Darts / David Croft / 11 March 2009 / Leave a comment

Did you take David Croft's advice and back a Mervyn King win last week? Congratulations if you did but if you didn't, make sure you start following our man's advice when the Premier League reaches Manchester on Thursday.

I thought it would be a classic and it didn't disappoint. Big finishes, big scores, big averages and to add the cherry to the icing, a little bit of needle as well. Phil Taylor may come to reflect that to claim that he could have been blinded as Mervyn King went to throw whilst he was still retrieving a dart, was just slightly OTT. However, it was clear by the end of an enthralling 7-7 draw that the friendship had long since departed the oche.

Taylor has vowed to knock King off the top of the table when they meet again and you can bet that he'll be working hard to improve his game to make sure he does. In the meantime, I hope you took my advice and backed a King win or the draw last week. The odds were just too good and Taylor was never a shoo-in.

That said, Wayne Mardle's comment that the result was bad for him could come home to bite him when the pair take to the stage in Manchester on Thursday. As I wrote last week, you never want to face 'The Power' when he's coming off the back of a defeat or draw, but King was not one to pay any attention to that. The trouble for Mardle is that by highlighting Taylor's thirst to bounce back hard, he already has. In the 15 meetings between the two, Mardle has won just once (in the quarter-finals of the World Championships in 2008) and unless the Martians drop into the M.E.N on a giant surfboard I can't see him doubling that tally this week.

Wayne has the ability but mentally he's a beaten man against Phil before he picks up a dart. At a price of [18.5] to win on Thursday you can see how little confidence Betfair backers have, at [1.14] Taylor is far to short a price in this format, it might just pay to sit this match out and concentrate on the night's other fixtures.

Starting with Raymond Van Barneveld against King which could be closer than you expect. Yes, King hasn't put a foot wrong so far and yes, Barney has been too inconsistent so far, but the form points to the Dutchman having the upper hand over King far too often in the past and that might give him the edge he needs. Of 14 meetings so far Barney has won 10, their first clash taking place as long ago as 1999 in the World Cup. He's been frustrating in the Premier League this season, losing matches he should have won and in the case of last week's effort, snatching a draw to break Mardle's heart. But form, or lack of it, is temporary and class they say is permanent and if that's the case then I give Barney a fighting chance against King.

Betfair have the Dutchman at a top price of [2.26] with King [2.5] and the draw, which is worth a sneaky cover bet here, [5.3]. I would add as well that given King's consistent big finishes so far in the League, he's worth siding with at [1.85] for the highest checkout.

From what I've seen so far this year's Premier League is between three players; King, Taylor and James Wade with the other five scrapping away for the one remaining place in the semi-finals. Wade has finally started to come good again after a dodgy beginning and has rattled off three wins on the bounce now. That should continue against Terry Jenkins and I like the [2.1] for Wade to win giving Jenkins a 2.5 leg head start. Two breaks of throw would do that as Jenkins starts first and 'The Machine' is more than capable.

Finally the man at the bottom of the pile takes on the man holding onto fourth spot as Jelle Klassen meets John Part. Whilst Klassen has lost both matches he's played against the three time world champion, what does strike me about these two is how close their overall win percentage is (62.5% for Part to 63.12 for Klassen). The Dutchman, who was only 10 when Part first won the world championship, has surprised me with his results so far. I was expecting to see a little more and as the weeks tick by I'm not sure I'm going to get it.

Part, though, is another who has been a bit hit and miss and with Klassen starting first, I'm half expecting the draw at [5.2] to prove profitable once more. Part's average of only 91.13 suggests he hasn't got the power scoring to break Klassen's throw but he should hold his. Klassen needs to start winning soon, but it might be another frustrating week for the youngster.