The Rayner Shield has a new sponsor onboard this year with Plumbmaster taking over sponsorship of the Rayner Shield and Rayner Plate competitions. The Rayner Shield gives teams from the lower divisions the opportunity to test themselves against stronger teams, depending on how kind the draw was to them, however all the top teams went into the draw for the next round.

Early Division One league leaders and current Rayner Shield holders South Ramsey A won 8-0 at home to Finch Hill A. Just one of the visiting players got into double figures with Brian Murphy just losing 20-21 to Alan Moore.

The following evening Marown A had their second game of the season away to South Ramsey B, this time they went one better with an 0-8 away win. For the home team Austin Hart was the only man who failed to get into double figures as he had tough opposition in the form of Colin Kelly, whilst Bryan Corner was the highest scoring loser as he got to 17 against Glenn Boland.

Peel A made light work of second division team North Ramsey B in the Sunset City as they won 7-1 with the visitors scoring just 76 chalks. Ray Skelly caused an upset with his 21-16 win over George Gadsby to prevent the whitewash.

There were three close ties with the first being a 4-4 at Breagle Glen as Port Erin B lost by just three chalks (135-138) at home to Douglas B. The home teams cause was not helped by once again being a man short.

The second was between Marown B and Onchan A at Crosby with another 4-4 being settled on chalks (145-148) as Onchan edged it on the night. Home captain Darren Kerruish edged his game 21-20 against his Uncle Phil Kerruish, whilst John Kelly beat Mike Thomas 21-19.

The final close encounter was between third division teams Douglas C and Finch Hill B at the Villa, as the home team drew 4-4 and went into the draw for the next round as they won by five chalks (136-131).

Douglas A progressed to the next round courtesy of a 6-2 home win over Noble’s A with Merv Sayle winning 21-1 against John Andrew. For the visitors Alex Yates beat Ian Moore 21-19, whilst Dave Naughton won 21-14 against Mark Kneen.

Castletown A beat fellow first division team Peel B 7-1 at the Crofts, with three single figure wins for Ron Williams, Nathan Cooil and Nathan Hamilton. The Town also had a rare guest appearance from 81-year-old Mike Hargraves who beat Dave Smith 21-18. Preventing the whitewash was Paul Quirk who beat David Quayle 21-19.

Marown D welcomed Noble’s B to Crosby, with the visitors (pictured) coming away with a solid 2-6 victory. For Noble’s Junior bowler Alex Hampson won 21-16 against Eddie Rough, Stephen Corkill won 21-7 against Andy Sykes, whilst James Kelly stormed home 21-4 against Barry Salmon for the Crosby men.

First division side Port St Mary A came away from Ballaugh B who ply their trade in Division Three with a 3-5 win, helped by single figure wins from Wayne Roberts, Dan McCabe, and Trevor Quayle.

North Ramsey A came away from their game with a hard earned 3-5 away win over Onchan B, helped by Paul Allison who beat Mike Kelly 21-19 and John Cannan who won 21-20 against Paul Clinton. Impressing for the home team were Sid McKnight, Mike Alexander and Colin Spence who beat Gary Merrill, Rob Monk, and Allan Callow respectively.

Peel C made home advantage count as they played out a 4-4 draw with Onchan C, as they won by 17 chalks (146-129).

Castletown B keep visitors Ballaugh C under 100 chalks with their 6-2 home win (131-91), with single figure wins from Ross Moore, Derek Lewney, and Junior Sam Quayle with the latter winning 21-2 to take the team ‘kitty’ home.

On Wednesday night South Ramsey C came away from their visit to Peel as they took on the D Team, with a 3-5 victory. For the Peel men James Lee and Andy Jackson bot won 21-8 against Ian Moore and Anthony Kelly respectively.

Third division side South Ramsey D hosted first division side Marown C, with the home team performing well as they reached over 100 chalks in their 1-7 home defeat (102-166). Greg Barlow was the lone winner for South Ramsey beating Jamie Joughin 21-19 as he continues to impress having only taken up the game late last season.

Losers in the preliminary round and first round go into the Rayner Plate competition with handicaps awarded based on league position.

Just one Canada Life International league tie took place this week with the postponed South Ramsey C v Ballaugh A fixture taking place. The visitors will have been delighted with their 2-8 away win but will have left with regrets over not picking up a 0-10 win as they hit top spot by two points. Anthony Kelly held off Mike Spooner 21-18, whilst Ian Moore won to the same score against John Keenan. The battle of the captains was won by Phil Quayle who beat David Corkill 21-13, Steve Grant won 21-11 against Jay Moore, whilst Steve’s son Patrick beat Andy Morgan 21-12.

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted their Men’s pairs competition sponsored by Gerry Maginn Painters & Decorators on Sunday attracting 25 pairs to compete for the trophy. The competition was played on Noble’s Two green, with the Ladies playing their competition on the top green.

Losing out at the quarter finals stage were Marown pair Phil Kelly and John Gelling, who were on the end of an upset to Noble’s pair Lee Price and Steve Cain 19-21. Onchan’s Kevin Quirk and Steve parker got the better of Marown’s Sid Bolton and Walter McCarthy 21-15.

Paul Dunn and Stephen Rundle (both Marown) got the better of Phil Dunn (Marown) and Paul Clinton (Onchan) 21-18 in a close game, whilst another Marown pairing Glenn Boland and Peter Jones had a comfortable 21-14 win against South Ramsey’s David Bradford and Glynn Hargraves.

In the semi-finals the new bowlers Price and Cain went one step further as they reached their first final, with Cain only taking up the game last season, whilst Price only took the game up four weeks ago, he has clearly got the ‘bug’ as they ended the challenge of Quirk and Parker 21-16.

In the other semi-final it looked like the game was heading in favour of Boland Jones who had built up a five point lead at 18-13. Rundle and Dunn responded with four successive scoring ends taking a double, a four and two singles to book their place in the final.

The final looked like it could be a close affair after the early ends with Price and Cain playing well as a pair they led 10-9 after five ends, however Rundle and Dunn soon hit their stride as they finished the game in just 10 ends scoring three trebles, a four and two singles to take a comfortable 21-10 victory with Rundle claiming his first success in an Open competition. Price and Cain can certainly hold their heads high, as they weren’t given any start on their opponents in the competition and took out some good pairings along the way.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Phil Salmon and Tina Hampson, with the latter thanking all the club members and anyone who had helped towards the smooth running of the competition, also giving thanks to the sponsors.

Tina then went on to say how thankful she was from everyone involved in bowls on the Isle of Man for the support they have given Noble’s as a club, as just over a year ago the club was on the brink, as they struggled to field a team to keep the club going. Now the club have four Men’s night league teams, a Ladies Team and Ladies Over 60’s Team, with the club getting a welcome influx of players which is testament to the efforts that have been made by the new members. It is certainly onwards and upwards for Noble’s Bowling Club.

Peel Bowling Club hosted the Lancaster Cup men’s doubles on a wet Saturday afternoon, with the extensive work undertaken over the winter resulting in a green with much better coverage than this time last season as 24 pairs entered the competition.

Falling at the quarter final stages were South Ramsey pair Alan Moore and Stefan Kelly 16-21 to Dean Kinley (Peel) and Nathan Hamilton (Castletown), whilst Glenn Boland and Peter Jones edged home 21-20 in an all Marown affair against Kevin Kelly and Tom Kelly.

Also progressing were Neil Withers and Paul Dunn (Marown) who won 21-15 against the home green pairing of Rob Middleton and Dave Smith, whilst South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves and Bob Clark beat Peel pair Tommy McMeiken and George Gadsby 21-18.

Reaching the end of the road at the semi-finals were Kinley and Hamilton who lost out 14-21 to Boland and Jones, whilst Hargraves and Clark were beaten 17-21 by Withers and Dunn.

The final which coincided with the best part of the day as the sun shone was another all Marown battle with Withers and Dunn taking the initiative early on to lead 10-4 after just four ends. Boland and Jones closed the deficit to just two chalks with 11 ends played the score was 10-12.

Hitting back to win four successive ends Withers and Dunn looked to have taken control of the game once more at 17-10, then got within touching distance to lead 20-15 only for Boland and Jones to score a single and double to leave the game finely poised at 18-20.

With Boland and Jones counting for two Jones tried to make a third only to unluckily knock in Withers short bowl for game. Withers and Dunn retained the title they picked up in 2021 as the competition was not played in 2022.

The presentation was made by Peel Bowling Club President Lynda Wilson, who thanked the sponsor David Lancaster Limited for their continued support, the team who have worked on the green over the winter after a tough 2022 season, those who helped run the competition and all the club members who had helped throughout the day.

The first double week of fixture took place across all three divisions this week in the Canada Life International sponsored bowling leagues.

In Division One Marown A kept in touch with early pacesetters South Ramsey A, as they came away from South Ramsey B with a 1-9 victory, with Tony Dugdale preventing the whitewash for the home team with a 21-13 win over Phil Kelly. Winning to single figures for the visitors were Paul Kelly, Colin Kelly, and Neil Withers.

On Wednesday evening Marown A hosted Onchan A at Crosby, with the home team claiming a solid 8-2 home win. Two single figures win arrived from Paul Kelly and Neil Withers, with a further three home victories being comfortable. Glenn Boland got win number six for Marown as he fought back from a 5-14 deficit to edge home 21-20 against Mike Thomas. For the visitors it was father and son who got the two wins as Kevin Quirk beat Phil Kelly 21-15, whilst his son Matthew turned his game around from a 9-16 deficit against Peter Jones to see the game out 21-18.

South Ramsey A made the trip to Breagle Glen as they took on Port St Mary A on Monday night. Winning for the home team were Wayne Roberts who beat Peter Collister 21-14, and Trevor Quayle who won 21-12 against James Teare. For the visitors Stefan Kelly got home 21-18 against Tim Williams, Glynn Hargraves won 21-17 against Dan McCabe with the latter battling back well from a 0-10 deficit. The last game on the green between David Bradford and Robbie Cooil was also 10-0 to the latter, with Bradford turning the game around to also win 21-17.

Match number four for South Ramsey A, who were at home to North Ramsey A was brought forward to the previous Friday due to Chas Grills’ funeral on the Wednesday. The home team claimed the first 10-0 win of the season in Division One. Single figures wins arrived from Stefan Kelly, Bob Clark, Peter Collister, and Glynn Hargraves. The highest scoring player for the visitors was Steve Walmsley who lost out 16-21 to Tony Dugdale.

Marown B slumped to a disappointing 3-7 home defeat against Castletown A on Monday, but bounced back two days later with a 3-7 away win over Peel B.

South Ramsey B had a better week as they had a tough looking trip to take on Onchan A, however they managed to take three games off the home team in their 3-7 defeat.

On Thursday evening South Ramsey B took on Marown C at Crosby, winning 5-3 on games in a battling performance with all five wins being close. Ben Dugdale ended up with the best win for the visitors with a 21-17 victory over Sam Clague, Bryan Corner beat James Kelly 21-18, Eddie Carlyle won 21-19 against Jamie Joughin, with the last two wins going to the wire 21-20 as Tony Hart and Toby Hart beat Steve Rough and Stephen Rundle respectively. For the home team Tom Kelly won 21-7 against Frank Watson, with the other two wins from Stuart Clague and Kevin Kelly ensuring the two-point aggregate went comfortably in the home teams’ favour (157-135).

Douglas A performed better on their travels this week, than they did at home as they had a comfortable 3-7 away win over North Ramsey A.

On Wednesday evening the Villa men hosted Peel A in a high scoring game on chalks (143-148). The visitors came away with a hard earned 4-6 victory.

Port Mary A made the short trip to the Crofts to take on Castletown A, with the visitors outperforming the home team to claim a 2-8 victory, as they bounced back from their defeat on Monday.

In Division Two Ballaugh A are well placed for a title charge, as they sit six points off top spot with a game in hand following their 9-1 home win against Onchan B, followed by a 3-7 away win against Noble’s B, as the visitors claimed two 21-20 wins from Steve Grant and Patrick Grant. Ballaugh will need to ensure they perform on their travels with their home form never in doubt, their away form will make or break their season.

Castletown B are the early frontrunners as they are top by five points, as they won both of their fixtures. The town men hosted Noble’s B on Monday evening winning 8-2, then came away from Peel C with the same result.

Leading the way are Finch Hill A who hosted South Ramsey C on Monday evening as the home team won 7-3. The match score was reversed on Wednesday as Finch Hill A took on Onchan B at the Park with the home team winning 7-3. For Finch Dave McCabe kept up his 100% winning record, as he is just one of seven men to win all their games this season.

Newly promoted North Ramsey B ended their run of three successive 1-9 away defeats, as they played their first home fixture of the season. The Mooragh men edged home 6-4 against Noble’s A. Just four chalks separated the teams (140-136) as the aggregate went in favour of the home team.

South Ramsey C made home advantage count on Thursday evening as they also picked up their first win of the season with a 7-3 home win over Douglas B. The two captains were drawn against each other as David Corkill took on Andy Foster with the former winning 21-8, which went a long way towards ensuring the home team won the aggregate (150-138).

In Division Three Ballaugh B lead the way as they are top by seven points with three of their players in the top four of the individual merit. The Ballaugh men started their week with a 2-8 away win over South Ramsey D, then won 9-1 at home to Noble’s C. Steve Cain prevented the whitewash as he kept up his 100% winning record with a 21-12 win over Stephen Swift.

Noble’s C picked up their first ever win on Tuesday evening as they welcomed Port Erin B. The visitors were once again unable to field a full team as they had to gift two walkovers to the home team who then had wins from Steve Brennan, Dean Sowerby and captain Steve Cain.

Noble’s D continue to be the surprise package as they sit in second place, following their 6-4 away defeat to Peel D. Interestingly a few players who were at Marown last season, and have since moved to Noble’s were part of the team that beat the Crosby men 6-4, with Junior bowlers and brothers Alex Colquitt and Sam Colquitt impressing with wins over Alan Gault and Stephen Storey respectively.