Thursday 10 July 2014 15:12, UK
The energy of the Dutch proved too much for England in the World Cup of Darts final, says Wayne Mardle.
The Netherlands pair of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld crushed the defending champions 3-0 in Sunday night’s final in Hamburg to lift the trophy for the second time.
The win continues the current Dutch dominance of darts after Van Gerwen won the World Championship and Van Barneveld took glory in the Premier League.
Both Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were whitewashed in the singles before Lewis lost 4-2 to Van Gerwen in the third match to confirm the 3-0 defeat, and Mardle believes the rapid momentum from the Netherlands was key.
“The way Michael started off against Phil in the very first single, there was too much energy from Michael and Phil couldn’t handle it,” said the Sky Sports pundit.
“He couldn’t handle the fact that in the first leg Michael raps in a 180; he gets on top of him, and doesn’t let him go.
“Then Barney comes on the stage with Adrian Lewis and history repeated itself. They could not cope with the sheer energy of the Dutch pair, and they ran riot in the end.”
Sunday night’s result meant England failed to make it three successive victories, but the pair will both be turning their attention to the World Matchplay, which starts on July 19.
Lewis will be looking for a turnaround in fortunes after he lost both singles matches in the final, as well as losing to Paul Nicholson in the semi-final and Darin Young of the USA in the second round, but Mardle believes it was not a signal of a huge dip in form for the two-time world champion.
"I just think it was fatigue – Adrian struggled most of the day,” he said.
“When you’re not playing well it is so tiring. You’re fighting all the way, and Phil was fighting against Adrian in a way.
“You’re trying to help your partner but you’re dragging them up and it’s sapping you, and in the end it was one game too many.”
