Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

North Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the Association Cup on Sunday afternoon with the competition sponsored by Plumbmaster attracting 33 entries. The predicted rain arrived a bit later than forecast, with the North of the Island appearing to escape the worst of it.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Stephen Oates (Finch Hill) who lost out 10-21 to Marown man Colin Kelly. South Ramsey teammates Glynn Hargraves and David Bradford clashed with the latter getting the better of his captain 21-14.

In the other half of the draw Peter Jones progressed as he got through his game with Marown club mate Matthew Keggen 21-17, whilst Paul Dunn ended the challenge of South Ramsey’s Jordan Cain with a 21-11 victory to progress to the next round.

In the semi-finals Bradford ruthlessly took full control as he opted for a longer length also preferred by Kelly as he booked his place in the final with a 21-8 win. The other semi-final looked like it good go close between Dunn and Jones, with the latter opting for a longer length whilst Dunn was performing well across the middle of the green, with this mark enough to see Dunn advance with a 21-18 win.

The final got underway with both players not able to get a run of the jack, with Dunn scoring four singles over the first seven ends, whilst Bradford scored two doubles and a single to lead 10-9.

On end eight Bradford scored a single then headed straight for the corners, after trying in the early ends of the game to get into his preferred corners, this time he headed for the opposite corners to those played in previous rounds.

This worked a treat as the South Ramsey man ran out with four doubles and three singles to claim victory with a 21-9 win, finishing in style with two great bowls on the last end. This was Bradford’s second time lifting the trophy in this competition following on from his 2014 win.

Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen thanked North Ramsey Bowling Club for preparing a much improved green, the club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day and the Steve Moore for the smooth running of the competition.