DUBAI // Following his unlikely recent conversion to football, Adrian Lewis struck an early blow for England over the Netherlands before the World Cup by beating Raymond van Barneveld.
Lewis, a two-time world champion of sizable bulk, has undertaken a new exercise regimen and played for an all-star charity side representing the Premier League side Stoke City, his local team, recently.
Like football’s major event in Brazil, the World Cup of darts is also pending, with England drawn against the Dutch. Lewis was happy to inflict a psychological blow on Van Barneveld, who was the runner-up here 12 months ago. Lewis should have felt at home at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, given that his new fitness kick centres on playing plenty of tennis.
However, more than once he gestured to suggest the conditions were tough to handle, suggesting a breeze was hindering consistent darts.
“A few times during the match the darts were going at all angles,” said Lewis, who landed seven 180s in his 10-5 win.
“We got a bit of experience of it, so you knew what to expect from that. You are just hoping the wind dies back down again.
“It is nowhere near as bad as last year, don’t get me wrong. There is more netting up now and that blocks off a lot of it, but it is still quite tough, as it is outdoors, so there is always going to be some natural draft.”
Van Barneveld, the world No 11, had intimated drafty conditions on the open-air stage could count against him.
“If you throw with a bow, like I do, it can fly off into the five or the 12,” Van Barneveld said on the eve of the tournament.
pradley@thenational.ae
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