Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

It 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.