Simon Whitlock has thrown a sly dig at the English team’s chances at the World Cup of Darts.
The 55-year-old, alongside his team-mate Damon Heta, are representing Australia and bagged a win against Japan 4-3 on Thursday (June 27). Afterwards, they wasted no time in casting doubt over England’s duo, Luke Humphries and Michael Smith.
The current and former world champion will compete in the knockout stages with England bypassing the group stages due to their status as the top-seeded nation in the tournament, reports the Mirror.
READ MORE:Why Luke Littler isn’t playing at World Cup of Darts as he misses out on £40K payday
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Taking a pop at the formidable pair, Whitlock remarked: “They’re both amazing players but I don’t think they’ll work together”, with Heta also wading into the debate, admitting he’s unsure about what to expect from the Englishmen this month.
Never one to mince his words, ‘The Wizard’ doubled down, clarifying that there’s no ill will in his doubts, adding: “I don’t think it’ll work for them to be honest, it might be nasty saying that about them but they’re more singles players whereas we play a lot of pairs in Australia and that sort of works for us I think”.
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(Image: Online Darts)
Due to their standings in the PDC Order of Merit, Smith and Humphries are set to fly the flag for England as their top players, leaving teen prodigy Luke Littler out of this years competition – he’s currently 25th in the rankings.
As if being seeded number one isn’t enough pressure, England enters directly into the cut-throat rounds, and the talk of the oche is brewing with Nathan Aspinall suggesting to Footy Accumulators that maybe its high time to up the squad count in the two-man teams.
(Image: Jonas Hunold/PDC)
“Well, I’ve been number five in the world and I didn’t make the team, and this year, I’m number four in the world, and I’m still not making the team,” said the 32-year-old.
“So it’s quite annoying for me, as an Englishman, that I’m number four in the world, and I’m still not playing for England. I believe there’s scope to change that, to make it a three, four, five-man team. I’d love to see a Ryder Cup-style tournament as well, that would be class.”