim was, if possible, to whitewash the home side. Given the players left, this was always a possibility. Game six was the only one that went the distance but to his credit, when a quality final leg was needed, Mick Pilling produced it to keep the ball rolling.

Two of the team's best players were in action in the next two games and they didn't disappoint. Martin Holt and Mick Bushby strolled to victory to make the score 8-0 in Bury's favour. You would now think that the last two players would be under little pressure but this couldn't be further from the truth as they were going up to try and give the local side what is -- regardless of who you play against -- a rare victory 10-0.

The first of these players was Wayne Bamford and he didn't show any nerves as he produced his best performance to date to win 3-0.

The last game got off to a slow start but once Andy Petch got into his stride, he found few problems in securing the whitewash. The level of performance on the day was superb and if it is maintained, another successful season is in prospect.

RESULTS AND AVERAGES

D. Studholme W3-0 (58.93), J. Tucci W3-0 (92.02), T. Severs W3-0 (64.41), C. Mansell W3-0 (76.42), J. Tracey W3-1 (77.92), M. Pilling W3-2 (56.61), M. Holt W3-1 (63.72), M. Bushby W3-1 (67.99), W. Bamford W3-0 (69-36), A. Petch W 3-1 (64.04).

Bury's next game is on Sunday, November 2 when Todmorden visit the White Boar.