‘I’M SHERR IT’S SAFE TO PLAY IN SALZBURG’

PINK princess Fallon Sherrock leads darts into a brave new world tonight insisting: “I believe it will be safe.”

Sherrock is among the cast of 24 hopefuls at the bwin World Series of Darts finals in Austria – the first in front of a crowd for six months.

Not since the Premier League meeting in Liverpool on March 12 have the fancy dress corps been admitted to the big top on the Professional Darts Corporation’s travelling circus.

But up to 2,000 fans per session at the Salzburg Arena – split into four quadrants with separate entrance/ exits, toilets and bars – will attend the three-day competition featuring reigning world champion Peter Wright and No.1-ranked Michael van Gerwen.

Just as darts was the first pro sport to beat Covid-19 with the PDC’s innovative online Home Tour in April, administrators and medical experts will be keenly monitoring the fallout from a competition with a live crowd.

And the PDC hope it will provide a roadmap to their showpiece world championship going ahead in December – with spectators – at Alexandra Palace, where Sherrock announced herself last winter with historic wins against Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic.

The first lady of darts (above) faces Canada’s Jeff Smith in the first round, and Sherrock, in the Covid-19 high-risk category due to a chronic kidney condition, said: “Getting on a plane to play in a tournament again does feel like a step back towards normality.

“I’m not keen on wearing a mask because it feels like I can’t breathe, but I’ll wear one everywhere I go as it’s all to do with public health and safety.”