SOMETHING odd happens to Clare Bywaters when she hears Billy Ocean sing When The Going Gets Tough. There is no foot-tapping and no smile. Stillness and a glassy stare overwhelm her previously mobile and friendly features faster than a suited compere can shout “Bullseye”.

Beware, then, Bywaters at the Lakeside Country Club, where the World Professional Darts Championships are in full swing. “It’s our equivalent of Wimbledon for the tennis players,” Bywaters, who will take to the stage for her semi-final match against Trina Gulliver on Thursday accompanied by Ocean’s tune, said. “Lakeside is the best darts arena in the world.”

So with perfect timing, Bywaters — who is the fourth seed in the women’s event — is having the season of her life. The crowning glory came in October, in Australia, where she won the WDF World Cup ladies singles title for the first time, beating Gulliver — who is also her doubles partner — in a tense final. “It was a ding-dong match,” Bywaters said, “and when I finally won it was the best feeling ever.”

Victory sent the telephone lines between Perth and Wantage, in Oxfordshire, into a buzzing frenzy as all the family queued to voice congratulations. “My nan had a dartboard in her front room when I was growing up and we used to throw every Saturday afternoon,” the 33-year-old said. “I was about 8 when it started and grandad used to moan that he couldn’t see the racing on the telly. Eventually Mum convinced him that it would be much easier if he chalked for us instead.”

Then, when her mother’s team were one short for a match, Bywaters stepped in, never to look back. “I was into a lot of sports but when I played in that match as a 16-year-old I suddenly didn’t want to do anything else,” she said. “Darts became completely addictive.”

To prove it, Bywaters — who throws her darts for up to five hours a day every day — has not been beaten in her local league since September 1996; a winning streak of 180 matches. Worse, opponents of The Shears, in Wantage, face double trouble. “I roped Trina [Gulliver] in a few seasons ago,” Bywaters said, “so we’re quite a formidable team.”

That extends to international matches, too, since Bywaters and Gulliver are twinned for England fixtures. They defended their World Cup pairs title in Australia and are unbeaten in five years. “It’s a proud record,” Bywaters said, “but it means each time I wear an England shirt the pressure is growing.”

Not that anybody would know it. Bywaters is not nicknamed Cool Hand for nothing. “I’m steady and I don’t show much emotion on the stage,” she said. “I’ve been called other things that are too rude to mention, but when Mervyn King, the male professional, called me Cool Hand about four years ago, it stuck. It’s quite accurate because my hands are always freezing when I’m about to play.”

She admits, though, that her pulse will be racing before that song plays before her latest attempt to overcome her close friend. Gulliver is defending champion and undefeated at the Lakeside.

“Trina’s a class act,” Bywaters said, “and this is her stage. But I’m playing well and just the thought of walking out there makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The atmosphere is always electric and this match will be special. I realised when I didn’t qualify last year how much it means. I went to watch, even though I was devastated, and it made me more determined to improve my game.”

Her dedication is faultless, even though the financial rewards are scant. Bywaters admits that a season playing the 15 or so tournaments around the world costs her several thousand pounds. “The prize-money can be as little as £300, so you’re very lucky to break even,” she said. “There are a handful of professional female players, but it’s not easy to make ends meet.”

So Bywaters, who describes herself as semi-professional, is training to become a driving instructor. She is a qualified payroll manager but says the new job will provide more flexibility for the time she needs to travel and play. “What I’d really like to see is more women taking up the sport,” she said. “Then the prize money would increase, too.”

The winner at the Lakeside will bank £6,000 — the men’s champion will receive £60,000 — but for Bywaters this is one tournament she would play for nothing. “I’ve dreamt of being on that stage since I was a child,” she said. “The moment before they play your music and introduce you to the crowd feels like the pinnacle of your career. It really is that special.”