Monthly Archives: May 2021
Castletown A continue strong start
Mooragh Park played host to Port Erin on Friday night. It was a tight match both on points and games. The closest games of the night saw Maureen Hamilton (Mooragh) winning to 18, with Rita Callister and Carol Kaye (Port Erin) winning to 18 and 19 respectively. There were comfortable wins for Shannon McMullan (Mooragh) and Di Benson (Port Erin) who both won to single figures. Overall score : Mooragh Park 160-Port Erin 148 (five games to four).
Results : Castletown A 183 (8), Ballaugh 107 (1); Douglas 120 (3), South Ramsey 162 (6); Marown A 154 (4), Onchan 163 (5); Peel Sunset 166 (5), Marown B 141 (4); Port St Mary 183 (7), Castletown 94 (2)
It may only be the second week, but Castletown A have started strongest out of the starting blocks with two good wins followed by Port St Mary. These two teams are playing each other on Friday and, as in previous years, it may prove to be a close affair.
Peel A Close the Gap on League Leaders Marown A
Noble's B who took on Marown D at Crosby on Tuesday evening, fronted by Junior player Alex Hampson. Marown won 7-3
Photo: Arnie WithersWeek two in division one had the weather play a factor with strong winds on Monday evening making for difficult bowling conditions with Onchan A hosting pace setters Marown A at the Park with the visitors taking the spoils with a 3-7 win. The five winners for the Crosby men were all comfortable with low double figures victories, with the biggest win from Juan Killip who inflicted a rare home defeat on Kevin Quirk 21-10. Winners for the home team were Jordan Cain with a 21-8 win over Matthew Keggen, Mike Thomas recorded a 21-16 victory over Phil Kelly, whilst captain Peter Slinger just got the win 21-20 over John Gelling.
Peel A sit in second place following their tricky away fixture against North Ramsey A, who now have their destiny in their own hands having recently taken over the maintenance of their bowling green, they will look to get their green back to its best over time. The visitors came away relatively unscathed with a good 2-8 victory thanks to Tommy McMeiken winning 21-19 against Ray Skelly, whilst George Gadsby inflicted a second consecutive 21-20 defeat of the season on Tony Smart. Winners for the Mooragh men were Gary Merrill with a 21-15 victory over Gary Smith, whilst John Cannan continues to be tough to beat at home with a 21-19 win over Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.
South Ramsey keep ticking along quietly with a rewarding visit to the opposite end of the Island to take on Port St Mary A recording their second 8-2 win of the season. Winners for the home team were Trevor Quayle who won 21-7 against Chas Grills, with Dan McCabe not far behind with his 21-10 victory over Alan Moore. South Ramsey responded with three single figures wins from Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly beating Paul Russell 21-5, whilst David Bradford & Glynn Hargraves matched each other with their 21-7 wins over Paul Skelly & Tim Williams respectively. Peter Collister continued his fine form with a good 21-11 win over Wayne Roberts.
Promoted teams Peel B & Ballaugh A met in the Sunset City with the home team recording an assured 7-3 win, which on another night could have been 9-1 with Gordon Corrin losing out 19-21 to Barry McDonald, whilst Robert Middleton just missed out 20-21 to John Maddrell, Paul Quirk was heavily defeated 6-21 by Philip Quayle. For the home team captain Paul ‘Pookie’ Quirk continues to impress and is not looking out of place in division one with a 21-14 win over the experienced John Keenan.
Noble’s A hosted Castletown A and will have been pleased to take four games from the visitors with Les Brookes, Dave Naughton and Sam Stannard-Duke all winning 21-14, whilst Martyn Hobson will have been delighted with his 21-13 win over Nathan Cooil. A lot of credit must go to the Noble’s men with four of the players having never played first division bowls, yet all four are giving a good account of themselves as they look to gain experience. For the visitors Bob Clark recorded an unbelievable 21-0 win over Tommy Collister, which must be a first with Tommy always being the standout performer at every club he has played for. Sam Clague returned to winning ways with a 21-8 win over Mark Quinn, captain Ian Watson beat Stephen Hampson 21-14, whilst Nathan Hamilton continues his good start to the season with a 21-10 win over Steve Cook.
Marown B reversed their 2-8 defeat from the previous week with an 8-2 home win over Douglas A with two changes made from the last team with Bobby Thorne coming in to record a 21-14 win over Andy Cannell, whilst James Kelly also came in and just missed out 20-21 against Shaun Seal. Stephen Rundle stayed with the B Team this week and got his reward with a 21-20 win over Ian Moore, whilst Karl Parker beat Gary Conwell 21-7, with Brian Kelly winning 21-8 against Gordon Wynne-Smythe. The second winner for Douglas was Jimmy Sansom, who would have been pleased to take a 21-10 win over Glenn Boland.
In division two Marown C pulled off the shock of the night with a 3-7 win away to South Ramsey B, who continue to make life hard for themselves in their quest for an immediate return to division one. Winning for the visitors were Kevin Kelly who recorded his second win in five days on the same green, this time seeing off Christian Caley with a 21-12 win, Jamie Joughin performed well to win 21-13 against Austin Hart, whilst Carey Dewhirst just got home with a 21-20 win over Steven Waters. Winning for the home team were Edward Carlyle who has returned from an injury over the winter to beat Matt Derrick 21-12, ably backed up Bryan Corner and the ever reliable Tony Dugdale.
Port Erin A continue to set the pace at the top of division two with their second 9-1 win of the season, this time seeing off Finch Hill B at Breagle Glen. For the home team Harry Minor, Derek Cadamy, Bernie Durcan and David Cain all won to single figures, with Brian Murphy sparing the whitewash with a surprise 21-19 win over Steve Durcan.
Finch Hill A sit in second place following their 8-2 home win over Peel C, with Onchan B performing well to record a 3-7 away victory over Castletown B with Will Penhallurick continues to impress in division two having only taken up the game last year, he took a 21-15 win over George Peach. Douglas B won 8-2 at home against Port St Mary B with single figure wins from Andy Foster, Steve Gregg & Willy Cowley. In division three only a point separates Ballaugh C and their higher ranked B side who sit at the top, with the B winning 7-3 at home against Castletown C, whilst the C bettered this with a 1-9 away win over Douglas C. South Ramsey D won 7-3 over Douglas with all five wins being to single figures. Marown D recorded their first ever win with 7-3 home victory over Noble’s B, with the visitors Junior player – 12-year-old Alex Hampson impressing with a 21-20 win over Steve Cain. Finishing off the round of fixtures Onchan C won 3-7 away to Peel D.
Port Pair Triumph in Cringle 4’s
Cringle Fours Winners 2021 - Trevor Quayle & Wayne Robert’s with Sponsor Noel Cringle
Photo: Arnie WithersCastletown Bowling Club hosted the Charity Cringle Fours men’s open competition on Sunday attracting 26 pairs to compete for the trophy.
The quarter finals had three Castletown pairings lose out with Derek Lewney & Ian Watson well beaten 8-21 by Port St Mary pair Wayne Roberts & Trevor Quayle, Jordan Drewett & Nathan Hamilton were defeated 15-21 to brothers Kevin & Tom Kelly (Marown/Peel), George Foy & Mike Hargraves lost out 8-21 to Marown men Juan Killip & Colin Kelly, whilst South Ramsey pair James Teare & Stefan Kelly were defeated 11-21 by home duo Sam Clague & Bob Clark.
Both semi-finals finished around the same time with Roberts & Quayle seeing off the Kelly brothers with a 21-12 win from 15 ends played to take their place in the final, whilst Clague & Clark also progressed with a 21-16 win over Killip & Kelly, also with 15 ends played.
The final got underway with the scored tied 8-8 after three ends played. Roberts & Quayle stepped up a couple of gears to put themselves firmly in control of the game taking four of the next six ends to lead 19-11, scoring three trebles and a double on the way. The last four ends were shared by both teams, this was enough to see Roberts and Quayle over the line with a 21-13 win to seal Roberts’ second win in this competition and Quayle’s first.
At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Ron Williams, who thanked Kath Kinley and the club members for the smooth running of the competition & announced that £280 had been raised for Manx Blind Welfare Society. Noel Cringle, the long standing sponsor of the competition then presented the prizes.
League Bowls Is Back!
Marown D prior to their fixture against Ballaugh C
Photo: Neil WithersAfter over 19 months since league games took place it was great to be back bowling in the night league. After a day of heavy rain on Monday only three first division fixtures went ahead with the current champions and league favourites Marown A hosting Noble’s A at Crosby. The home team showed no mercy to the visitors with a 10-0 whitewash. One notable absence from the Marown line-up this season is Dean Kipling, with Juan Killip stepping up from the B Team, with Killip just scraping home with a 21-20 win over Steve Cook to ensure the visitors went home empty handed and soaked through. Noble’s look to be in for a tough time this season, having had a tough winter with the club rumoured to be close to collapsing, there has been a fantastic effort from the remaining club members to ensure the club survived and are able to prosper once more.
Ballaugh A having been promoted in 2019 have had to wait a considerable amount of time following their return to the top tier, they hosted Port St Mary A with the visitors claiming a 2-8 win thanks to Robbie Cooil winning 21-19 against Patrick Grant, whilst Paul Skelly won to the same score against John Maddrell. For Ballaugh Barry McDonald and Tony Quine beat Tom Collins and Paul Russell respectively. Ballaugh look to have a good blend of youth and experience, however I do feel they will need to rely heavily on their home form to remain in division one come the end of the season.
Castletown A look to have got their team heading towards their strongest eight players at the club with one eye on the future, they hosted North Ramsey A at the Crofts with the home team claiming a 7-3 victory. That said 79-year-old Mike Hargraves stepped in at late notice and proved he can still compete seeing off Tony Smart 21-20. Bob Clark marked his return to the A Team with a 21-4 victory over Allan Callow. Winners for the visitors were Gary Merrill who beat town captain Ian Watson, Ray Skelly who took a notable 21-15 win against Association Cup holder Sam Clague, whilst Steve Walmsley beat Jordan Drewett 21-18.
On Wednesday evening the weather was much kinder to the teams that had rearranged their fixtures with the closest match of the first round of fixtures between Douglas A and Onchan A at the Villa. With the match tied 4-4 on games the visitors just edged the chalks by seven (136-143) to claim the two aggregate points with a 4-6 victory. For the visitors Mike Thomas beat Mervin Sayle with a 21-13 win, Kevin Quirk & Frank Watson beat Gordon Wynne-Smythe & Shaun Seal 21-11 respectively, whilst Peter Slinger had to work for his 21-17 win over Gary Conwell. For the home team Andy Cannell claimed the biggest win of the night with his 21-6 victory over Reginald Temporaza. Keith Rise claimed a good 21-15 win against Phil Kerruish, whilst Ian Moore and Jimmy Sansom both edged home 21-19 against Jordan Cain and Mark Kelly respectively.
Rayner Shield holders Peel A hosted their newly promoted B Team in the sunset city with the higher ranked team taking a 9-1 win. The only winner for the B team was Paul ‘Pookie’ Quirk who claimed a stunning 21-7 win over Gary Smith. Rayner Shield hero Peter Greenlees continues to impress and has remained with the A Team this season, George Gadsby made his comeback after a seven-year gap, whilst Darren Young returned to the fold after last turning out for Peel in 2018.
South Ramsey A hosted Marown B with the visitors coming away with two points following their 8-2 loss. New Marown signing Glenn Boland won 21-15 against James Teare, whilst Kevin Kelly stepped up from the C Team to stun Alan Moore with a 21-18 victory. Leading the way for the home team were David Bradford and Glynn Hargraves with single figure victories, whilst the other four home wins were comfortable.
In division two Castletown B have a wealth of experience and will be looking for an immediate return to division one, they got their season off to a flying start with a 1-9 success away to Finch Hill B. The other team relegated to division two was South Ramsey B, they started off their campaign with a 3-7 victory against their C Team who have been promoted from division three, they will be keen to consolidate their place in the division this season.
There are just two A teams in division two with Port Erin looking the most likely to challenge at the top, they got off to a good start with a 1-9 away win against Peel C with David Cain & Peter Addison both winning to single figures. The other A Team in division two are Finch Hill A who made a solid start to the season with a 3-7 victory at Port St Mary, with Dave McCabe and Peter Hughes both taking single figures victories.
Marown C had to juggle their team this week due to rearranged fixtures, this didn’t stop them from recording a 7-3 home win over Douglas B with Jamie Joughin the biggest winner for the Crosby men.
In division three Port Erin B gave Douglas D a drubbing with a 0-10 away win at the Villa, with the D Team including a number of new bowlers it was always going to be tough. Noble’s B scored well individually despite losing 1-9 at home to Ballaugh B, with Terry Bates sparing the whitewash with a 21-20 win over Dicky Watson. Onchan C matched Ballaugh’s victory with their 9-1 home win over Douglas C with Michael Knowles the only winner for the visitors, who won 21-18 against Jamie Clague.
Marown fielded a D Team for the first time in their history and performed well taking four points following their 6-4 loss away to Ballaugh C, whilst Castletown C made a positive start to the season with a 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D.
Ladies Crown Green Bowling Gets Underway
Ladies crown green bowling got underway on Friday night with the Open Age League following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. It has been a bitter-sweet start to the bowling season with a couple of teams withdrawing from the Open Age League and Over 60s league due to dwindling club numbers and a couple of clubs forming a second team having increased membership of ‘new to the game lady bowlers’; Junior lady bowlers and bowlers transferring from other clubs. Given these changes, this season has the promise of being an interesting one.
Featured match from the opening week in the Open Age Night League was between the newly formed Marown B playing host to their stable mates Marown A. This match was played on Thursday evening due to Marown having the official opening of their new clubhouse on the Friday evening. Two new bowlers for Marown B, Jo Corkill and Amanda Butler, took on Marown A’s Elaine Dewhirst and Joyce Ogden respectively. Although Jo and Amanda played well they struggled against the more experienced bowlers with both losing 4-21. The three junior lady bowlers of Marown B are sisters Grace and Emily Cooper (playing league bowls for the first time) and Rebekah Kelly. Grace played Lynda Cadamy, Emily took on Marown A’s captain Lil Smith with Rebekah playing Shirley Whelan. All three girls played exceptionally well, but couldn’t quite get over the line with Grace losing to 13, Emily losing to 6 and Rebekah losing to 3. Next game saw Rebecca Teare for Marown B playing Philippa Taylor. On paper this was always going to be a close game and it didn’t disappoint with Philippa eventually running out 21-18. The two closest games of the night saw Deborah Leece for Marown B taking on Jayne Smith and Helen Withers, Marown B’s captain, playing Rosie Winckle. Both games were nick and tuck throughout with Deborah losing 20-21 to Jayne and Helen beating Rosie by the same score line. The remaining game was between Clare Cooper for Marown B and Celia Joughin for Marown A; this resulted in a comfortable 21-4 win for Clare. Overall score: Marown B 110 – Marown A 171 (two games to seven).
The remaining Open Age league matches were played on Friday. There were some very close results, especially South Ramsey who lost on games, but won on points.
| Results : | Onchan | 147 | – | 123 | Mooragh Park | (6-3) |
| Port Erin | 107 | – | 179 | Castletown A | (2-7) | |
| South Ramsey | 161 | – | 146 | Peel | (4-5) | |
| Ballaugh | 136 | – | 157 | Port St Mary | (4-5) | |
| Castletown B | 175 | – | 151 | Douglas | (6-3) |
Ladies IOM Pairs
Last Sunday, the Ladies Association I.o.M Pairs competition took place at Douglas Bowling club with an entry of 18 pairs. The weather stayed warm and sunny with some excellent bowling being played and enjoyed by all. Getting through to the semi-finals were the pairings of Paula Garrett and Kay McKiernan (Douglas); Kim Hargraves and Shelley Kennish (South Ramsey); Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden (Marown) and Gill Dixon and Elaine Moore (South Ramsey). The first semi saw Paula and Kay take on Kim and Shelley. The Douglas pair were always a step ahead with Paula especially playing some excellent end-winning bowls and after 16 ends they ran out winning 21-14. The second semi-final was a much closer affair with Philippa and Joyce playing Gill and Elaine. Both pairs played well, but credit must be given to Joyce and Gill who, playing at the back, bowled some amazing end-winning bowls. At the 25th end it was 20 across; with Philippa and Joyce lying game, Gill played a great pressure wood to win the end and game 21-20.
In the final Gill and Elaine started off strongest and on the 10th end led 15-8. Paula and Kay picked up their pace, dug deep and with good bowls started to crawl back some of the points; unfortunately for them it was too little too late with Gill and Elaine scoring a four on the 17th end to win 21-14.
President of the Ladies Association, Sue Gawne, presented Gill and Elaine with the Pairs trophy saying it had been a good afternoon of bowling, thanking those who had stayed to watch the final. Elaine thanked Douglas Bowling Club for hosting the event, the Ladies Association competition committee on a very well run competition, all their opponents, but most of all thanked Gill for playing and pulling her out of some ‘tight spots’.
The Ladies Association Top Lady competition is being held at Marown Bowling Club this Sunday starting at 12 noon. This is an invitational competition only and for all lady bowlers taking part please note it is strict dress code. It would be greatly appreciated if as many spectators as possible could attend to support those playing.
Castletown A Open With Highest Score
The first set of fixtures in the Over 60s Ladies League was played on Tuesday morning. Although the Over 60s league has lost two teams this season (Douglas and Port Erin B), the league has gained a new team (Onchan B). The closest match on points was between Finch Hill and Onchan A. Jan Osborne for Finch Hill won to single figures, as did Paula Firth and Dee Lewis for Onchan A.
| Results : | Ballaugh | 92 | – | 114 | Port St Mary A | (1-5) |
| Onchan B | 80 | – | 117 | Peel Sunset | (2-4) | |
| Port St Mary B | 83 | – | 123 | Castletown A | (2-4) | |
| Mooragh Park B | 61 | – | 121 | Marown | (1-5) | |
| Castletown B | 70 | – | 107 | South Ramsey | (2-4) | |
| Finch Hill | 77 | – | 98 | Onchan A | (2-4) | |
| Port Erin | 87 | – | 110 | Mooragh Park A | (2-4) |
On looking at individual results from the above, it is encouraging for the game of crown green bowls to see quite a few junior lady bowlers playing in the Open Age league and new adult bowlers playing in the Open Age league and Over 60s ladies league. I sincerely hope they enjoy the experience and camaraderie of a great sport.
Dunn Is ‘Magic Carpets’ Man!
Marown Magic Carpets Winner 2021 - Paul Dunn
Photo: Arnie WithersLosing quarter finalists were Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) who lost 10-14 to last years Rayner Shield hero Peter Greenlees (Peel) who continues to impress, home greener Jamie Joughin who was defeated 7-15 by Bob Clark (Castletown) after a good run, Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) had his challenge ended by Andy Kennish (Peel) 11-15 along with another home greener Walter McCarthy who lost 10-15 to fellow club mate and the current Manx Champion Paul Dunn.
In the semi-finals Greenlees got off to a flying start to gain what looked like an unassailable 12-2 lead after nine ends. Clark fought back to win the next six ends to tie 12-12 after 15 ends played, which resulted in a one bowl shootout, with Greenlees winning the toss and sending the jack. Unfortunately his lead was just over a yard through, which allowed Clark to bowl in to claim the victory 13-12 and progress to the final. In the other semi-final Dunn had it all his own way to win 18-5 with 11 ends played there weren’t enough ends left for Kennish to come back the game ended there.
The final started with Dunn who was having his first competitive run out this season having ‘enjoyed’ 84 days in isolation since December due to family commitments and 40 days in lockdown claiming the first two ends, with Clark responding by taking the next three ends including the all important power end to lead 7-2. From there Dunn turned on the style to win the next eight ends to lead 14-7 which was impossible for Clark to recover from to with only two ends and a maximum six chalks available. Dunn became the first winner of this competition and also claimed the winners prize of £200 for his efforts. Clark could console himself with £100 for a good days work .
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked Kevin & Sarah Bettridge from Magic Carpets for their support with the clubhouse and for sponsoring the competition, the Ladies for the refreshments with free tea & coffee being provided all day, the players for entering, and all who came to support. £500 in prize money was paid out and the format proved popular amongst bowlers.