Monthly Archives: May 2019
All Change At The Top
Douglas A who took Four Points off Onchan A
Photo: Phil CainThere was movement at the top of Ellan Vannin Fuels division one this week with Marown A reclaiming top spot, South Ramsey A climbed one place to second whilst Onchan A fell from first to third place.
Marown A hosted South Ramsey B at Crosby, with the home team winning 9-1. Home team captain Paul Dunn, newly crowned Manx Champion Colin Kelly and Matthew Keggen all won to single figures whilst both sides had a 21-20 winner and loser. Dean Kipling just got home against George Brew, whilst for the visitors Tony Dugdale prevented the whitewash with his 21-20 win over Paul Kelly.
To return the compliment South Ramsey A hosted Marown B on an improved green, with the home team enjoying a 10-0 win and the visitors just failing to score 100 chalks (168-99). Chas Grills was pleased to take the kitty home with his 21-5 win, whilst Alan Moore won 21-8. Two of the visitors came closing to taking points off the Ramsey men with Peter Kelly and Luke Hyland both losing out 18-21 to Peter Collister and James Teare respectively.
Onchan A lost ground on their rivals following a tough away fixture against Douglas A with the visitors winning 4-6. There were first league defeats of the season for Matthew Quirk and Rob Monk, whilst Kevin Quirk and Frank Watson also suffered at the hands of the Villa men. Steve Parker recorded the biggest win of the night against William Crowley who was brought up from the B team, with this win making the difference towards the aggregate with the Onchan men winning by just six chalks (137-143). Also winning for the visitors were Peter Slinger & Jordan Cain, whilst Phil Kerruish just crept home with a vital 21-20 win.
North Ramsey A pulled off the shock of the week with a 6-4 home win over Peel A in another close game, taking the two points for aggregate by just six chalks (141-135). Winning for the home team were John Cannan, Allan Callow, Geoff Porter and Bryan Corner. For the visitors Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly got over the line 21-19 against Gary Merrill, Andy Kennish and Tommy McMeiken carried on their good form, whilst Stevie Kelly won 21-9 against Steve Walmsley.
Castletown B didn’t have their cause helped for their home fixture against Noble’s A with the town men having to sacrifice two players to their A team resulting in a 3-7 home loss (133-140). With Bob Clark having to step up into the A team and in good form this could have been a different result for the home team. Home winners were the experienced trio of Dave Faragher, Juan Kermode and George Foy with all three being part of the team that won back to back league titles for Castletown in 1995 and 1996. Winners for Noble’s were Glenn Boland, Steve Hall, Kevin Firth, Tommy Collister and David Pease with Pease winning 21-3 on the night.
Port St Mary A hosted Castletown A with the home team recording a 7-3 win to help pull away from the teams in the bottom half of the table. Dan McCabe led the way for the Port men with a 21-8 win over George Peach, with fairly comfortable wins from Trevor Quayle, Tim Williams and Dave McCabe. Wayne Roberts had to work hard for his 21-20 win over Derek Lewney. Winning for the visitors were captain Ian Watson, Peter Oates and Bob Clark.
In division two Ballaugh A sit eight points ahead of their rivals despite only winning 6-4 away to Peel C. Finch Hill A in second place had a hard fought 7-3 home win over Port St Mary B with both sides winning and losing two games 21-20 each. Onchan B had the biggest win in the division with their 8-2 home win over Port Erin A, whilst Marown C were delighted with their 7-3 home win over Douglas C.
Ballaugh B had a tough home game against Port St Mary C, however the home team won 6-4 taking the aggregate by seven chalks (141-134), whilst Peel B took a good 3-7 away win against North Ramsey B to show their A Team how it is done.
In division three South Ramsey C extended their lead to a huge 20 points without sending a bowl due to Castletown C being in the unfortunate position of being unable to field a team led to a 10-0 win being awarded to the home team. Second placed Ballaugh C lost more ground on the Ramsey men after suffering a 3-7 away defeat to Noble’s B. Port Erin B somehow managed to win 6-4 at Breagle Glen against Noble’s C despite being two players short thanks to their four winners all winning to 21-4 or less to pull off a great result.
Peel D hosted South Ramsey D with the home team recording a 7-3 home win over the visitors with the leagues two youngest players facing off against each other with Ryan Tate playing Ryan Hargraves, with the latter celebrating his 11th birthday. It was a happy birthday indeed with Hargraves picking up his first league win of the season.
Full reports for division two and three to follow…
Colin Kelly Wins Title Number 6
Manx Champion 2019 - Colin Kelly
Photo: Arnie WithersThere was a strong entry of 67 in this years Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship held at Douglas Bowling Club on ‘the Villa’ on Saturday with the green being in superb condition for the Associations premier event with the first day seeing the competition being played down to the last 16.
In the last 16 Darren Kerruish took on Marown club mate Paul Kelly to get the action underway on Sunday in front of a good turnout for finals day with Kelly taking a 19-13 lead. Kerruish dug in to get the score level at 19-19 and was lying game only for Kelly to play a great bowl to save game and then finish the game off on the next end.
Jordan Cain (Onchan) was the underdog against the favourite South Ramsey’s David Bradford, however Cain put in a superb performance to end Bradford’s hope of a second title winning 21-12.
Neil Withers (Marown) took on Peel man Andy Kennish and managed to get over the line 21-17, whilst the Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly v Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly battle lived up to expectations with Dido leading 18-15, however Barney hit back to win 21-18 to book his spot in the quarter finals.
Alan Moore (South Ramsey) performed well to see off Phil Kerruish (Onchan) with a 21-15 victory, whilst Port St Mary’s Wayne Roberts made light work of Matthew Keggen (Marown) to win 21-13.
Another Port St Mary man Paul Skelly had his hopes ended for another year at the hands of John Kennish (South Ramsey) with the game being in the balance at the half way point, before Kennish pulled away to see the game out 21-14. Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) never got into the game against Marown’s Colin Kelly with Kelly easing to a 21-9 victory.
In the quarter finals Jordan Cain took on Paul Kelly, with Cain taking the win 21-15, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly made light work of Neil Withers to win 21-5 in the corners.
In the bottom half of the draw Alan Moore was firmly in control of his game at 16-10 up, however Wayne Roberts then scored 11 consecutive points to run out with a 21-16 win to reach his first semi-final. In the last match of the quarter finals 11 time winner John Kennish took on five time champion Colin Kelly, this was another game that looked like it would go right to the wire with the score tied at 9-9 after 13 ends, Kelly then took control to go 16-10 ahead and then 19-13 before seeing the game out winning 21-14.
In the semi-finals Colin Kelly wasted no time in reaching the final ending the fantastic run of Wayne Roberts with a 21-5 win, whilst Jordan Cain and Barney Kelly were tied 13-13 after 19 ends. From there Cain only allowed Kelly to score just two more points allowing Cain to go through to his first Manx Championship final with a 21-15 win.
The final was eagerly anticipated with both players predictably playing their preferred length early on. With the score tied at 5-5 after nine ends Kelly then went on a good run to take a 14-6 lead. When Cain did get in he did try something different to try to reduce the deficit, however Kelly immediately responded to this with a quick fire two to fully punish Cain. Kelly sealed his sixth Manx Championship title with a single on the last end to take a 21-11 win.
Kelly’s win was fully deserved beating two former champions on the day, playing well throughout as did Cain who had to beat Ian Moore, Kevin Quirk, David Bradford, Paul Kelly and Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to reach his first final.
The presentation was made by Association Chairman Neil Withers and President John Keenan. Thanks must go to the competition secretary Matthew Keggen and his team for running the competition, Douglas Bowling Club for the condition of the green, the excellent catering and to the club members who were on hand to help throughout the weekend.
Top Lady
Top Lady Winner 2019
Rebecca TeareOnce again the weather suited the occasion as thirty-two ladies battled for the Top Lady title at South Ramsey on Sunday 12th. May. The players had all received an invitation to play based on their performances in 2018, so some cracking bowling was anticipated and the spectators were not disappointed.
In the first round a close match saw Rebecca Teare come through 21-18 against Caroline Parker in a nip-and-tuck game. It also saw Alison Keggen winning three ends to take the game from 17-18 down against Ann Gale, while Bethany Kennish shrugged off a poor start, which left her 11 – 0 down against Peel’s Lynda Wilson, to progress through to the second round 21-20.
Alison had another tight game in the second round, winning 21-18 after a strong recovery from 20-13 down to 20 –18 by her opponent, Fiona Kennish. Mavis Franks was 16 -11 up on her club mate, Tricia Bull, when Tricia made a remarkable come back to lead 19-16. However it was not enough as Mavis dug in to come through 21-19. Once again it was a Peel player involved in the closest match of the round. Mary Moffatt raced ahead of Paula Garrett to lead 16-10, before Paula got hold of the jack and clawed her way to 20-17 before letting Mary have it back. Once she had control of the jack again, Mary came through to take the game 21-20.
In the top half of the draw, Margaret Tasker had made her way through to the semi-finals to meet Debbie Leece with wins against Jenny Moore and Lyn Bolton. In the quarter-final the players were evenly matched with Debbie just having the edge at 19-17, when Margaret scored two twos to take the match 21-19. Rebecca Teare and Alison Keggen also had tough matches coming through 21-17 against Sue Gawne and Lynda Cadamy. Mary Moffatt had a slightly easier ride coming through21-12 against Mavis Franks.
The two semi-finals saw the young guns taking on the two seasoned campaigners. Margaret got off to the better start against Rebecca leading 9-4 and hanging on to a lead up to 17-15, when winning four ends in a row put Rebecca into the final 21-17. A tremendous start by Alison saw her sprint into a 12-2 lead against Mary, who started to come back, reaching 11 -15, but had left herself too much to do winning only one more end before Alison progressed to the final 21-12.
In the final Rebecca was rampant, playing the corners very well. From 16-4 down Alison started to match Rebecca, but it was too little too late, Rebecca taking the title 21-9. Both girls are to be congratulated on their standard of play throughout the afternoon.
Association Competition Secretary, Heather Horsburgh, thanked all those who had competed, and also the spectators who had enhanced the atmosphere of the event. Thanks also went to South Ramsey for the use of their green, their members for their work measuring and stewarding, and particularly their “Kitchen Staff” for the wonderful refreshments.
The prizes were presented to the two finalists by Association President Sue Peach.
Manx Championship – Day 1
Action from Day One at the Villa - Ryan Hargraves proud of his touching bowl!
Photos: Neil Withers/Darren KerruishDouglas Bowling Club hosted the first day of the eagerly awaited Canada Life International Manx Championship with the first round seeing some interesting draws take place.
Paul Kelly won all three games convincingly to book his place in finals day, with his last game resulting in a 21-8 win over Peter Collister, whilst Marown C player Darren Kerruish came through two games to book his spot.
Two time winner Kevin Quirk disposed of 2015 runner up Trevor Quayle with relative ease to win 21–10, before facing team mate Jordan Cain in the next round with Cain taking a 16-5 lead, before Quirk worked his way back into the game eventually losing out 17-21.
Paul Dunn and David Bradford both came through their first games with single figures wins to then play each other in the next round in a game which was fascinating to watch for the spectators. Bradford recovered from 11-15 behind to creep over the line 21-19 with both players undoubtedly respecting the ability of their opponent.
Three time winner Andy Kennish beat 1994 winner Phil Kelly in his first game, before facing home greener Mervin Sayle in the next round, with Sayle losing out 18-21 for Kennish to take his spot in the last 16.
2009 winner Neil Withers will be hoping to be in better form on Sunday, following a hard fought 21-20 win over Frank Watson & a 21-14 victory over Edward Carlyle.
David ‘Dido’ Kelly had to work hard to beat Marown’s Brian Kelly 21-17, then won his next game 21-10 against Peel’s Tom Kelly to go through to Sunday.
Things were a lot more straightforward for Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly with his dream still alive for a first Championship win, whilst 1986 winner Phil Kerruish also made it through.
South Ramsey’s Alan Moore got through his second game against Peter Slinger 21-19, with Slinger having disposed of the in form Tommy McMeiken in the first round.
Matthew Keggen & Wayne Roberts came through their two games, with Roberts playing the corners well to beat Steve Parker at his own game 21-6.
Paul Skelly made it through two games which looked to be tough, however he brushed aside Rob Monk 21-9, then took Stevie Kelly apart 21-4 to fire out an ominous warning to his opponents.
Eleven time winner and current champion John Kennish had 9 chalks scored against him in his two games, whilst Glynn Hargraves beat Nathan Hamilton 21-14 before seeing off Dean Kipling 21-7.
Colin Kelly came through his first game with no trouble, then faced home greener Shaun Seal who himself had come through a tough first round game to beat the youngest player in the competition, 10 year old Ryan Hargraves who had recovered from a big deficit to then take a good lead before losing out 17-21. Young Hargraves is certainly one to watch out for in the future. Seal played well against Kelly before losing out 17-21.
Last 16 Line Up
Paul Kelly vs Darren Kerruish
Jordan Cain vs David Bradford
Andy Kennish vs Neil Withers
David ‘Dido’ Kelly vs Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly
Phil Kerruish vs Alan Moore
Matthew Keggen vs Wayne Roberts
Paul Skelly vs John Kennish
Glynn Hargraves vs Colin Kelly
Sunday sees some interesting ties with Paul Kelly taking on club mate and C Team player Darren Kerruish.
Cain & Bradford is likely to be a good watch, whilst former home greener Andy Kennish takes on Neil Withers.
There may be chants of ‘there’s only one David Kelly’ after Dido takes on Barney to decide who goes through to the quarters.
In the bottom half of the draw Phil Kerruish will look to use all his experience to progress against Alan Moore, who can play as well as anyone on his day.
Matthew Keggen against Wayne Roberts could be a close affair, whilst all eyes will be on Paul Skelly and John Kennish, with Skelly having beaten Kennish in years gone by in the Manx Championship he will be looking for a repeat performance this year.
Glynn Hargraves takes on Colin Kelly, with Hargraves ending the challenge of Kelly at this same stage in 2015, Kelly will be hoping to take the trophy home for the first time since 2011.
At the last 16 stage we have seven previous winners still in the competition with 24 wins between them, could this be the year a new name is engraved on the famous trophy?
Canada Life International – Manx Championship Preview
Pictured: David Bradford (2015 winner), John Kennish current holder and 11 time winner - Phil Kerruish (2015 President) and Trevor Quayle 2015 runner up
Photos: Bod Boland/Arnie WithersWith Douglas Bowling Club having stepped in to host the Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship at the Villa this weekend on a fantastic surface it brings the event back to the same green that David Bradford won his first Manx Championship on in 2015. Bradford must surely start as the favourite on this green, having won a number of open competitions on the Villa over the past five years.
Beaten finalist in 2015 Trevor Quayle will be hoping to go one step further this time to win his first title, as will team mate Paul Skelly who has previously reached the semi-finals.
Last year’s winner and 11 time champion John Kennish has played very little bowls so far this season, however it would take a brave man to bet against Kennish picking up title number 12.
Marown have four previous winners with Colin Kelly’s five wins, the last of which was in 2011 against team mate Neil Withers, who himself won his only championship on his own green in an epic final in 2009. Dean Kipling’s win was way back in 1992 on Port Erin, whilst Phil Kelly won his title on Noble’s 1 in 1994.
Peel have just one previous winner with Andy Kennish, who won the last of his three titles in 1999, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly will have competition from son Stevie to get his name on the trophy for the first time.
Onchan have two previous winners in their ranks with Kevin Quirk having won twice in 2005 at Ronairco & 2008 on Noble’s 1, whilst Phil Kerruish won it on Castletown in 1986. Both of these players have vast experience & were in good form last weekend to each pick up individual open wins. As well as their experienced players Onchan have a group of young players who themselves now have a wealth of experience with Matthew Quirk who recently got a huge breakthrough to win his first singles open, whilst Jordan Cain and Rob Monk will also be keen to lift the trophy on Sunday.
Apart from Bradford & Kennish South Ramsey have Glynn Hargraves who will be hoping to take the trophy home to add to his two back to back wins on Finch Hill & Castletown in 2012 & 2013, with Hargraves having narrowly lost out to Trevor Quayle in the semi-finals in 2015. Dido Kelly could do well on this green with there being plenty of trickery to work with.
Best of luck to all bowlers this weekend, who knows there might just be a new name on the trophy…
Super Six Remain Undefeated
After a couple of weeks of unpredictable results, the teams leading at the top managed to avoid any slip ups this week. Only six players remain undefeated who have played all available games.
South Ramsey quickly bounced back from their defeat last week taking a home victory over Onchan. Elaine Moore sits top of the merit with her 100 percent record, after winning 21-7, Elaine’s fourth win to single figures this season. South Ramsey’s other winners were Ann Gale 21-8, Lyn Bolton 21-6, Jill Quayle 21-3, Sue Collier 21-14 and Jenny Moore 21-12. Onchan did manage to pick up three wins and took 31 chalks off the home side with Jo Smith winning 21-17, Maureen Payne 21-9 and Dee Lewis 21-6. The final score was 158-113 (6-3).
Castletown A kept up the pressure at the top winning away against Mooragh Park A. The home side managed to take four games off the visitors but lost by a 27 chalk margin on the night. Janet Monk retained her 100 percent record win a fine 21-10 win over Heike Perry. Caroline Parker beat Ann Hollingworh 21-14 and Vicky Lloyd-West defeated Sue Peach 21-18. The final win from Mooragh was from youngster Aalish Haworth who recorded an excellent 21-17 win over Amanda Lawler. Castletown overturned the losses with wins from Tracy Moore 21-13, Kath Kinley 21-12, Hannah Drewett 21-13, Hilary Kermode 21-10 and Kim Foy 21-5. Final score 137-164 (4-5).
Peel Sunset had a comfortable 31 chalk win at home against Ballaugh. Shirley Corrin, Joyce Kelly, Mona Kerruish, Mary Moffatt and Lynda Wilson won for the home side. Ballaugh had wins from Pat Mason, Christine Macdonald, Gill Dixon and Cath Harvey, who continues her excellent start to the season remaining undefeated. The match finished 170-129 (5-4).
Port St Mary B had a home tie against Nobles with the away side dropping just two points. Edwina Reid was the only winner for the southerners, winning 21-19. Chris Holland almost picked up a second win just losing 21-20 to Paula Firth who remains undefeated in the night league. The final score was 110-187 (1-8).
Castletown B faced a home tie against Marown with the away side performing well winning 128-168 (2-7). Castletown’s two winners came from Emma Hurst 21-9 and Barbara Young 21-13. Marown’s Joyce Ogden collected her sixth win out of six winning 21-13 with wins for teammates Elaine Dewhirst, Philippa Taylor, Rosie Winckle, lil Smith, Shirley Whealan and Margaret Scarffe. The match ended 128-169 (2-7).
The final match from round six was played on Tuesday with Port St Mary A rearranging their away match against Douglas due to Chris Price representing the IOM. Chris performed well away just losing 21-20 in the quarter finals to eventual winner Katie Harrop, Chris proving to be her toughest match on the day.
Back to the match on tuesday and Port St Mary collected their fifth win of the season winning 106-170 (2-7). Paula Garrett 21-6 and Pat Kelly 21-17 were the only winners for the home side with Port St Mary’s Jayne Kneen maintaining her 100 percent record.
Next week Castletown A sit out and will watch their rivals battle as Port St Mary A take on South Ramsey and Nobles face a tricky away match against Marown.
Onchan Open Singles
Onchan Open Singles Winner 2019
Sue GawneThere were 12 entrants on a wet, cold afternoon. Four preliminary rounds were followed by the first round of the competition where Lil Smith, Maureen Payne, Lynda Cadamy and Sue Gawne all progressed to the semi finals.
In the semi’s, Lil Smith beat Maureen Payne 21-19 and Sue Gawne beat Lynda Cadamy with the same score 21-19.
The weather never relented but the final game was very exciting to watch and extremely close with the final locked at 20-20.
Sue manage to win the last point defeating Lil 21-20.
Marown Edge Peel in Thriller – Onchan Go Top
Peel Sunset - 2017
Photo: Gary WeightmanPeel A hosted Marown A in the sunset city in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one with the match turning out to be a thriller. Last season the Crosby men suffered an 2-8 loss in this fixture.
Peel made a good start in the match to go 3-1 up at the half way point with a 21 chalk lead. Tom Kelly was up against his Dad Colin Kelly for the first time in a league fixture and probably won’t be welcome round for a Sunday roast dinner anytime soon after pulling off a stunning 21-13 win. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won 21-9 against Dean Kipling, whilst Jerome Surridge got home with a 21-18 victory over Phil Kelly. Picking up a valuable win for Marown was Paul Kelly who did enough to win 21-19 against Gary Smith.
Andy Kennish was Peel’s only winner in the second half of the match edging out Matthew Keggen, with Kennish having trailed 13-17 he had to dig deep to take a 21-19 win. Marown’s fight back started with Neil Withers winning 21-10 against David Proctor, whilst Paul Dunn left the match finely poised at 4-3 (124-122) to Peel with his 21-11 victory to inflict a first league defeat on Tommy McMeiken. Home captain Stevie Kelly was 15-4 and 17-7 up on John Gelling and looked on course to seal a 7-3 win, however Gelling had other ideas rolling back the years to score 14 consecutive points to pull off a stunning comeback and in doing so the Crosby men went home delighted with their 4-6 win by just two chalks (141-143).
Peel can take heart from having pushed Marown so hard, however it is hard to argue with Marown being the team to beat this season having played three fixtures in which they picked up just 10 points from last season (South Ramsey A, Marown B and Peel A) yet this season they have picked up 22 points from the same fixtures.
Onchan A have crept along quietly this season and find themselves top on 48 points after seeing off Castletown B with a 9-1 home win. Rob Monk sits in first place in the merit table closely followed by team mate Matthew Quirk. Jordan Cain inflicted a first league defeat of the season on former doubles partner Bob Clark, whilst the sole winner for Town was George Foy who beat Mark Kelly 21-8. Onchan’s next five games see them face tough tests with away games against Douglas, North Ramsey and Port St Mary, whilst hosting close rivals Marown A and South Ramsey A to reach the half way point of the season.
Castletown A hosted South Ramsey A with the same fixture in 2018 resulting in a 10-0 win for the visitors. This time round the Town men took three games off the visitors with Sam Clague keeping his composure to record an assured 21-11 win over Stefan Kelly. Jordan Drewett dug in for his team to claw his way back from 11-19 down against Peter Collister to run out with a 21-19 win, whilst David Quayle recovered from 15-20 down to beat Alan Moore 21-20. For the visitors David Bradford beat Peter Oates 21-7, with James Teare not far behind defeating George Peach 21-9. South Ramsey sit in third place on 44 points, with tough away games against Onchan A & Peel A still to come in the first half of the season, which will give them a better idea of where they will finish this season, however the title looks to be too far away on current form.
Port St Mary A got back to winning ways after three consecutive defeats with a 4-6 away win over Noble’s A who are now bottom of the table with 18 points after six games. For the Port men Wayne Roberts & Paul Skelly won to single figures, whilst Trevor Quayle was also back in business with a 21-13 victory over David Pease with Bernard Thackrah holding off Steve Cook to win 21-18. For the home team Glenn Boland, Kevin Firth and Tommy Collister won fairly comfortably, whilst Steve Hall marked his first match against his former club with a 21-20 victory over Dave McCabe.
South Ramsey B won’t be too unhappy with their 4-6 home defeat to Douglas A, with Tony Dugdale making it five wins from six games holding off Ian Moore to win 21-19, with Edward Carlyle also pushed hard by Keith Rise before getting over the line 21-18. Steven Waters made light work of Shaun Seal to win 21-8, whilst Christian Caley will have been pleased to see off Gary Conwell 21-15. Winners for the villa men were Mervin Sayle, Jimmy Sansom, Stuart Garrett and captain Andy Cannell who got home 21-19 against George Brew.
Marown B sit comfortably in mid table following an assured 7-3 home win over North Ramsey A. The three winners for the Mooragh men were Steve Walmsley, Gary Merrill and Bryan Corner. Home captain Harry Barton led the way for his team, backed up by Luke Hyland and the experienced trio of Arnie Withers, Peter Kelly and Juan Killip.
In division two league leaders Ballaugh A put some distance between their nearest placed rivals Finch Hill A with a fine 9-1 home win over the Finch men. Young Patrick Grant stepped up into the A team and recorded his first league win of the season with a 21-19 victory over Sefton Dent. Peter Hughes prevented the whitewash thanks to a 21-19 win over Barry McDonald.
Marown C headed south to take on Port St Mary B, putting up a good fight before losing 7-3, taking three games off a team who will be looking to challenge at the top of the league. Winners for the Crosby men were Walter McCarthy, Jamie Joughin and Darren Kerruish.
In division three South Ramsey C really have the bit between their teeth following their 10-0 demolition of Noble’s B to extend their lead over second placed Ballaugh C to 13 points. The Ballaugh outfit could only draw 5-5 at home thanks in part to Port Erin B being a player short.
Ladies IOM Triples
IOM Triples Winners 2019
Rebecca Teare, Debbie Leece & Clare CooperThe weather was perfect for the ladies’ IOM Triples played at Port Erin on Saturday 4th. May. Eleven competing groups were able to play under blue skies and uninterrupted sunshine. In the first roundthe home team of Voirrey Curphey, Jean Thackrah and Jacqui Elliott were up against it as they faced a strong team of Paula Firth, Lin Ruscoe and Maureen Payne, quickly finding themselves 18-10 down. At this point the southerners dug in and eventually came through to take the game 21-19. The other two first round games saw Philippa Taylor, Joyce Ogden and Lynda Cadamy come through 21-10 against Sue Peach, Marie Ashurst and Barbara Young, while Margaret Tasker. Tricia Bull and Mavis Franks had the better of Heike Perry, Kath Kinley and Ann Hollingworth 21-13.
In the quarter-finals the group of Sue Collier, Norma Cowell and Helen Caley posed a rea threat to Margaret Tasker and her team before succumbing 21-16. Philippa’s group had the better of Voirrey Curphey’s team while in the bottom half of the draw the Nobles’ trio of Clare Cooper, Rebecca Teare and Debbie Leece were too powerful for Tracy Moore, Joy Stephen and Linda Dobinson. Jenny and Elaine Moore together with Gill Dixon overpowered Kim Hargraves, Fiona Kennish and Rita Callister to progress to the semi-finals. Despite Margaret’ team having the better start Philippa’s gang won 21-15 to reach the final while Clare’s team needed all their grit and determination to eventually go through 21-19 against Jenny and co.
The final saw a rampant Nobles who, despite the best efforts of their opponents, came through to take the title 21-11.
Final: Clare, Rebecca, Debbie 21, Philippa, Joyce and Lynda 11
Thanks went to Port Erin for the use of their green, their members for their help in the smooth running of the event, particularly the men for measuring and the ladies for the refreshments – particularly Phil Dobson for her sterling work manning the “stall”.
The prizes were presented by the Association president, Sue Peach.
Quirk is Mr Consistent
Kevin Quirk - Clague Kermeen Winner 2019
Photo: Glynn HargravesOnchan Bowling Club hosted the Clague Kermeen Trophy sponsored by Avant Amenity, with the competition being held for the first time for a number of years it attracted an entry of 37 on a superb playing surface.
The eventual winner was home greener Kevin Quirk who beat former team mate David Bradford 21-19 in a high quality final. Quirk was quickest out of the blocks taking the lead 8-4, before Bradford hit back to edge 10-9 ahead. Neither player was able to pull away from the other until Bradford took the lead at 19-16 with Quirk then scoring a great two, followed by a one to level things up at 19-19. Quirk again played a good lead and an even better second bowl only for Bradford to make contact with the jack with his last bowl, however it wasn’t enough to save game.
Quirk played superbly all day to pick up his fifth win in this competition, knocking out team mate Phil Kerruish in the semi-final and 11 time Manx Champion John Kennish in the quarter finals, with Kennish making his first appearance of the season.
In the other semi-final Bradford came through 21-14 against Reginald Temporaza (Noble’s).
Losing out in the quarter finals along with Kennish were Steve Parker (Onchan), Jimmy Sansom (Douglas) and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly (South Ramsey).
The presentation was made by Mike Thomas who thanked Mike Atherton from Avant Amenity for sponsoring the competition, all the club members for supporting throughout the day & the ladies for providing the refreshments.