Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE GLOVES ARE ON FOR SHERROCK
QUEEN of darts Fallon Sherrock could turn her latest bid for glory into a glove story to beat the coronavirus crisis.
But the first woman to beat male opposition in the world championship at Alexandra Palace may skip kissing her rivals on stage as a precaution.
Just as our sovereign monarch wore gloves to dish out gongs and knighthoods earlier this week, the real Queen of the Palace may follow suit for the walk-on at the Ladbrokes UK Open in Minehead today.
She takes on Northern Ireland’s Kyle Mckinstry in the first round.
But the ex-bletchley hairdresser, who normally subscribes to sporting handshakes and pecks on the cheek, said: “The normal thing is to shake hands with fans and opponents before the game, but some football teams have stopped handshakes so it’s something maybe I will consider.
“On stage, I guess it depends on what my opponents want to do, and how other people think about it.
“I’m thinking of ways to get round it – maybe by wearing gloves. Maybe before the game starts, but probably not after the winning dart has landed.
“I saw the Queen wearing gloves when she was giving people awards. I don’t think it’s my job to copy her.”
Sherrock followed up her stunning wins against Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic at Ally Pally with a thrilling 6-6 draw against Glen Durrant (above) as a guest Premier League ‘challenger’ in Nottingham last month.
The UK Open title sponsors are so nervous about her going on another fairytale run in Minehead that she is only 200-1 to win the competition – with some competitors 2,000-1.
Four-time Lakeside women’s world champion Lisa Ashton is also in the draw and faces Belgian Mike De Decker. She said: “Having two ladies in the competition is fantastic.”
World champion Peter Wright returned to form in the Unibet Premier League last night with a 7-3 win over Nathan Aspinall in Exeter.
A week after losing 7-1 to Gerwyn Price, Wright had an average of 110, taking the match on double top.