Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

After a week’s break of league action following first round Rayner Shield fixtures, the third round of league fixtures were held this week. On Wednesday evening the top two Division One teams Marown A and South Ramsey A had tricky fixtures for different reasons.

South Ramsey A faced Onchan A with the visitors in a very false position having played teams that usually occupy the top spots in the league in their previous two fixtures Peel A and Marown A. The game resulted in a third consecutive 7-3 defeat for Onchan, with three of their top four players picking up wins with Matthew Quirk edging home 21-19 against David Bradford, Peter Slinger beat Dido Kelly 21-18, whilst Reg Temporaza held off a late fightback from James Teare to win 21-15. Alan Moore stepped into the A team with a solid performance to beat Kevin Quirk 21-13, whilst four single figure wins arrived from Bob Clark, Glynn Hargraves, Jordan Cain, and Peter Collister albeit the last win 21-0 against Steve Parker who injured himself during the first end of the game and was unable to continue.

Marown A had a tough fixture away to North Ramsey A, which is notoriously a tough place to go, so it proved as they had to battle for a 3-7 victory, despite keeping the home team under 100 chalks, thanks to four single figure wins from Peter Jones, Paul Kelly, Colin Kelly, and Marown captain Paul Dunn. Winning for the home team were captain Rob Monk with a 21-2 win over Tom Kelly, Steve Walmsley beat Dean Kipling 21-16, John Cannan picked up an impressive 21-12 win over Neil Withers, whilst Tom Collins just missed out 18-21 against Glenn Boland.

Castletown A bounced back in style from their Rayner Shield defeat to beat South Ramsey B 9-1 at the Crofts, just missing out on the whitewash by a solitary chalk as Toby Hart ensured they didn’t go home empty handed with a 21-20 win over Nathan Cooil. The Town men are sitting pretty in third place, with Kieran Krypner getting his first Division One league win under his belt beating Eddie Carlyle 21-14, as he played with his new bowls, Dean Kinley and Jordan Drewett won to single figures, whilst Ian Watson had the toughest game on his hands with Tony Dugdale, with the former winning 21-16.

The closest match in the top division took place between Marown B and Breagle Glen A at Crosby, with a 6-4 win going to the home team, with 11 chalks separating the teams (145-134). Phil Kelly was the only single figure winner for the home team beating Bernie Durcan 21-6, whilst Dan McCabe responded with a 21-8 win over John Gelling. Chris Lever edged the battled of the captains with a 21-19 win over Juan Killip.

Douglas A were defeated 4-6 at home to Peel A, losing the aggregate by 35 chalks (110-145). Three single figure wins arrived from Gary Smith, Tommy McMeiken, and Stevie Kelly, with the latter winning 21-0 against former Villa teammate Mark Kneen. Hitting back for the home team were Andy Cannell, Ian Moore, Dave McCabe, and Gordy Wynne-Smythe.

In Division Two Noble’s A were the biggest winners of the week as they beat Douglas B 9-1 at the Park, with the Villa men struggling for form in the early part of the season. The lone winner for the visitors was Willie Cowley who delivered a 21-15 win against Mark ‘Postie’ Quinn. For the home team Alex Yates, Stephen Corkill, Mark Bradshaw, and Jim Callister kept the visitors down to just 86 chalks.

Finch Hill A, who are notoriously poor on the road, pulled off the biggest shock of the season, as they won 4-6 away to early pacesetters Marown C, just pipping the aggregate by five chalks (134-139). For the home team Jamie Joughin won 21-4 against Dave Dixon, whilst Stephen Oates hit back with a 21-2 win over Dan Smith. Three home wins were close – 21-17 going in favour of Darren Kerruish, Walter McCarthy, and James Kelly, whilst Sam Stannard-Duke beat Sid Bolton 21-19 for the Finch men.

Noble’s B came away from Onchan Park with a hard fought 4-6 win over Onchan B, as they took the two-point aggregate by just two chalks (140-142). Captain Steve Cain led the way for his men, as he was the only single figure winner beating Sid McKnight 21-8, whilst Lee Price held his nerve to beat Neil Richmond 21-20. The Noble’s men have settled into Division Two life without any issues, they will look to see how far they can go this season.

Castletown B remain winless but managed to pick up four points in their 6-4 defeat away to Breagle Glen B, losing out by just seven chalks (155-148) in a high scoring match. The Town men could have picked up a further three points with James Drinkwater, Patrick Cooper, and John Holden just losing out 20,19, 19 respectively. The Breagle men may also have felt two or three games could have gone their way with Seamus Whelan, Rod Swift and Derek Cadamy losing out 17, 18, and 20 respectively. Derek Cain’s win was never in doubt as he beat Sam Quayle 21-6.

Peel B suffered a heavy defeat 2-8 at home to Ballaugh A, with Dougie Allan and Phil Clarke the two winners. Just losing out for the home team were Jimmy Corlett 18-21 to Tony Quine, Jeff Wilson 19-21 to Richard Hainge, and Ross Menton 20-21 to Mark Dimsdale. For the visitors captain Phil Quayle led the way for the Ballaugh men with a 21-9 win over Ian Gray. Despite suffering defeat just 15 chalks separated the sides (139-154).

In Division Three Peel C sit in top spot with a four point lead following their 8-2 home win over Noble’s D. Home captain Jimmy Lee beat John Andrew 21-14, Matthew Venables won convincingly 21-7 against Rob Bell, whilst Nathan Jones crept home 21-20 against Alex Hampson. For the visitors Stephen Hampson beat Stuart Morrison 21-19.

Occupying second spot North Ramsey B hosted Ballaugh C at Mooragh Park, with the home team prevailing 8-2.

Elsewhere Nobles C drew 5-5 at home to Marown D despite winning 5-3 on games, as they lost the aggregate by just three chalks in a high scoring game (145-148). Ballaugh B picked up their biggest win of the season 9-1 at home to Breagle Glen C, with Alan Crebbin preventing the whitewash with a 21-12 win over Steve Bassil.

In Division Four Onchan C secured a 10-0 home win over North Ramsey C, with the Mooragh men unfortunate not to pick up any points with losing scores of 17, 18, 19 and 20. Onchan extended their lead to nine points after the third round of fixtures.

Castletown C sit in joint second on 17 points following their 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D. The Town team fielded four juniors, once again it was Freddie Palmer who pulled off another win as he beat Chris Brown 21-8, whilst his father Chris Palmer beat Billy Blair 21-16.

Elsewhere Finch Hill B lost 4-6 at home to Douglas D, with the home team suffering three defeats to single figures which ultimately sealed their fate. Douglas C won 9-1 at home to Peel D, with five of the games finishing to single figures.