Monthly Archives: May 2022
South Ramsey A Hit Top Spot
South Ramsey A - Sporting their new club shirts sponsored by T.C.Q. Ltd
Photo: Phil CainIt was another busy week of bowls in the Canada Life International bowling leagues, with a double week which proved pivotal in division one. Monday evening had the wind play a factor around the island, with most of the greens affected by the conditions.
In Division One League leaders Marown A hosted Douglas A at Crosby, with Marown captain Paul Dunn leading the way with a 21-5 win over Gordon Wynne-Smythe, while their newest signing Sam Clague battled through to claim a 21-20 win over Merv Sayle. The only winners for the visitors was Keith Rise who performed brilliantly to beat Paul Kelly 21-11.
Second placed South Ramsey A stayed in touch as they matched the Marown result with their own 9-1 home win over near neighbours North Ramsey A. The lone winner for North was Paul Allison who impressed with a 21-17 win over Chas Grills, while Rob Monk just missed out 20-21 to former teammate Jordan Cain.
Elsewhere Onchan A recorded a solid 8-2 win over Marown B. Port Erin A lost 3-7 at home to Port St Mary A. Castletown A won 9-1 at the Crofts against Peel B, while Peel A dropped three games in their home 7-3 victory over Onchan.
On Friday evening in near perfect conditions the top two clashed with South Ramsey A hosting league leaders Marown A. The green was tricky for both teams to master, with the home team fully aware that Marown had won on their two previous league visits to South Ramsey. There was no mistake made on this occasion with the league champions using home advantage to take an 8-2 win on the night, with no games particularly close the result could not be argued. South Ramsey A hit top spot for the first time this season with 57 points, five points ahead of Marown A.
Marown B responded to Monday’s poor result with a 10-0 home win over Castletown A, while Onchan A had an excellent week with another good win as they beat Port St Mary A 1-9 at Breagle Glen, with the visitors having a ‘new’ name on their team sheet with Andy Kennish turning out for Onchan and winning on his second debut for the club. Those who have been around long enough will recall that Andy had a stint at Onchan in the mid-1980’s.
Onchan B did their cause no harm with an 8-2 home win over Port Erin A, Peel A battled to a 4-6 away win over North Ramsey A at Mooragh Park, while Douglas A battled back from Monday’s heavy defeat to beat Peel B 2-8 in the Sunset City.
In Division Two South Ramsey B started the week in top spot with a hard fought 4-6 away win over Ballaugh B in tough conditions, while on Thursday a solid 1-9 away win over Onchan C ensured they ended the week top of the pile.
Marown C jumped up into second spot thanks to a 7-3 home win over South Ramsey C on Tuesday, then battled to a 4-6 away win over Castletown B to ensure they stayed ahead of the Castletown men. Castletown stay in touch in third place, three points behind Marown C as they also lost 8-2 away to Douglas B.
In Division Three North Ramsey B are currently top on 46 points following two good wins starting the week with a 10-0 home win over Peel D, ending the week with a 3-7 away win over Noble’s B.
Sitting seven points behind in second place – with a game in hand are Marown D who continue to fly high as they took two 7-3 wins last week as they beat Castletown C away from home and Finch Hill B at Crosby.
South Ramsey D who finished third from bottom last year are currently in third place on 37 points as they beat Douglas C 8-2 at home, then lost 6-4 away to Peel D losing out on the aggregate by just four chalks (140-136).
Douglas C ended the week in fourth place on 35 points as they bounced back from their defeat on Tuesday as they won 7-3 at home to Castletown C. Noble’s B had a good win 3-7 away to Ballaugh C to finish the week in fifth spot with 34 points.
Junior Lady Bowlers shine
In the ladies crown green open age league last Friday night, junior lady bowlers proved they are a force to be reckoned with. Four of Mooragh Park’s junior lady bowlers won their games helping their team to a 7-2 win at home against Onchan with two of the juniors winning to single figures. Closest games of the match saw Janet Monk and Caroline Parker for Mooragh both winning to 16. Marown B played host to Onchan with two of their junior ladies, Emily Cooper and Rebekah Kelly, winning to 17 and 13 against Chris Holland and Kellie Maddrell. Ballaugh had a good home win dropping only six points against Castletown B with Sonja Mercer stopping Ballaugh getting a full house when she won to 15 against Lola Tebay. Peel ladies travelled to Port Erin coming away with a five games to four win, but just losing out on points. Best game of the match was between Caroline Whitehead (Port) and Mary Moffatt with the former winning to 19. Unfortunately at time of report no result received for the match between Castletown A and Marown A, with the match between South Ramsey and Douglas being postponed to a later date.
In the Over 60’s league, South Ramsey scored a maximum at home against Mooragh Park B with Castletown A dropping just one point away to Onchan B. Onchan A had a good away win at Mooragh Park A with Paula Firth (Onchan) winning her game to single figures. Port St Mary B won 4-2 away to Castletown B with Lesley Coker (PSM B) just crossing the line 21-20 against Susan Kerruish. Peel hosted Port Erin B winning four of the six games with the closest game being Kay Primrose-Smith winning to 20 against Joyce Kelly. Finch Hill also had a good five games to one win at home to Ballaugh with Wendy Cowin and Brenda Williams (Finch) both winning to single figures. On Wednesday morning, Port St Mary A played Marown A at home. Marown won by five points in a three all match, with three of the games being won to single figures. Last Thursday morning, Onchan A recorded their fifth maximum of the season at home against Port Erin A with Sylvia Kennaugh and Caroline Corlett winning to single figures. Castletown A and Ballaugh both won 5-1 at home to Finch Hill and Castletown B respectively with all games, bar one, in both matches going into double figures. Peel hosted Port St Mary A in a closely fought three all match. Game of the match saw Shirley Corrin (Peel) just edging it 21-20 against Mavis Franks. Onchan B travelled to Mooragh Park B coming away winning four games to win and by seven points with Jane Robinson (Onchan) winning to 19 against Irene Goodall. Port Erin B were at home to South Ramsey and although being two players short, Rita Calllister and Wyn Collister (PE B) won two of the remaining four games to 17 and 12 respectively. The following morning Port St Mary B hosted Mooragh Park A. Mooragh won five games to one with Edwina Reid being the lone winner for PSM B.
Last Saturday, Elaine Moore from South Ramsey, represented the Isle of Man in the British Crown Green Ladies 2022 County Average Winners Classic held at Poynton Sports Club, Stockport. Elaine won her first game against Sylvia Bradbury from Cheshire 21-8, but unfortunately lost her second to Sharon Masters from North Midlands 21-17. Overall winner, who shone throughout the day playing exceptionally well, was Louise Ollerton from Greater Manchester.
Manx Juniors Proudly Fly The Flag
The IOM Junior Team who competed in the BCGBA Six-a-Side Junior County Championship on Sunday
Photo: Sue GawneAn Isle of Man Junior Team took part in the British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at Windle Bowling Club in St Helens on Sunday, on what turned out to be a fantastic day.
Every single one of them did themselves and the Island proud in the way that they performed and more importantly the way they behaved on and off the green, not to mention how well turned out they all were.
They won the first game 5-1 on games against North Lancs & Fylde by a landslide 51 chalks 88-37, the second game was also won 5-1 against Cheshire by 12 chalks (77-65), and the third game won 4-2 against Greater Manchester B to win by 40 chalks (77-37).
In the final round Cumbria won on games 4-2, cruelly edged the game by a single chalk (73-72) as they topped the group with 8 points.
With 2 points for each win the team finished on 6 points to finish in second place overall in the group and now qualify to play at Heaton Park in Manchester on Sunday 10th July.
Thank you to everyone who came to support, it was great to have more supporters than players there to help cheer the Juniors on.
Leagues Take Shape – Mixed Underway
North Ramsey A who hosted Marown A at Mooragh Park for the second time in a week following their Rayner Shield Fixture last week
Photo: Arnie WithersLeague action returned this week in Canada Life International Division One with game five of the season with the league table starting to take shape.
Marown A retained top spot thanks to a solid 2-8 away win at Mooragh Park following their second visit in the space of a week with Dean Kipling recording the best win on the night with a 21-9 win over Gary Merrill. For the home team Allan Callow continued his fine start to the season with a 21-12 win over Neil Withers, who suffered a rare defeat, while Paul Allison beat Harry Barton 21-13. The next closest to picking up another point for the home team was Adrian Skinner who lost out 18-21 to Marown captain Paul Dunn.
Marown B defeated Port Erin A 9-1 at Crosby, with Bernie Durcan the lone winner for the visitors with a 21-20 win over John Gelling, with son Steve Durcan next highest as he lost out 18-21 to Jerome Surridge. For the home team Glenn Boland beat Derek Cadamy 21-5, with Karl Parker their second single figure winner as he beat Alan Crebbin 21-9.
Peel A came away from Breagle Glen with a 2-8 win over Port St Mary A. Winners for the home team were Trevor Quayle who had a comfortable 21-13 victory over Robert Middleton, while Robbie Cooil seen off Peter Greenlees with a 21-17 win. For the Peel men Tom Kelly performed well to beat Wayne Roberts 21-16, a result matched by Stevie Kelly who beat Paul Skelly. Dean Kinley beat Nathan Hamilton 21-17, while the best winner on the night was Tommy McMeiken who trounced Jordan Drewett 21-3.
South Ramsey A managed to stay in touch with the league leaders Marown A, coming away from the Park with a 1-9 win over Onchan B to sit just a point behind the league leaders. Chas Grills returned to the A Team, recovering from a slow start to win 21-16 against Colin Brown, was backed up by four single figures winners from David Bradford, Dido Kelly, Jordan Cain and Glynn Hargraves. Mike Alexander prevented the whitewash with his 21-17 win over James Teare.
Douglas A continued their rise up the table after a difficult start to the season with a 9-1 home win over Castletown A with some hard fought wins from Andy Cannell 21-18 over George Foy, Willie Cowley and Merv Sayle won 21-19 against Juan Kermode and Mark Moorley respectively, while Ian Moore won 21-17 against Town captain Ian Watson. Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal had more straightforward victories over Derek Lewney and Peter Oates as they won to single figures. For the visitors Nathan Cooil had a fairly comfortable 21-14 win over Keith Rise.
The closest match of the night was out West as Peel B hosted Onchan A with the visitors snatching a 4-6 win as they won the aggregate two points by 14 chalks (135-149) with the wins fairly comfortable with Phil Kerruish the best winner as he beat Andy Mackie 21-8. Two of the home team wins were close with Paul ‘Pooky’ Quirk beating Neil Dunwell 21-18, Brian Lindsay won 21-19 against Will Penhallurick, while the most notable win was from Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton who beat Reg Temporaza 21-16.
In Division Two league leaders South Ramsey B dropped three points at home to Port St Mary B, with Tony Dugdale and Bryan Corner leading the race for the individual merit as they maintained their unbeaten start to the season, while Christian Caley was the best winner on the night with his 21-6 win over Bernard Thackrah. The three winners for the visitors were Steve Franks with a 21-10 win over Austin Hart, Derek Cain beat Ben Dugdale 21-16, while Ray Maddrell won 21-18 against Sid Bolton.
Castletown B remain in second place and closed the gap on the leaders to four points as they beat Ballaugh B 9-1 at the Crofts, with four single figure wins from George Peach, Willie Corkill, Alan Phair and Collin Holland. For Ballaugh Dicky Watson was the only winner with a 21-17 win over John Matheson, while John Looney battled hard before losing out 18-21 to Billy Jones.
Peel C made the short trip along the coast as they took on Ballaugh A. The home team recorded a 7-3 win, Steve Grant just edging home against Philip Clarke, while John ‘Shirt’ Keenan won 21-8 against Eddie Convery. For the visitors Tony Carroon was in good form as he beat Peter Graham 21-3, while Harry Kelly and Alan Cromwell both won 21-17 in their wins against Richard Hainge and Nigel Tebay respectively. Just 11 chalks separated teams as the Ballaugh men took the aggregate (142-131).
Finch Hill A lost out 4-6 at home to Marown C with the visitors taking a deserved win, helped by Kevin Kelly won beat Mark Taylor 21-5. The visitors closest win was from Peter Kelly, who beat Paddy Murphy 21-19, while three of their defeats could have gone the other way as John Kelly lost 19-21 to Paul Dougherty who remains unbeaten, Conor Keenan missed out 18-21 to Les Brookes, while Stewart Clague fell short 17-21. Captain Stephen Rundle returned to the fold following his recent holiday as he helped his team with a 21-14 win over Dave Jones.
South Ramsey C managed to snatch a 6-4 home victory over Douglas B by just three chalks (142-139) with Lee Dawson their best winner as he beat Keith Fearnley 21-10. For the visitors Andy Foster won to single figures as he beat Andy Morgan 21-8, Steve Cook seen off Toby Hart 21-19, while Dave Pease just got over the line 21-20 against Tony Hart.
Onchan B made home advantage count as they beat Nobles A 6-4 with two single figures wins from Ken Clarke and Kelvin McNicholl making the difference on the aggregate as the home team won by 19 chalks (144-125). For the visitors Martyn Hobson beat Denis Maxwell 21-10, Jim Collister beat Paul Callister 21-14, Jay Elliott won 21-16 against Sid McKnight, while Alex Yates dug deep to win 21-20 against Roger Payne.
In Division Three North Ramsey B went top as they took advantage of Noble’s B taking their turn to sit out with the second true draw of the season following their 5-5 draw away to Douglas C, who themselves sit in second place, with the Villa men able to call on Tommy Collister and Kevin Firth, who both won their games, while Nick Firth picked up a fine 21-15 over Brian Colquitt while Ashley Halsall picked up their fourth win of the night. Winning for the visitors were Ray Skelly, Tony Smart, Lee Christian and Mike Skelly.
Marown D recorded a 7-3 win over South Ramsey D on Tuesday, helped by two big wins from Steve Rough, who beat Chris Brown 21-3, while Alan Gault won 21-9 against Steve Kelly. Best winner for the visitors was Matthew Corkill as he beat Keith Watterson 21-4.
Finch Hill B kept the visitors Castletown C to under 100 chalks with their 7-3 win. Five single figure victories helped their cause with Frank Christian, Stephen Oates, Kevin Stannard, John Smith and Sam Stannard-Duke all winning comfortably.
Elsewhere Peel D lost out 4-6 at home to Ballaugh C as they lost the aggregate by a solitary chalk (134-135), while Port Erin B took a comfortable 8-2 win at home to Douglas D.
The Mixed League group stages got underway on Thursday evening with the match of the night in the Championship Group A going right to the wire with North Ramsey A winning 5-4 on games, however the visitors got the two points available on the night as they edged the chalks (151-152). The other match in the group was also close with Onchan A beating Castletown A by 13 chalks (160-153).
In Group B Marown A came away from Breagle Glen with a 1-8 win over Port Erin as they dropped just 10 chalks winning by a 50-point margin (129-179). Douglas A Hosted Port St Mary A with the visitors winning by 28 chalks (130-158)
In the Plate Competition in Group A Peel seen off visitors North Ramsey B by 22 chalks (180-158), while it was great to see Nobles field a mixed team as they won comfortably by 59 chalks (108-167) against a Castletown B side fielded to give Juniors an opportunity to gain experience.
In Group B Marown B also fielded a team packed with Juniors and new Bowlers as they performed admirably winning four games on the night only to lose out by 24 chalks (132-156) to Douglas B at Crosby, while Ballaugh top the group thanks to a 32 chalk away win (133-165) over South Ramsey B.
Photo: Phil Cain
Castletown ‘A’ Ladies Lead The Way
Castletown A were in good form away to Peel in the Ladies Open Age league last Friday night winning seven of the nine games and by 41 points. All games went into double figures with Kim Foy for Castletown and Louise Horsfall for Peel both winning to 17. South Ramsey also had a good away win at Port St Mary with Trish Bull for PSM just pipping Lauren Groen 21-20. Onchan played host to Douglas winning seven games and by 64 points. Again all games bar one went into double figures with Graiagh Smith for Douglas crossing the line 21-17 against Grace Gawne. Mooragh Park were home to Port Erin winning the match by 74 points with four home-greeners winning to single figures. Marown A took on Ballaugh at home. Closest games of the match saw Shirley Whelan and Lil Smith (Marown) both winning 21-20 against Elaine Fenton and Cath Harvey. Marown B travelled to Castletown B with Marown’s junior lady bowler, Grace Cooper, just losing to 20 against Pat Rigby.
In the Over 60’s league last Tuesday morning there was a real tussle between Onchan B and Port St Mary B. The match finished three all on games with Onchan winning by four points. Onchan A and Castletown A both won away to Finch Hill and Peel respectively with Lynda Clarke (Onchan) and Joy Stephens (Castletown) winning their games to single figures. Marown ladies travelled to Mooragh Park A coming away with a three all match, but losing by seven points. South Ramsey were at home to Ballaugh. South lost four games to two but won the match by 14 points. Mooragh Park B travelled to Port Erin B, the match finished five games to one for PE with Ann Kean being the lone winner for the northerners. The following morning Port St Mary A played host to Port Erin A. This was a tough battle with PSM A winning the match by one point. Game of the match was between Wendy Kennaugh (PSM) and Voirrey Curphey with Voirrey getting the point needed to win 21-20.
Last Thursday morning’s matches saw Peel and Onchan A getting full houses at home against Mooragh Park B and Castletown B with four of the six games in both matches being won to single figures. Ballaugh had a good home win against Onchan B winning five games to one with Libbi Andrade being the lone winner for Onchan. Port Erin B played host to Port St Mary A. Unfortunately PE could only field three players which resulted in a five games to one win for PSM. South Ramsey travelled to Castletown for their match against the ‘A’ team. This was a close match with Castletown winning four games to two and by five points. On Friday morning, Port St Mary B played host to Finch Hill. Despite Finch only having four players, match finished three all on games with PSM B winning by 16 points.
Quarter finals of the Jean Kelly knockout competition was played last Thursday. Results: Castletown A (+24) 207, Onchan (+43) 164; Marown B (+62) 160, South Ramsey (+39) 207; Mooragh Park (+46) 220, Castletown B (+55) 203; Port St Mary (+30) 150, Marown A (+42) 202. Draw for semi-final on Thursday 30th June: South Ramsey versus Mooragh Park; Castletown A versus Marown A.
Ladies Association Doubles competition was held at Mooragh Park on Sunday attracting an entry of 14 pairs. Getting through to the final were Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish against Helen Withers and Lyn Bolton. Jenny and Fiona had the stronger start leading 16-8 on 8th end which proved too much of a lead for Helen and Lyn to come back from with Jenny and Fiona running out 21-10. All four ladies played exceptionally well throughout the competition with the final result not reflecting the quality of play. Presentation was made by Gill Morgan, Competition Secretary, who thanked Mooragh Park for the use of their green, their ladies for providing the refreshments and to all who had entered.
Boland Wins First Mens Title
Association Non Cup Winner 2022 - Glenn Boland With Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen and Beaten Finalist Willie Cowley
Photo: Arnie WithersNobles Bowling Club was the venue chosen to host the inaugural 3R’s Limited sponsored Association Non Winners Cup on Sunday afternoon with the competition open to those who had never won a Men’s singles open previously, with 29 players entering to take their chance to win their first open.
Losing quarter finalists were 17 year old Toby Hart (South Ramsey) who lost 17-21 to Marown’s Walter McCarthy, Tim Williams (Port St Mary) was well beaten 11-21 by Willie Cowley (Douglas), while home greener Jay Elliott battled hard before losing out 17-21 to Glenn Boland (Marown), with Ballaugh man Peter Corlett having his run ended by former home greener Les Brookes (Finch Hill) with a 11-21 defeat.
Both semi-finals were well contested with Cowley just edging it 21-20 against McCarthy, while Boland booked his place in the final with a 21-19 victory over Brookes.
The final got underway with Boland starting as favourite having played for longer than his opponent, also with a number of Junior titles to his name having won the Junior Manx Championship and Junior Manx Masters on more than one occasion. His opponent Cowley will not have been phased by the occasion, himself being a well known referee in local football over the years. It was Boland who took control of the final as he played corner to crown and back against his fellow left hander to keep Cowley down to scoring just four chalks throughout the game to take a well deserved 21-9 win and his first Men’s open title.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Association Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen who thanked 3R’s Limited for the sponsorship, Noble’s for hosting the competition, the players for entering, and all who came to support.
Top Teams Safely Through in Rayner Shield
Photo: Phil Cain
The early rounds of the Canada Life International Rayner Shield took place this week with teams from the lower divisions getting the opportunity to play first division teams, depending on how kind the draw was to them, as all the top teams safely went into the draw for the next round.
On Monday night third division Onchan C (pictured) travelled north to take on the current holders of the Rayner Shield South Ramsey A on a fine evening. Despite not winning a game the visitors enjoyed their evening and now go into the Rayner Plate having lost in the first round. The home team did not take their opponents lightly as they conceded just 48 chalks on the night.
Tie of the round was without doubt the game between second division Ballaugh A and Peel A, with the former having home advantage they managed to secure a 4-4 draw on the night resulting in the visitors progressing to the next round thanks to scoring 14 chalks more than the home team (134-148). For Peel David Smith stepped up to the A Team and did his credentials no harm with a superb 21-9 win over Patrick Grant, while captain Gary Smith beat Barry McDonald 21-12, George Gadsby won 21-13 against Gordie Moore, with Peter Greenlees being the fourth winner with his 21-16 win over Nigel Tebay. For the home team Richard Hainge beat Rob Middleton 21-15, John Maddrell won 21-16 against Tommy McMeiken, Edgar Cowin was the home team’s best winner as he won 21-13 against Dean Kinley, while Phil Quayle edged it 21-20 against Tom Kelly.
North Ramsey A go into the Rayner Plate after putting up a good fight at home to Marown A as they took three wins in their 3-5 defeat. Gary Merrill won 21-17 against Neil Withers, Brian Colquitt just got home with a 21-20 victory over Phil Kelly, while Paul Allison romped home with a stunning 21-3 win over Harry Barton. Three of the wins for the visitors were to single figures from Paul Dunn, Colin Kelly and Sam Clague, while Paul Kelly beat Tony Smart 21-10 and Dean Kipling had a tough battle with Steve Walmsley before winning 21-17.
Douglas A progressed to the next round with a 7-1 home win over South Ramsey D with Richie Davies preventing the whitewash as he beat Jimmy Sansom 21-18.
Marown C faced off against their D Team with the higher ranked side taking a 7-1 victory, while Peel B took on their C Team with the higher ranked side progressing to the next round with a hard fought 5-3 win. Port Erin B who were due to play their A Team pulled out of the Rayner Shield due to being unable to field a team.
South Ramsey B won 8-0 at home to Castletown C with the visitors’ junior players performing well with Sam Quayle losing out 10-21 to Bryan Corner, Dylan Marsh lost 21-9 against George Brew, while the youngest player in the league Freddie Palmer performed brilliantly as he scored 15 against Austin Hart.
Douglas B went into the next round following a convincing 6-2 victory over Castletown B with Mark Kneen turning out for the first time this season at the Villa.
Peel D also go into the Rayner Plate following their first round defeat 1-7 at home to Marown B, with the only winner for the home team Andrew Cover performing well to win 21-16 against Karl Parker.
Port St Mary safely navigated their away fixture with Noble’s B, coming away with a 1-7 win with Stephen Corkill the lone winner for the home team with a 21-4 win over Nicholas Peterson.
Finch Hill B went into the hat for the second round of the Rayner Plate after they seen off Noble’s A with a 5-3 home win.
Port St Mary A won 6-2 at home to Finch Hill A, with three of the home team wins to single figures from Nathan Hamilton, Trevor Quayle and Wayne Roberts, while Tony Epifani beat Glenn Hargraves 21-8. Dave McCabe upon his return to his old stomping ground at Breagle Glen won 21-11 against Steve Franks.
Castletown A kept visitors Ballaugh C down to just 66 chalks with their 8-0 home win as three of the visitors reached double figures.
South Ramsey C beat Ballaugh B 7-1 with the score not reflecting the performance of the visitors with all Ballaugh players reaching double figures.
Rounding of the fixtures for the week were Douglas C who hosted Onchan B at the Villa with the visitors taking a 1-7 win.
This week sees a return to league action and the group stages of the Mixed League which has been split into two separate competitions with the higher ranked teams in the Mixed Team Championship. South Ramsey A are the current holders.
The Mixed Team Plate for the lower ranked teams is being played for the first time in the same format as the Championship.
For both competitions the teams are split into two groups of four playing six games each, with the winners from each group playing off in their respective finals on Saturday 27th August. Matches are played for on chalks with two points being awarded for a win, one point being shared in the unlikely event of a draw.