The Plumbmaster Limited Rayner Shield final between Castletown A and South Ramsey A was held at Marown Bowling Club on Friday evening on a superb surface. The draw took place ahead of the match, with a lighthearted preview posted to generate a bit of interest. There was a good crowd in attendance to watch events unfold on a fine evening for bowls with good support for both teams. League leaders South Ramsey were the clear favourites on the night, however the Town men would have been hoping to pull off a huge upset.

First off the green for South Ramsey was David Bradford, who stormed to a 21-1 win over Town captain Jordan Drewett, with the game finished in just 16 ends. Next off was Peter Collister, who put in a solid display to beat Nathan Hamilton 21-8, scoring seven two’s, conceding just eight singles on his way to victory.

The last two games of the first half were good games to watch with Nathan Cooil leading 11-6 and 12-8 against Dido Kelly, only for a subtle change in tactics from the latter which saw the South Ramsey man score 13 of the next 15 chalks to run out with a 21-14 win.

The final game of the first half was between Bob Clark and Aaron Richardson, with the South Ramsey man a big favourite to win, however Richardson was quickest out of the blocks performing brilliantly to take a 13-0 lead, with the South Ramsey man not doing a lot wrong in the early exchanges of the game. Clark closed the deficit to seven chalks at 7-17, only for the Town man to pick up three singles to lead 17-7. The South Ramsey man dug deep, scoring eight chalks to close the deficit to just two chalks at 8-17. Clark scored two doubles to take the lead for the first time in the game at 19-18, was counting two for game only for Richardson to play a superb last bowl to level the game up at 19-19. A single was scored by the Town man on the following end, with Clark playing a crucial last bowl to save game. With Richardson 20-19 up, Clark scored his eighth double of the game to win 21-20 in a compelling game to watch. Richardson won more ends (18-13) in the game, a lot of credit must go to the Town man who put in a great performance, playing the right bowls throughout the game.

At the halfway stage South Ramsey were 4-0 up, with a commanding 43 chalk lead, it would take something special to win all four games and pull back the chalks.

The first game off the green in the second half of the match officially sealed the win for South Ramsey, as Jordan Cain won 21-16 against Dean Kinley, however after leading 15-1 the South Ramsey man was on the receiving end of a fightback from Kinley, who closed the deficit to four chalks at 13-17. With Cain counting for one Kinley struck and missed, gifting Cain a golden opportunity to score two, which he pounced on to take the game away from Kinley at 19-13. Kinley went on to score a double and a single only for Cain to secure the win with two singles.

With the pressure now off both teams, one of the more experienced Castletown players Ian Watson was up against James Teare, with Watson taking a 10-4 lead. A good scoring run from Teare, saw the players tie at 12, 13, and 15, with Watson making his move to score five chalks and lead 20-15, with a double from Teare to put the score at 17-20. The Town man secured the one chalk needed to get a Castletown win on the board with a 21-17 victory.

The last two games finished within moments of each other as Glynn Hargraves took an early 7-1 lead against David Quayle, only for the Town man to level up at 8-8. The South Ramsey captain kept his opponent to four more singles to secure a 21-12 win.

The last game on the green was youth versus experience, however both players are known to be fairly vocal on the green, love to have a strike as the game soon become one that the spectators couldn’t help but watch, as George Foy who is still plying his trade for the A Team, is the last remaining man from the League and Rayner Shield winning team in 1996, hit all four strikes on his way to beating Stefan Kelly 21-12 to secure a second win for the Town men.

The presentation was made by competition committee officer, who thanked Plumbmaster for sponsoring the competition, Marown Bowling Club for the use of the green and their club members for assisting throughout the evening. The Rayner Shield was presented to South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, who congratulated Castletown on reaching the final, who had put up a spirited performance, and went on to congratulate his team for a solid performance. South Ramsey’s win sees them take their 8th win in the competition, along with retaining the Shield to hold the title for a fourth consecutive season.

Plumbmaster Rayner Shield Final Results

Castletown A	Chalks	Chalks	South Ramsey A
Nathan Hamilton	8	21	Peter Collister
Aaron Richardson	20	21	Bob Clark
Nathan Cooil	14	21	Dido Kelly
Jordan Drewett	1	21	David Bradford
Ian Watson	21	17	James Teare
Dean Kinley	16	21	Jordan Cain
David Quayle	12	21	Glynn Hargraves
George Foy	21	13	Stefan Kelly
2 Games Won	113	156	6 Games Won

In Canada Life International Division One this week Marown A kept a firm grasp on their lead at the top as they remain on course to pick up their first league title since 2019 with a 9-1 home win over Douglas A in difficult conditions with wind and rain playing a factor. Single figure wins arrived from Glenn Boland and Peter Jones, over Gordy Wynne-Smythe and Shaun Seal respectively, whilst Mark Kneen pushed Neil Withers all the way before losing out 19-21. The lone winner for the Villa men was Andy Cannell, who beat Paul Kelly 21-8.

South Ramsey A got back to winning ways as they beat Port St Mary A 8-2 at home. Winning for the visitors were Dan McCabe who beat Glynn Hargraves 21-16, whilst Robbie Cooil edged home 21-20 against Stefan Kelly. The visitors were kept down to just 88 chalks, with five wins to single figures.

Castletown A set themselves up nicely for the Rayner Shield Final on Friday with a 7-3 home win over North Ramsey A, with wins for the visitors arriving from Rob Monk, Allan Callow, and Jimmy Moffatt who continues to impress into his 80’s.

Onchan A turned over Marown B 8-2 at the Park, with the two winners for the Crosby men John Gelling who comfortably beat Kevin Quirk 21-12, whilst Harry Barton won 21-16 against Steve Parker. Karl Parker missed out on picking up an extra point for his team, as he lost 19-21 to Neil Dunwell.

Peel A didn’t have it all their own way at home to bottom side Marown C, with the visitors pleased to have taken three points off the Peel men in their 7-3 defeat. Walter McCarthy beat Peel captain George Gadsby 21-16, Darren Kerruish won 21-18 against Gary Smith, whilst John Kelly held off Tommy McMeiken 21-19. Just missing out for the Crosby men were Jamie Joughin 18-21 to David Proctor, with Peter Kelly losing out 19-21 to Peter Greenlees.

In Division Two league leaders South Ramsey B are now three points ahead following their 2-8 win away to Noble’s A, with a welcome return for Tony Dugdale after a short absence, as he got back to winning way with a 21-11 win over Dave Naughton.

Second placed Ballaugh A will have felt like it was points dropped at home to Finch Hill A, as they won 6-4, with 12 chalks separating the sides (146-134). Just losing out for the home team to 19-21 were Mike Spooner and Patrick Grant to Sam Stannard-Duke and Les Brookes respectively.

Peel B having led for most of the season slipped to third place following their 7-3 defeat away to Douglas B.

Port Erin A hosted Onchan B at Breagle Glen, with the visitors taking a 4-6 win, as they won the aggregate by seven chalks (136-143), with the Onchan men scoring better in their four defeats.

North Ramsey B edged closer to safety following their 7-3 home win over Castletown B, with the Town men firmly rooted to the bottom.

In Division Three Noble’s D hit top spot as they beat their C Team 8-2, which shows their improvement since taking up the game only last year. Should Noble’s D get promotion ahead of the C Team then they will revert to being labelled as the C team as the higher ranked team.

Things are looking up for South Ramsey D who picked up another win, as they won 8-2 at home to Port St Mary B, with Billy Blair holding off Nick Peterson 21-20.

Marown D put in a great performance to beat high flying Noble’s B 7-3 at Crosby, as they damaged the visitor’s promotion hopes, with 11-year-old Arran Dunn continuing to shine as he held his nerve to beat Jay Elliott 21-20, with Alan Gault matching this score as he beat Rob Bell.

South Ramsey C returned to Onchan Park to take on their C team on Tuesday evening, just four days after their Rayner Plate Final defeat to Peel A. The home team took the spoils 7-3, with Greg Barlow losing out 20-21 to Colin Brown, whilst Paul Routledge slipped to an 18-21 defeat to Roger Payne.

Ballaugh B lost 3-5 on games at home to Peel C, however their high scoring defeats to 17, 18, 19, and 20 saw they win the aggregate by six chalks (150-144) to help secure a 5-5 draw.

In Division Four North Ramsey C stay in the hunt for promotion following their 3-7 away win over Noble’s E, with Paul Arthur helping his side to an extra point with a 21-20 win over David Garrett.

Douglas C recorded a solid 8-2 home win over Castletown C, with Town’s Kieran Krypner missing out 17-21 to Greg Brew, whilst Jacob Robert went closer still as he lost 18-21 to Daniel Jacobs.

The final match of the week was between Peel D and Douglas D in the West. The Villa men were four players short for the trip as they suffered a 9-1 defeat, with Junior bowler Clark Kelly the only winner as he beat Dave Wassall 21-5. For the home team Will Lyall beat David Manley 21-9, with teammate Josh Trickett going one better with a 21-8 win over James Teare.

The Isle of Man Team took part in the 2024 BCGBA Senior Supplementary County Championship which was held on Sunday at Florence BC in Stoke on a tricky green, which has some interesting marks with one particular section of the green known as the roundabout.

Drawn in Group 1, as expected the opposition was tough with North Midlands, Wales and Derbyshire awaiting.

In the first round of matches the eight man team were up against North Midlands, the team lost this match by 28 chalks (156-128) and 6-2 on games, with David Bradford winning 21-11 against Shane Day, whilst Paul Dunn beat Matt Horton 21-19. 

In their second round match Wales were the opposition, the team managed to draw 4-4 on games, however with matches decided on chalks it was Wales who won by 25 chalks (151-126). Neil Withers was the best winner as he won 21-13 against Robin Bennett, whilst Peter Jones, David Bradford, and Paul Dunn won 17, 18, and 19 against Ian Jones, Stefan Williams, and Owen Jackson respectively.

In their final match they faced Derbyshire who had all to play for, as they had won both their group games, they needed to beat the Isle of Man to ensure safe passage to the final. Against the toughest team in the group the Island held their own showing improvement with each game played as they lost by 15 chalks (153-138), which equates to less than two chalks a man. 

Individual wins arrived from Paul Dunn who made it three wins from three games played at number one in the order, as he beat Josh Furniss 21-18, whilst Peter Jones held off Conor Chamberlain to the same score. Picking up his second win was Neil Withers who won comfortably 21-13 against Steve Barber.

In Group 2 playing on Green 2 it was Shropshire who topped the table after games against Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cheshire as they beat all three teams to reach the final. 

The first half of the final took place on the number two green with Derbyshire adjusting well to the heavier of the two greens well as they won 3-1 on games against Shropshire to take a lead of 18 chalks back onto the green they had played all day. Whilst Shropshire did win two games on the much trickier number one green they were only able to claw back seven chalks as Derbyshire took the win by 11 chalks (143-132) whilst also winning 5-3 on games.

After solid performances the past two years, with the team playing on greens similar to those on the Island playing on a tricky green thiproved to be a tough test for the players.

The Isle of Man Team were managed by Phil Kerruish and assisted by Juan Kermode, thanks must go to both for their efforts selecting the squad, and for making all the arrangements for the trip.

The final of the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate took place on Friday evening at Onchan Park in extremely wet conditions between first division side Peel A (+15) and third Division side South Ramsey C (+60).

Peel started as favourites as they ply their trade two divisions above South Ramsey, with the latter team having a 45 chalk start, they do however have a mixture of players with first division experience, improving bowlers and some quietly determined individuals.

The evening started positively for Peel as the evergreen Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly was the first game off with a 21-2 win over Anthony Kelly, followed shortly by 2020 Rayner Shield final hero Peter Greenlees, who beat Jay Moore 21-8, with 32 chalks recovered after just two games. Hitting back for South Ramsey was Greg Barlow, who took up the game two years ago, storming to a 21-5 win over Peel captain George Gadsby. Barlow puts the time into his game, with this result paying dividends for his dedication. This put the lead back to 29 chalks for the Ramsey men, only for Gary Smith to reduce the deficit to 23 chalks at the halfway point (106-83) as the Peel man recovered from a 1-8 deficit against Paul Routledge to runout with a 21-15 win as he got hold of the jack as conditions worsened to win eight consecutive ends.

Reducing the deficit further, Tommy McMeiken got the best win of the second half as he beat South Ramsey captain Dave Corkill 21-6, whilst the writing was on the wall with the final three games finishing within minutes of each other as Pip Pemberton won 21-12 against Richie Davies, as Peel got their noses in front for the first time on the night by a solitary chalk (124-125), swiftly followed by David Proctor with a 21-10 victory over James Moore, whilst Paul Quirk put the cherry on the cake for Peel with a 21-16 win over Franz ten Donkelaar to seal a deserved win by 17 chalks (150-167).

In doing so Peel A etched their name onto the trophy for the third time following their previous successes in 1999 and 2011.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee Officer Wayne Roberts who thanked Onchan for hosting the final, along with providing measurers and the refreshments. Captain George Gadsby was then presented with the trophy, he congratulated his team on their performance and offered his commiserations to South Ramsey.

Peel Sunset A	+15	+60	South Ramsey C
Peter Greenlees	21	8	Jay Moore
George Gadsby	5	21	Greg Barlow
Gary Smith	21	15	Paul Routledge
Dave Kelly	21	2	Anthony Kelly
Pip Pemberton	21	12	Richie Davies
Tommy McMeiken	21	6	Dave Corkill
Paul Quirk	21	16	Franz ten Donkelaar
David Proctor	21	10	James Moore
7 Games Won	167	150	1 Game Won

In Canada Life International Division One, it was the highly anticipated clash of the top two teams as South Ramsey A hosted Marown A on Monday evening in fine conditions.

The home team got off to a flier with David Bradford seeing off Peter Jones 21-2 to establish a first point and a 19 chalk lead towards the all-important handicap. Marown hit back with Colin Kelly scoring 15 consecutive chalks having trailed 6-12 to Bob Clark, with the Crosby man going on to win 21-12 in the corners. Things got worse for the home team as John Kennish, who had only lost two games for South Ramsey on home turf since the late 1990’s lost 17-21 to Tom Kelly. The final game of the first half was between Neil Withers and South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, with the latter staring down the barrel with a five chalk deficit at 13-18, only for a strong finish with eight consecutive chalks scored over six ends to seal a 21-18 win.

The second half saw the match finely poised at 2-2 on games, with the home team holding a nine chalk lead. This lead was soon wiped as Paul Kelly won 21-10 against James Teare. The Marown men sensing a huge upset fed off this, with Marown captain Paul Dunn who led 18-5 against Jordan Cain getting over line 21-14. The following game was well battled throughout between Stefan Kelly and Dean Kipling, with the former getting himself close to victory at 20-17, only to concede a double, then missing out on an opportunity to make game in the corner the following end. With the score at 20-20 two good bowls from Kipling on the deciding end were unbeaten to give the Marown the win and put his team 4-3 ahead on games with a 10 chalk advantage. The final game was between Glenn Boland and Dido Kelly, with the former leading 18-7 the chalks were assured for the visitors. Boland performed well throughout the game, having played out his opponent to count for two on several ends. The South Ramsey man fought back to 15-20, however Boland secured the one chalk needed to seal a 2-8 win for the Marown men (130-146), who are now in a commanding position with just five games left to play, as they hold a seven point lead over South Ramsey.

Marown B recorded the biggest win in the top flight, as they beat Rayner Shield finalists Castletown A 9-1 at Crosby. Four single figure wins kept Town down to just 88 chalks, with Nathan Hamilton the only winner as he beat Kevin Kelly 21-11. Dean Kinley and Ian Watson came closest to picking up wins for the visitors as they lost to 17 and 18 to Phil Kelly and Sam Clague respectively.

Onchan A were just three chalks off recording a 0-10 away win over Port St Mary A at Breagle Glen following their 2-8 away win, as Jamie Clague lost 19-21 to Wayne Roberts, whilst Trevor Quayle edged home 21-20 against Will Penhallurick.

North Ramsey A were back to winning ways at home as they turned over Peel A 7-3 at Mooragh Park, with Paul Allison and Steven Waters both winning to single figures, however the most impressive result was from Steve Walmsley who beat Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-14.

Marown C had a better week, however they are still nine points adrift of Port St Mary A following their 7-3 home win over Douglas A on Tuesday evening, with just 14 chalks separating the teams (142-128).

In Division Two Peel B had a good week as they beat Ballaugh A 8-2 at home to go one point ahead of their opponents on the night to go joint top with South Ramsey B, who suffered a 7-3 defeat away to Onchan B, with just four chalks between the two sides, this went in favour of Onchan (147-143).

Castletown B closed the gap on the teams above them them with a 6-4 home win over local rivals Port Erin A at the Crofts, whilst North Ramsey B slipped to a 6-4 defeat away to Finch Hill A.

Douglas B are firmly mid table after their 8-2 home win over Noble’s A, whilst the victory looks convincing only six chalks separated the two sides as the Villa men edged it (155-149) in a high scoring match as they had three wins to 17, two wins to 18 and one to 20. For the visitors Martyn Hobson held off David Pease 21-19 in another close game, whilst Dave Naughton won the kitty for the visitors as he beat Andy Foster 21-10.

In Division Three Noble’s B are joint top with their lower ranked C Team on 82 points as the two sides face off the B team suffered a huge upset with an 8-2 defeat. The two wins for the B were to single figures from Ciaran Broad and Rob Bell, whilst Alex Colquitt returned the favour for the C Team with a 21-6 win over fellow Junior bowler Alex Hampson.

South Ramsey C are still in the mix, just four points off the top two following their 7-3 home win over Marown D, with 11-year-old Arran Dunn finishing the game strongly, staring defeat in the face to turn it around and win 21-19 against Billy Blair.

Noble’s D are still in with a shout of promotion, following their 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D, as they are five points away from the top two, they currently occupy fourth place.

Onchan C and Ballaugh B played out a true draw 5-5, with both teams winning four games each and sharing the aggregate (143-143) in a result that pops up now and again. Port St Mary B welcomed Peel C to Breagle Glen, it was the home team who took the spoils 8-2 on the night.

In Division Four Ballaugh C still have a healthy lead at the top thanks to their 9-1 home win over Noble’s E, they missed out on a 10-0 whitewash as Dan Kelly just lost out 19-21 to Paul Cain.

North Ramsey B occupy second spot, they did manage to close the gap by a point following their 10-0 home win over Douglas C, who were kept to under 100 chalks (168-98).

With two big wins in the other fixtures Castletown C and Finch Hill B played out a 4-4 draw, with the visitors cause not helped by being a man short this ensured the aggregate went in favour of the Town men to seal a 6-4 home win.