Just like a number of other events, storm Ciara put paid to any action over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League forcing the club into their first postponements of the campaign. 

Saturday’s games have been re-scheduled to a date of the end of the list and will now be played on March 7; whilst Sunday’s programme has been moved just one week to February 16. 

This means that a number of teams have had their season extended a little and this includes table toppers Guns for Hire who have had to wait an extra week for their showdown with second-placed Seven-Up. 

In last week’s report I took a look at the leading nine players in the individual merit battle for the Derek Killey memorial trophy and with the Isle of Man bowls website now back online I can confirm that was list was correct. 

At present 115 different members have competed for one team or another and sitting in tenth position in the standings is Dave Kelly (G4H) with a perfect 18 wins from 18 played, however as he has missed two games, his average from those played by his team shows him on 18.9. 

Bowl Rollers occupy the next two spots, with Jamie Joughin and Lil Smith locked on the same total, with Jamie ahead because his against is lower; these two are being chased very closely for their team merit by Sylvia Kennaugh who is only one chalk behind in 14th overall. 

Another player who has missed games, sits amongst the Rollers trio and that is former double merit winner Kevin Quirk (Seven-Up) who triumphed in 2003 and 2010; completing the top 15 is Bernard Thackrah (Erin Porters), whose team have six fixtures left to play. 

There could be another sting in the tail of this battle with the rumour of players being missing this weekend, then as I pen this there could possibly be storm Dennis to contend with… 

Entries are still open for the club championship, which will take place on Saturday, March 14 and following this on Sunday, March 22 the best versus rest event will take place along with the prize presentations. 

Prior to that, on Wednesday, February 19 a charity round robin will take place, all proceeds from the afternoon will go to Cancer Research UK, Relay for Life IoM, Team Elf. This will start at 1pm and there will be cakes on sale, along with a raffle. 

An entry of 34 enjoyed the midweek session held last Wednesday, with the winners in the triples section being Maureen Hamilton, Doug Allan and Mark Kelly, in second were Rosie Winckle, Tricia Bull and Caroline Corlett, with third spot going to Bernard Thackrah, Peter Kelly and Andy Sykes. 

Doubles was the order of the day in the other group and sneaking home by just one chalk were Philippa Taylor and Bernie McPhee, ahead of Gill Jopson and Sue Gawne; with third position being taken by Steve Parker and Marg Tasker. 

League leaders Guns for Hire head into the big showdown this Sunday with second-placed Seven-Up holding a 29 point advantage over their closest rivals in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling Club, with the rest of the pack too far back to be in contention for the title.

Sunday’s action provided all the main news last weekend, with G4H taking their winning run to 20 and notching up the campaign’s 20th maximum win along the way.

This session also saw a major shuffle at the top of the individual merit following two defeats for leader Marg Tasker (Louie’s Angels) and a perfect afternoon for third-placed team-mate Matthew Keggen.

The players swopped places in the standings, with Matthew now back on top with an average of 20 and squashed in between these two is Seven-Up’s Mark Kelly on 19.9; Marg is on 19.89 as the top lady, just ahead of Jenny Moore (Outsiders), who is three points behind on 19.72.

Positions five to nine are occupied by Mike Thomas (Parkers), Derek Allen (Seven-Up), Sue Gawne and Steve Parker (Mooragh Lakers); also with six games left to play, Doug Allan (Govags) on an average of 19.

In Saturday’s league action the wind played a big factor for the first hour or so and from a set of three fixtures Mooragh Lakers emerged with two scores that saw them move within 16 points of third-placed Outsiders.

Bowl Rollers meanwhile slipped one place down the standings and are now four chalks adrift of Parkers, whereas Cannons maintained the bragging rights over their Castletown stablemates near the foot of the table.

Results for Saturday, February 1: Mooragh Lakers 116 (4), Castletown Cannons 81 (2); Castletown Cannons 106 (2), Bowl Rollers 117 (4); Bowl Rollers 84 (1), Mooragh Lakers 125 (5).

The first fixture on the list for Sunday finished with the closest outcome over the two days after Louie’s Angels came out on top with an eight point winning margin over Bits n Bobs.

This while high flyers G4H recorded their fifth full-house of games at the expense of basement side Castletown Corkers, who themselves are running out of opportunities to catch their southern rivals.

The winners next took on an Angels outfit containing players who are quite capable of taking points from any team and this proved the case after Matthew Keggen recorded a perfect session – two wins and 42 points for and just the starting 12 against – a rare feat for any player.

The Angels almost snatched another game, just missing out on 20, so with G4H dropping 15 points in this contest, they head into a possible league decider this Sunday against Seven-Up, I say possible because both teams will have one more fixture each to play later that afternoon.

The final result last Sunday saw Bits n Bobs halt a run of nine defeats with a 106 to 94 chalks win over Corkers; this score leaves the southerners 58 points adrift with four left to play, with Bits just above these two in the table.

Results for Sunday, February 2: Louie’s Angels 102 (3), Bits n Bobs 94 (3); Castletown Corkers 69 (0), Guns for Hire 126 (6); Guns for Hire 111 (5), Louie’s Angels 98 (1); Bits n Bobs 106 (4), Castletown Corkers 94 (2).

An entry of just 22 braved the elements at the midweek round robin and in the black jack doubles the winners were Bernard Thackrah and Kevin Firth, ahead of second-placed Paul Callister and Trish Bull.

The other group saw Steve Parker and Peter Corlett take the honours after they edged out Ken Karran and Mark Kelly by just one point.

There was just one afternoon of league action over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling Club and it featured leaders Guns for Hire overcoming another big hurdle in their quest to win the title. 

Current champions Outsiders, who at present occupy third spot in the standings, began their Sunday session with the season’s 19^th maximum scoreline recorded at the expense of opponents Bits n Bobs. 

This while the league leaders comfortably hit the average needed to retain their advantage over closest rivals Seven-Up when they missed out on a similar total by just one chalk in their clash against sixth-placed Govags. 

Outsiders held a 13 point lead over G4H after the opening three games in the big clash of the day, but the leaders fought back to take the final three and hold onto their unbeaten record by a margin of just two. 

Although they dropped 16 points in this contest, they averaged enough over the two outings to remain on course to win the title even if their nearest challengers were to record maximum scores in their remaining two fixtures – one of which is against G4H. 

Govags meanwhile recovered from their earlier loss to record a 121 to 96 points victory over Bits n Bobs, so remain in sixth spot – 23 ahead of Bowl Rollers. 

Results for Sunday, January 26: Bits n Bobs 79 (0), Outsiders 126 (6); Guns for Hire 125 (5), Govags 98 (1); Outsiders 108 (2), Guns for Hire 110 (4); Govags 121 (5), Bits n Bobs 96 (1). 

There were two round robin sessions held prior to Sunday’s games and in the first one on Wednesday afternoon an entry of 32 was split into two groups. 

From the triples section Peggy Freeman, Doug Allan and Andy Sykes emerged as winners ahead of Carol Kaye, Jenny Moore and Mark Kelly. 

The other gang played doubles, with the triumphant pair being Steve Parker and Elaine Moore, with second spot going to Derek Allen and Terry Bates. 

A few showers of rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the victors in Saturday’s outing, with two trios being separated after a roll up and it was Derek Allen, Steve Parker and Lynda Cadamy who took the honours in front of Ken Karran, Kevin Firth and Alan Moore. 

The main news of the weekend occurred in the individual merit of the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League with some of the contenders not available to play and some of them suffering defeats.

2012 winner Marg Tasker (Louie’s Angels) took over at the top of the list for the Derek Killey memorial trophy after two close victories and former leader Kevin Quirk (Seven-Up) was not able to play.

Kevin’s team-mate Mark Kelly moved into second spot ahead of three players who lost a game apiece over the two days – Matthew Keggen (Angels), Jenny Moore (Outsiders) and Mike Thomas (Parkers).

On the team front current champions Outsiders, who are currently third in the table, started Saturday afternoon with victory over fifth-placed Louie’s Angels to extend the margin between them by 19 points.

However, that gap was reduced later in the session after Angels recorded a maximum 126 against basement side Castletown Corkers, whilst Outsiders could only manage 116 against the same opponents.

Results for Saturday, January 18: Outsiders 118 (4), Louie’s Angels 99 (2); Louie’s Angels 126 (6), Castletown Corkers 87 (0); Castletown Corkers 81 (1), Outsiders 116 (5).

The following day saw second-placed Seven-Up move within striking distance of the completion of their programme with only two fixtures left to play, however they slipped further behind the leaders due mainly to a number of their players not being available to play.

First clash on the card saw Castletown Cannons, who sit just above their stablemates, miss out on only their second victory in a five-chalk loss to Parkers.

Bowl Rollers meanwhile inflicted only the third defeat of the campaign on title challengers Seven-Up, the victors may have lost on games, but secured the all-important points win by just two.

The title contenders then got their challenge back on track by scoring the team’s fourth and the campaign’s 18^th maximum at the expense of Cannons who now sit 16 points ahead of Corkers.

Rollers won the final battle of the weekend and did enough to move above opponents Parkers on average; they are now on 104.25 compared to Parkers on 104.17.

Results for Sunday, January 19: Castletown Cannons 105 (2), Parkers 110 (4); Bowl Rollers 105 (2), Seven-Up 103 (4); Seven-Up 126 (6), Castletown Cannons 87 (0); Parkers 96 (2), Bowl Rollers 119 (4).

A gang of 21 entered the latest midweek round robin and from one group of triples, Allan Kennaugh, Lil Smith and Peter Kelly emerged as clear winners ahead of Bryan Corner, Derek Allen and David Clucas.

Another round robin is planned for this Saturday afternoon as there are no league fixtures scheduled and entries are now open for the club championship which will be held towards the end of the season.

The leading two sides marched on and dropped just six points between them over the latest weekend in theManx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League; this whilst the third placed outfit slipped further adrift after a poor score not helped by them being a player short. 

Leaders Guns for Hire simply blew their opponents away on another miserable wet Saturday afternoon, not just for their challengers but anyone watching, as they took the tally of maximums so far to 16, which includes four for themselves. 

Two sides in the bottom half of the table were first on the list and it was lower placed Castletown Cannons who took the honours by four chalks against Bits n Bobs in what turned out to be the closest contest over the two days. 

In action at the same time were Guns for Hire and Bowl Rollers who sat in ninth position, with the result going pretty much to form. 

With conditions now far from ideal, the four took to the green for their second outings, but unfortunately Cannons could not cope with the fire power of Guns for Hire and went down to the lowest total of the campaign. 

Rollers got the better of Bits n Bobs in their encounter to remain on the same points average and stay close behind Parkers and Govags in the standings. 

Results for Saturday, January 11: Bits n Bobs 102 (2), Castletown Cannons 106 (4); Guns for Hire 126 (6), Bowl Rollers 90 (0); Castletown Cannons 53 (0), Guns for Hire 126 (6); Bowl Rollers 105 (4), Bits n Bobs 98 (2). 

Sunday was the first session of the programme with just three teams involved and therefore all seven players on the green at the same time. 

The afternoon’s top billing had second placed Seven-Up against Mooragh Lakers who were directlybehind them, however with the latter being a player short and perhaps not ‘totally fired up’ it turned out a one-sided affair. 

Title challengers Seven-Up will have been very pleased with the bonus of a walkover, but also played extremely well and could easily have recorded a clean sweep, only to lose two games on 20. 

Lakers meanwhile toiled to a total of 86, which was almost 40 behind their opponents and are now down to fourth in the overall standings. 

The victors next took on Erin Porters and this turned out to be a much closer contest than the league positions suggested with the southerners going down by a margin of only 13 points. 

Lakers were back to full strengthfor the final battle of the afternoon, which turned into the best clash with Porters having three losers on 20 and missed out by just six chalks, however as a consequence of their endeavours they moved up one place in the table. 

Results for Sunday, January 12: Mooragh Lakers 86 (2), Seven-Up 124 (4); Seven-Up 122 (4), Erin Porters 109 (2); Erin Porters 111 (1), Mooragh Lakers 117 (5). 

This latest two sets of fixtures leave the destination of the league title wide open, although games are running out for Seven-Up as they only have four left to play. 

They really only have one tough fixture remaining and interestingly that is against top outfit G4H, who themselves have six to play including opponents Outsiders who are third and Louie’s Angels, currently fifth. 

In short if Seven-Up score four maximums, G4H can drop no more than 37 points if they want to get their hands back on the shield. 

The midweek round robins swung back into action with an entry of 32 and coming out on top of the two groups were Lil Smith and Bernie McPhee, along with Bryan Corner, Kevin Firth and Alec Taylor. 

Play swung back into action after the festive break in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowls League and it was business as usual for second placed Seven-Up as they continue their challenge for the top.

They have dropped just five points an outing on average over their last seven fixtures and have moved to within touching distance of leaders Guns for Hire.

This while the three teams directly behind then slipped further adrift and are locked in their own little battle with only 27 points between them with eight fixtures to play.

Saturday kicked-off with Louie’s Angels out to try and repeat the maximum score they recorded against Parkers earlier in the season, which also came with a winning margin of 44, however their opponents had other ideas and managed to narrow that gap down to just six points.

Seven-Up meanwhile racked up the campaign’s 14th full-house when they played basement side Castletown Corkers.

Next up Seven-Up were out to gain revenge for a heavy defeat they suffered against Louie’s Angels back in October and this they did with a 20 point winning advantage this time round.

Seven-Up now also have a player at the head of the individual merit, following defeat for the previous leader Matthew Keggen (Angels) – Kevin Quirk takes over the position, just ahead of Marg Tasker, who also plays for Angels.

Matthew drops to fourth spot just behind Mike Thomas (Parkers), with the next two on the list being Mark Kelly (Seven-Up) and Jenny Moore (Outsiders).

The final result from the opening day saw Parkers do just enough against Corkers to move above Bowl Rollers by .06 of a point on average.

Results for Saturday, January 4: Parkers 107 (2), Louie’s Angels 113 (4); Seven-Up 126 (6), Castletown Corkers 68 (0); Louie’s Angels 101 (1), Seven-Up 121 (5); Castletown Corkers 90 (2), Parkers 120 (4).

Sunday’s quartet had two former league winning teams competing, however I believe they are both all but out of contention this time around and will battle it out for third spot.

Currently holding that position are Mooragh Lakers and they recorded two victories, both as close as possible and with exactly the same totals, but both below average.

First up they took on fourth placed current champions Outsiders and bearing in mind they were on the losing side of a score showing them separated by just three chalks back in October; this time the win went in favour of Lakers by just one.

There was another great encounter taking place at the same time between Erin Porters and Govags, with the latter taking the spoils by five games to one, however with only five points between them.

The four sides then went back into action, with Outsiders notching up a total of 118 against a battling Porters side.

Lakers meanwhile had another tough outing and were pushed all the way by Govags who eventually missed out on victory by two points, but did enough to hold onto sixth spot in the table.

This leaves the teams in third to fifth separated by just 27 points – Lakers on 1585, eight ahead of Outsiders, with Saturday’s participants Louie’s Angels a further 19 back – exactly 100 behind leaders Guns for Hire.

Results for Sunday, January 6: Mooragh Lakers 108 (3), Outsiders 107 (3); Erin Porters 110 (1), Govags 115 (5); Outsiders 118 (5), Erin Porters 93 (1); Govags 107 (3), Mooragh Lakers 108 (3).