There were a number of close fixtures in division one this week with league leaders South Ramsey A visiting Onchan A in a high quality match with close scores in all but one game. For Onchan Kevin Quirk seen off Chas Grills 21-16, Peter Slinger managed to get over the line 21-19, whilst Matthew Quirk played well to beat Stefan Kelly 21-8. For the visitors Alan Moore beat Frank Watson 21-15, Glynn Hargraves recovered from a 14-18 deficit to run out with a 21-18 win after a tough battle. Second half winners for South Ramsey were David Bradford who beat Phil Kerruish 21-15, Dido Kelly won 21-17 against Jordan Cain in a great game to watch, whilst James Teare beat Mark Kelly 21-15 to seal a 3-7 win with the northern team taking the aggregate by just five chalks (143-148).

The closest match of the night was between Castletown A & Peel A at the Crofts, with Peel taking the win 6-4, winning 5-3 on games, but tying on chalks (133-133) after suffering two heavy defeats. For the home team Nathan Hamilton continued his solid start to the season and in doing so inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Tommy McMeiken 21-6, Jordan Drewett beat George Gadsby 21-9, whilst Aaron Richardson did well to beat Ste Kelly 21-13. For the visitors Peter Greenlees beat Ian Watson 21-18, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly got back to winning ways defeating Bob Clark 21-19, with wins from Tom Kelly & Gary Smith being comfortable, whilst Darren Young recorded the biggest win of the night with a 21-4 victory over Nathan Cooil.

North Ramsey A hosted Port St Mary A at Mooragh Park with the home team taking a 7-3 win in another close encounter on chalks (133-132), with Rob Monk somewhat surprisingly turning out for his former club having plied his trade at Onchan for three seasons. Monk made his return after nearly two years out of the game and recorded a fine 21-13 win over Trevor Quayle.

Marown A hosted Ballaugh A at Crosby with the home team recording an 8-2 victory, will have been disappointed to lose two close games with John Gelling losing 18-21 to Richard Hainge, whilst Phil Kelly lost 19-21 to John Keenan. All of Marown’s wins were never in doubt with six single figure victories. Marown remain in third place, closing the gap to the top to just three points.

Noble’s A were well beaten 1-9 at home with Mark Kneen preventing the whitewash with his 21-11 win over John Kelly. For the visitors James Kelly just edged out Steve Cook 21-20. Douglas A got their first win of the season with a 2-8 away win over Peel B. Ian Moore just missed out on an extra point for his team losing 20-21 against Dave Smith, whilst Keith Rise and Shaun Seal both won 21-19 against Dougie Allan and Michael Kavanagh respectively.

In division two Finch Hill A used home advantage to beat Castletown B 6-4, taking the aggregate by nine chalks (139-130). South Ramsey C pulled off a surprise 3-7 away win over Port Erin A, which could have ended up 9-1 to the visitors who lost two games 19-21 with Seamus Whelan and Bernie Durcan both getting over the line against David Corkill and James Evans. Port St Mary B won 7-3 at home to Peel C with Derek Cain winning 21-10 against Paul Baker, whilst Derek’s son Will held his nerve to win 21-20 against Kevin Mort. For the visitors Mike Ashmole beat Rod Swift 21-9.

South Ramsey B hosted Onchan B on a tricky green with the home team maintaining their recent good form with an 8-2 home win. Tony Dugdale was ruthless with his 21-3 win over Paul Clinton, whilst Ben Dugdale went right to the wire with his 21-20 win over Bernie McPhee. For the visitors Mike Kelly continues to perform well in division two with a 21-7 win over Austin Hart, whilst Mike Thomas beat Ian Moore 21-8.

On Tuesday evening Marown C hosted Finch Hill B with the home team winning 7-3 thanks to good single figure wins from Walter McCarthy, Stewart Clague and Kevin Kelly for the Crosby team.

In division three Ballaugh B played their lower ranked C Team with the B taking a solid 7-3 win to ensure they stayed top. South Ramsey D had a tough home fixture against Marown D with the match finishing 5-5 with the visitors winning five games, however the home team won two games to single figures to ensure they took the aggregate on chalks. Steve Cain won his first game with a good 21-16 win over Ryan Hargraves.

Port Erin B hosted Douglas C at Breagle Glen with the home team crushing the visitors 10-0. Castletown C recorded a solid 8-2 home win over Onchan C, however only six chalks separated the teams (133-127) to show it was a closely contested match. 

Peel D slipped to a 2-8 home defeat against Noble’s B. For Peel Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton was ruthless with a 21-0 win over Stan Cooper, whilst team mate Andrew Cover beat Terry Bates 21-16 with both players showing they are ones to watch out for. For the visitors’ Junior player Alex Hampson picked up another win getting over the line 21-20 against Richard Callister.

On a beautiful summer afternoon at Finch Hill Bowling Green, 32 entries took part in the Newsbeat sponsored Men’s Pairs Competition on Sunday.

Andy Kennish (Peel) and Reg Temporaza (Onchan) got through their quarter final with a comfortable win over Tom Kelly (Peel) and Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) 21-11. Likewise, Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (Marown) took care of Kevin Firth(Douglas) and Frank Watson (Onchan) in similar fashion 21-13. Onchan pair, Mike Thomas and Neil Dunwell battled back from 6-13 down to overcome James Kelly and Bobby Thorne (Marown) 21-17. The final quarter final match saw Dean Kinley and Sam Clague (Castletown) defeat Phil Kerruish (Onchan) and Andy Foster (Douglas) 21-15.

In the semi-final Kennish and Temporaza were nip and tuck with Thomas and Dunwell until a decisive15th end when Kennish and Temporaza picked up four to go 19-14 ahead and closed the match out in the next end to win 21-14. In the other semi-final Dunn and Withers were always in control and ran out comfortable winners 21-11 against Kinley and Clague.

Kennish and Temporaza made a fine start in the final and went 13-6 ahead before being pegged back by the Marown pair to 13 across. Again, Kennish and Temporaza forged ahead leading 19-14 before a determined fightback saw the match tied at 20 across, before Dunn and Withers pounced to snatch a thrilling 21-20 victory.

Brian Murphy, Finch Hill Competition Secretary presented the prizes on behalf of Newsbeat and thanked the sponsors for their continued support. He thanked the club members for all their hard work in support of the event which was a great success. Neil Withers thanked the club for the well organised event and praised their opponents for an extremely hard fought contest.

In the first division the match of the week was between Onchan A and Peel A at the Park, with the visitors taking a 4-6 victory courtesy of winning by a solitary chalk (136-137). For the home team Matthew Quirk made his first outing of the season with a 21-7 win over Gary Smith, Phil Kerruish beat George Gadsby 21-17, Reginald Temporaza defeated Tom Kelly 21-16, whilst Jordan Cain pulled off a great 21-7 win over Dave ’Barney’ Kelly. For the visitors Tommy McMeiken beat former Peel man Frank Watson 21-5, Darren Young beat Mark Kelly 21-12, Andy Kennish won 21-16 against Peter Slinger, whilst Ste Kelly beat Kevin Quirk 21-19. The result leaves Peel joint top with South Ramsey A on 33 points.

South Ramsey A recorded another 2-8 away win against local rivals Mooragh Park, a result on another night which could have been 10-0 with Chas Grills losing out 17-21 to Gary Merrill, whilst Alan Moore lost 19-21 to Allan Callow.

Marown A sit in third place four points behind the leaders after a hard fought 6-4 home win over Castletown A, with Sam Clague inflicting a first league defeat of the season over Manx Champion Paul Dunn 21-18. Jordan Drewett won 21-10 against Phil Kelly, Nathan Hamilton beat Juan Killip 21-11, whilst Bob Clark continued his fine form with a 21-9 win over Paul Kelly. Three of the home wins were to low single figures from Colin Kelly, Neil Withers and Matthew Keggen over Aaron Richardson, Ian Watson and Dean Kinley respectively.

Port St Mary A are going along nicely after their 8-2 home win over Douglas A, whose search for a first league win of the season goes on, whilst Noble’s A picked up their first league victory of the current campaign with a 7-3 home win over Ballaugh A. Peel B hosted Marown B in the Sunset city with the home team edging the match 6-4 taking the aggregate by 12 chalks (145-133).

In division two the league is starting to take shape with South Ramsey B starting to get their act together, they sit in second place following their 8-2 win at home to Peel C in a well contested match, winning three close games with Austin Hart winning 21-17 against Kevin Mort, Edward Carlyle seeing off Jimmy Corlett 21-19, whilst George Brew edged it 21-20 against Mike Ashmole.

Finch Hill A held onto first place despite crashing to a 4-6 home defeat against Onchan B, losing out by just two chalks (136-138). Marown C are in fine form following their 7-3 win at home against Port St Mary B, whilst Douglas B are also in the mix after their 9-1 home win at the Villa over Finch Hill B.

Castletown B won 8-2 at home against South Ramsey C, with the home team having played a game less they are currently in mid-table as are Port Erin A who sat out this round of fixtures.

In division three Onchan C went joint top on 31 points following their 2-8 away win over South Ramsey D, with home captain James Moore winning 21-9 against Roger Payne, whilst 13-year-old Ryan Hargraves battled back from a 12-18 deficit against Sid McKnight to win 21-19.

Ballaugh C are level at the top with Onchan C, they came away from Breagle Glen with a 3-7 win over Port Erin B. Noble’s B claimed a 2-8 away win with Alex Hampson taking the bragging rights over fellow junior player Clark Kelly 21-17, whilst Castletown C won 7-3 at home to Douglas D with the new bowlers continuing to impress with David Beynon and Nick Firth (another returning bowler) both winning after starting in the league this season, whilst Juan Readshaw who has returned after a few years out of the game also won.

Marown D continue to impress with a 3-7 away win over Peel D, who had a familiar surname on their team sheet with Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton, who is the son of Jimmy, having returned to bowls after playing as a teenager he won 21-9 against Rob Bell, whilst another new bowler Andrew Cover is another who has family links to bowls through his grandfather and is highly rated by club members lost 12-21 to Alan Gault.