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.

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.

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Nobles Cup Men’s Doubles on Saturday with 29 pairs taking part, on a superb playing surface with the entries matching 2023.

Losing out in the quarter finals were home greeners Grahem Moore and Phil Salmon 20-21 to clubmates Mark Bradshaw and Alex Yates, whilst Marown pair Paul Kelly and Matthew Keggen lost 19-21 to Les Brookes (Finch Hill) and Eddie Carlyle (South Ramsey).

In the other half of the draw Phil Dunn (Marown) and Brian Lindsay (Peel) recovered from a 9-19 deficit to Noble’s Steve Hampson and Juan Drinkwater, only to agonisingly lose out 20-21. The final game also went to the wire as South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves and David Bradford lost 20-21 to Villa men Keith Rise and Andy Cannell, with the latter pair whitewashing Marown’s Glenn Boland and Peter Jones in the previous round.

At the semi-final stage Brookes and Carlyle won 21-16 against Bradshaw and Yates to end the home green hopes of a win, whilst Rise and Cannell won to single figures (21-9) against Hampson and Drinkwater to take their place in the final.

The final was over in just 12 ends as Rise and Cannell dominated the game scoring a four on the first end and the penultimate end to rack up eight points, scoring seven singles throughout the match, only conceding three chalks on consecutive in the early part of the game to run out with a well deserved 21-9 victory to lift the cup for the first time.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson, with prizes paid down to the quarter finals. Club Chairman Phil Salmon was introduced to present the prizes.

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Roy Williamson Memorial Cup Junior Boys competition on Saturday morning, with a good standard of bowls from the Juniors.

With the early stages played as a round robin the qualifiers to reach the semi-final stage were 11-year-old Arran Dunn (Marown), who faced 12-year-old Kian Bradford (South Ramsey), with the younger of the two progressing to the final with a 21-16 victory.

In the other semi-final the older Juniors battled it out with Clark Kelly (Douglas) taking on Alex Hampson (Noble’s), with the latter also winning 21-16 to book his place in the final.

The final was a repeat of last year with Dunn taking on the current holder Hampson. With another year’s experience under his belt Arran’s all round game has improved to such an extent that he managed to turn a 10-21 defeat in last year’s final into a thoroughly deserved 21-10 victory to lift the title for the first time.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson, with all competitors receiving a prize.