Windy conditions hindered bowlers in Canada Life International League Division One on Monday night as runaway leaders South Ramsey A bounced back from the previous week’s defeat to Marown A to establish an 11-point lead the top, as they beat Marown C 10-0 at home. For the home team David Bradford was the only winner to single figures as he beat Jamie Joughin 21-4, whilst the highest scorers for the visitors were Kevin Kelly and Steven Rough who lost out 14-21 to Bob Clark and Glynn Hargraves respectively.

Strugglers Castletown A had a tough game on their hands as they hosted Marown A at the Crofts. At the halfway stage of the game it looked like a huge upset could be on the cards as the Town men led 3-1, however a good performance from the Crosby men in the second half secured a 3-7 win for Marown. Winning for the home team were Nathan Cooil who beat John Gelling 21-15, this was matched by captain Jordan Drewett as he beat Paul Kelly, whilst Ian Watson held off Glenn Boland 21-20.

The second half saw single figure wins from Marown captain Paul Dunn and Peter Jones against Alan Phair and Ron Williams, with Phil Kelly and Colin Kelly completing the comeback with wins against George Foy and Aaron Richardson respectively.

Onchan A came away from Crosby with a well-deserved 2-8 win over Marown B. Matthew Quirk was the best winner for Onchan with a 21-2 win over James Kelly, whilst Will Penhallurick was fairly comfortable with a 21-17 victory over Marown captain Darren Kerruish. Responding for the home team were Brian Kelly with a 21-15 win over Jamie Clague, whilst Harry Barton beat Neil Dunwell 21-3.

Port St Mary A did themselves a huge favour to give themselves some breathing room at the bottom of the table as they beat fellow strugglers South Ramsey B 9-1, with the visitors now eight points adrift of safety they look to be heading towards an immediate return to Division Two. Tony Hart prevented the whitewash as he beat Paul Skelly 21-16, with captain Ben Dugdale the highest scorer for the visitors as he lost out 17-21 to Robbie Cooil. Winning to single figures for the Port men were Tim Williams, as he beat Austin Hart 21-3, with teammate Trevor Quayle winning 21-4 against George Brew.

Peel B picked up a valuable four points to stay outside of the relegation spots, following their 4-6 home defeat to Douglas A, as two single figure defeats cost them the aggregate. For the visitors Jimmy Sansom held off Dougie Allan 21-20, Gordon Wynne-Smythe won 21-6 against Andy Mackie, whilst Villa captain Merv Sayle beat Mick Kavanagh 21-8. Winning for the home team in close games were Paul Quirk, who beat Andy Cannell 21-19, Robert Middleton held off Shaun Seal 21-18, whilst wins from Brian Lindsay and Gordon Corrin over Keith Raise and Gary Conwell respectively were comfortable.

North Ramsey A were due to host Peel A at Mooragh Park, however this fixture has been rearranged to a later date due to the Manx Grand Prix road closures.

In Division Two Finch Hill A are making a huge effort to return to the top division after a lengthy absence, with their last appearance back in 2016 as they beat Onchan C 10-0 at home, as they kept the visitors to just 90 chalks. Four single wins from Dave McCabe, Paul Dougherty, Tony Epifani, and Mark Taylor ensured low chalks for the visitors, with Neil Taylor coming closest to picking up a point for Onchan only to lose out 19-21 to Stephen Oates.

Douglas B beat Noble’s A 8-2 at the Villa, as Martyn Hobson lost out 20-21 to Geoff Mayles, Jim Collister also narrowly losing out 19-21 to David Pease. The best winner for the home team was Steve Cook as he beat Stephen Hampson 21-4. For the visitors Juan Qualtrough won 21-15 against Bob Callow, whilst Alex Yates got the better of Willie Cowley 21-18.

Noble’s B drew 5-5 at home to North Ramsey B despite losing 3-5 on games they edged the aggregate by just three chalks (142-139). Home team winners were Jay Elliott, Mikey Cooper, and Stephen Corkill with the latter beating Joe Kneale 21-6. For the visitors three wins were hard fought as Ray Skelly beat Noel Ash 21-18, with Tony Smart and Brian Colquitt both winning their games 21-17 against Alex Hampson and Phil Salmon respectively.

South Ramsey C won their home game against Port Erin A 7-3 by a solitary chalk. Winning for the visitors were David Cain who beat David Corkill 21-12, Bernie Durcan eased home 21-7 against Ian Moore, whilst Ed Benson won 21-11 against Andy Morgan. Winning for the home team were Paul Routledge, Greg Barlow, Richie Davies, Jay Moore, and Anthony Kelly with the latter pushed hard before winning 21-19.

Second placed Ballaugh A rearranged their home game with Castletown B to a later date.

In Division Three Port St Mary B now have a six-point lead over the teams chasing them as they won 8-2 at home to Douglas C. The home team wins were all comfortable, with Nicholas Peterson beat pushed furthest by Juan Readshaw with his 21-17 win. For the visitors David Caley beat Will Cain 21-20, with Greg Tomlinson beating Peter Lowe 21-16.

Noble’s D (3rd) went level with visitors Ballaugh B who occupy second place, thanks to an 8-2 victory for the Noble’s men. Winning to single figures for the home team were Andrew Bell, Kevin Moore, and Junior bowler Sam Colquitt. For the visitors Gary Griffiths impressed with a 21-8 win over Terry Bates, whilst Mike Buckeridge beat Charlie Bell 21-19.

Marown D won their home game with South Ramsey D 7-3, as the Crosby men won the aggregate by a margin of 16 chalks (151-135). For the visitors Franz ten Donkelaar beat 2022 Division Three merit winner Jay Waters 21-15, Steve Kelly was the joint best winner on the night as he won 21-11 against Phil Dunn, whilst Geoff Collier just edged home 21-20 against Andy Sykes. For the home team Alan Gault played a great last bowl to beat Ryan Hargraves 21-20, Stu Mason beat Frank Feeney 21-13, whilst Ryan Holdaway beat Chris Brown 21-11.

Another game brought forward was between Ballaugh C who welcomed Finch Hill B. Despite the home team winning 5-3 on games, they lost the aggregate by a solitary chalk (134-135) with Sam Stannard-Duke winning 21-2 against Tim Merriman, this helped the visitors to draw 5-5. Other winners for Finch were Peter Woods who beat Steve Bassil 21-10 and Tom Waterworth 21-17. For Ballaugh Ken Harding won 21-20 against Guy Smith and Jamie Kelly beat Tony Jones 21-18.

Elsewhere Noble’s C came away from Peel D with a 3-7 win in a high scoring contest (144-150), whilst Douglas D won 8-2 at the Villa against Port Erin B.  

The top two clashed in Canada Life International League Division One at Crosby on Monday evening, as Marown A hosted South Ramsey A on a fascinating evening of bowls, despite the heavy rain earlier in the day the Marown green was running well.

First game off the green was a home win, as Colin Kelly gave little room for James Teare with a 21-7 win. Neil Withers made it 2-0, as he recovered from a 1-5 deficit against Peter Collister to go 15-5 ahead, as he eventually went on to close the game out 21-14. A third win arrived for the Crosby men as Phil Kelly performed well to see off Stefan Kelly 21-15. The last game off proved to be pivotal to the match as a 4-0 lead at half time would have been difficult for the visitors to come back from. Marown captain Paul Dunn trailed Bob Clark 3-11 and 13-18, only to go ahead 20-19 on the 29^th end. Clark had to dig deep to claim two singles to see the game out 21-20 to pick up the Ramsey men’s first win of the night to put the score at 3-1 at the halfway stage.

In the second half the visitors would have fancied their chances of picking up some points, they got off to a good start as David Bradford beat Paul Kelly 21-9, as he kept his opponent down to just one double. Dido Kelly then sealed their third point as he beat Glenn Boland with a comfortable 21-14 win. The penultimate game on the green was between Peter Jones and Jordan Cain, with the latter going three chalks ahead at 13-10, only to trail 13-18 on the 27th end. A stirring fightback from the Ramsey man followed to go 20-18 ahead, with Cain lying game twice only for Jones to hang in the game with a good saving bowl. Two singles followed for Jones, then on the deciding end the Marown man trailed the jack to get over the line 21-20. The final game of the night saw South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves storm into an 18-7 lead against John Gelling, with a huge comeback from the Marown man who dragged the score back to 19-20 on the 30^th end only for Hargraves to secure the single chalk needed to win 21-19.

With the match ending 4-4 on games, there were just six chalks (146-140) separating the sides, with Marown picking up the aggregate to secure a 6-4 win and with it condemn South Ramsey to their first league defeat of the season. South Ramsey won’t be too disappointed with the result as they are eight points ahead of Marown with just three fixtures left to play.

Onchan A won 8-2 at home to Castletown A, as they missed out on an extra point as Phil Kerruish lost 20-21 to Dave Quayle, with the latter bouncing back from last weeks defeat to the same score. The second winner for Town was Aaron Richardson as he beat Mike Thomas 21-15. Winning big for the home team were captain Peter Slinger who beat Chris Lever 21-2, Matthew Quirk won 21-5 against Ian Watson, whilst Neil Dunwell managed to hold off Nathan Hamilton 21-17.

Peel A are firmly in the hunt for third place as they beat Port St Mary A 9-1 at home to go level on points with Onchan A. With no other games being close, the lone winner for the visitors was Paul Skelly who beat David Proctor 21-15. Three single figure wins for the home team were claimed by Peter Greenlees, Stevie Kelly and Tommy McMeiken over Tim Williams, Dave Saxon, and Wayne Roberts respectively. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly claimed a good 21-14 victory over Trevor Quayle.

North Ramsey A recorded their first 10-0 win of the season as they beat Peel B at Mooragh Park. John Cannan was the only single figure winner as he beat Gordon Corrin 21-9. Paul Allison won 21-17 against Alan Cromwell, Gary Merrill beat Peel captain Paul Quirk 21-18, whilst Andy Mackie was the highest scorer for the visitors as he lost out 19-21 to Kimmy Moffatt.

South Ramsey B gave themselves a glimmer of hope of staying up, with an 8-2 home win over Marown B, missing out on a full house by just five chalks. Matthew Keggen led 18-10 against Christian Caley, with the latter nearly completing another comeback for a second week running only to lose out this time 18-21. Harry Barton was the second winner for Marown as he beat Tony Dugdale 21-19. For the home team Eddie Carlyle beat James Kelly 21-9, with George Brew stepping in to beat Brian Kelly 21-19, whilst Toby Hart won to the same score against John Kelly.

Marown C hosted Douglas A at Crosby on Tuesday evening with the home team going home the happier of the two teams with a 6-4 win. Marown captain Stevie Rundle led the way with a 21-7 win over Gordy Wynne-Smythe, with Peter Kelly not far behind with a 21-9 victory over Andy Foster. Andy Kennish stepped into help the team out as he beat former teammate Gary Conwell 21-15. Rounding off the home wins was Tom Kelly as he beat Villa captain Merv Sayle 21-16. Just losing out for Marown was Kevin Kelly who lost out 20-21 to Kevin Firth. Winning for the visitors were Jimmy Sansom, Keith Rise and Shaun Seal.

In Division Two league leaders Finch Hill A kept the momentum going with a 3-7 away win over Noble’s A, as they just got the aggregate for the chalks (134-136). Mark Bradshaw won 21-5 for Noble’s, with Dave Naughton and Stephen Hampson the other winners. For the visitors Pat Maher beat John Andrew 21-17, whilst Les Brookes got the better of Juan Qualtrough 21-19.

Castletown B had two players making debuts as Paddy Cooper had a tough start to league bowls, as he lost 12-21 to Steve Parker, whilst Kiron Kryptor impressed with a 21-4 win over Paul Callister. Winning close games for Town were Peter Oates who won 21-17 against Mark Kelly, whilst Alan Phair beat Mike Kelly 21-19.

Port Erin A beat North Ramsey B 8-2 at Breagle Glen with single figure wins from Ed Benson, David Cain, and Bernie Durcan against Tony Smart, Joe Kneale, and Lee Christian respectively. Brian Colquitt was the best winner for the Mooragh men as he beat Trevor Barker 21-3.

Douglas B won 7-3 at home to Noble’s B. Winning for the visitors were Alex Hampson, with an impressive 21-11 win over Geoff Mayles. Stephen Corkill beat Dave Corkish 21-7, whilst Ciaran Broad won 21-17 against Paddy Murphy. Comfortable wins to single figures for the home team arrived from David Pease who won 21-9 against Grahem Moore, with Steve Cook beating Michael Cooper 21-4.

Ballaugh A lie in second place, following their 3-7 victory away victory over Onchan C, as the visitors were no doubt still celebrating Friday evening’s Rayner Plate win. John Maddrell was made to work for his 21-18 win over Kelvin McNicholl, Tony Quine was the best winner as he beat Brian Aspden 21-8, whilst Nigel Tebay beat Bernard Galka 21-9.

Peel C got the better of South Ramsey C with a 6-4 home win by just two chalks (143-141). Andrew Cover was the best winner on the night as he beat Richie Davies 21-7, Eddie Convery won 21-19 against Paul Routledge, whilst Harry Kelly just missed out 20-21 to Anthony Kelly.

In Division Three Port St Mary B stayed top of the table despite a 5-5 home draw to Marown D. Winning for the home team were Nicholas Peterson, Pete Collins, and Mike Keggen. The three Port players who lost to 18-21 were Colin Leece, Ken Karran, and Ray Maddrell, as these high scoring defeats helped secure the aggregate by five chalks (142-137).

Ballaugh B are hot on the heels of Port St Mary after their 7-3 home win over their lower ranked C team as they hit 125 points for the season. The Port men stay top thanks to a better games of 97 to Ballaugh’s 95.

Noble’s C took on Noble’s D, with the D Team taking the spoils 8-2. Five single figure wins for the D shown the gap between the teams. Winning for the C team were Mike Caley, who beat Charlie Bell 21-16, Lee Greggor who won 21-15 against Alex Colquitt, with Nigel Hinds losing out 18-21 to Andrew Bell. Noble’s D aren’t to be written off as they are six points off the top as they wait for a slip up from the teams above them.

Elsewhere Douglas C won 7-3 at home to Port Erin B, Finch Hill B beat Douglas D 8-2 at home, with South Ramsey D seeing off Peel D (pictured), with the visitors having some players gaining experience. For Peel William Quirk and Mike Ashmole beat Hakim Thomas and Billy Blair 21-18 respectively, with Joshua Trickett winning 21-18 against Chris Brown. For the home team Geoff Collier won 21-3 against Kevin Murray, with Ryan Hargraves beating debutant John Sayle 21-6.

The Islands premier doubles competition the Plumbmaster Doubles Championship was hosted by Noble’s Bowling Club on Sunday. The competition was played 21up off a handicap of +3 for all competitors. The event was well supported with 31 pairs entering in a bid to win the coveted title.

At the quarter final stage the holders Neil Withers and Paul Dunn (Marown) had a tough battle against Neil Dunwell (Onchan) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) as the Crosby men prevailed 21-18. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly and Stevie Kelly (Peel) just crept home 21-20 against Rob Monk (North Ramsey) and Matthew Quirk (Onchan).

In the other half of the draw both games were also close as South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly beat the Onchan pairing of Kevin Quirk and Steve Parker 21-19, whilst Jordan Drewett (Castletown) and Dean Kinley (Peel) lost out 17-21 to Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly (Marown).

In the semi-finals Dunn and Withers were up against the father and son Barney and Stevie Kelly, with only singles scored in the first nine ends the score was 9-6 to the Marown pair. The Peel men briefly took with the lead on the 10th end, with a four scored only to concede a two and a three to trail 10-14. Just seven more ends were needed for Withers and Dunn to reach the final despite only winning three of the ends, they scored a single, a four and a double to secure a 21-14 win.

The other semi-final saw Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly take on Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly, this was more straightforward as the Marown pairing were kept down to five singles as the South Ramsey men progressed to the final with a 21-8 victory.

On the first end in the final, this ended up a dead end with the jack being taken off the green by Kelly. On the next end a three was scored by the South Ramsey pair, this prompted an immediate response from the Crosby men with two singles, two doubles and three three’s in between conceding just two singles to take a commanding 18-8 lead, with the Marown pair playing good bowls along with the ability to take out their opponents counting bowls. A three from Hargraves and Kelly, prompted a double for Withers and Dunn to put the score at 20-11 to the Marown men.

Withers headed for an edge putting up a good lead bowl to count one for game. With nothing to lose Hargraves came close to taking out the counting bowl only to take out his nearest bowl. Lying three down Kelly used a side bowl to come in off which Kelly did to perfection, with a good bit of fortune they counted for two to put the score at 13-20. Heading for the corners a good lead bowl from Hargraves was beaten by Withers with a front ‘toucher’, which gave Kelly two goes to kill the end, with the second attempt just missing this sealed a fully deserved 21-13 victory to win the title for a fourth successive year, following their wins at Port St Mary in 2020, Peel in 2021, and South Ramsey last year.

The presentation was made by Association President Phil Kelly, who thanked Noble’s Bowling Club and their members for providing helpers throughout the day, along with the competition team for the smooth running of the competition.

The final of the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate took place on Friday evening in windy conditions between second division side Ballaugh A (+45) who are battling for promotion as they occupy second place and first Division side Peel Sunset B (+35) who sit in 9th place in the top division.

Peel would have started as favourites as they ply their trade above the Ballaugh men, with the latter team having a 10 chalk start this was just over one chalk a man for Peel to claw back, however Ballaugh have a good mix of new bowlers, along with their experienced players.

The evening started positively for Peel as captain Paul Quirk stormed to a 21-6 win over John Keenan, with the Ballaugh man never getting a look in as Peel went five chalks ahead on the night. The next game off was a first win for Ballaugh as Mike Spooner one of the newest bowlers in the team beat Geoff Rice 21-15, with Spooner keeping Rice down to scoring just one double, whilst scoring seven doubles himself, with this being the main difference.

The third game went to one of the most experienced players on the green, with John Maddrell determined to show he can still mix it with the younger players as he beat Andy Mackie 21-13. Another one of the Ballaugh stalwarts delivered as Edgar Cowin recovered from a 6-11 deficit against Rob Middleton to take a 21-19 victory, with Cowin seeing the game out with five successive singles, when trailing 16-19.

At the half way stage Ballaugh had maintained and extended their 10 chalk head start over Peel by a solitary chalk to 11 chalks (114-103).

In the second half of the match, with a first ever Team Cup win in their sights Ballaugh captain Phil Quayle ensured the pressure was kept on Peel as he put in a good performance to beat Mick Kavanagh 21-13 to build up a 19 chalk lead. With the remaining three games for Ballaugh going in their favour, the win was all but confirmed as game number six came off, with Richard Hainge also winning to 21-13 as he put in a solid performance to beat Dave Smith.

Next off was the youngest player to play on the night in Patrick Grant, who looked like he could have a game on his hands with Dougie Allan, who is a tough customer. The younger and less experienced bowler never looked in doubt as he went on to seal a 21-13 win over Allan. Putting the cherry on the cake on the night was Nigel Tebay who ensured it was a resounding win for Ballaugh as he beat Alan Cromwell 21-16.

The all-important chalks went in Ballaugh’s favour as they won by a massive 40 chalks (198-158) to ensure the handicap difference of 10 chalks never came into play, whilst also winning 7-1 on games.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee Officer Steve Moore who thanked Finch Hill for hosting the final, along with providing measurers and the refreshments. Captain Phil Quayle was then presented with the trophy, he congratulated his team on their performance and offered his commiserations to Peel.

Rayner Plate Final Results

Ballaugh A	+45	+35	Peel Sunset B
John Maddrell	21	13	Andy Mackie
Mike Spooner	21	15	Geoff Rice
John Keenan	6	21	Paul Quirk
Edgar Cowin	21	19	Rob Middleton
Phil Quayle	21	13	Mick Kavanagh
Nigel Tebay	21	16	Alan Cromwell
Richard Hainge	21	13	Dave Smith
Patrick Grant	21	13	Dougie Allan
7 Games Won	198	158	1 Game Won

The Isle of Man Team took part in the 2023 BCGBA Senior Supplementary County Championship which was held on Sunday at Bellingham Bowling Club in Wigan on a good playing surface.

Drawn in Group 1, as expected the opposition was tough with Cheshire, South Yorkshire and Wales awaiting.

In the first round of matches the eight man team were up against Cheshire as the
the Manx men won 5-3 on games with Peter Jones, Paul Dunn, David Bradford, Bob Clark and Glynn Hargraves all winning, with the three games lost being to high scores (17,19 & 19) as they scored highly to win by 25 chalks (160-135) to make a positive start to pick up two points for the win.

In their second round match South Yorkshire were the opposition, the team managed to win three individual games with the winners being Paul Dunn, Jordan Cain and Bob Clark. Losing out in close games were David Bradford who lost 17-21 to Ross Meese and Neil Withers who was beaten 17-21 by Tom Boyd as they lost this one by a margin of 13 chalks (137-150) just two chalks a man to show the very fine margins between victory and defeat.

In their final match they faced Wales with all still to play for, winning four individual games from Peter Jones, Jordan Cain, David Bradford and Matthew Quirk. The team ultimately won the all important chalks as they won by 9 chalks (150-141) to pick up two points for the victory, helped by high scores from Neil Withers (20), Glynn Hargraves (18) and Bob Clark (17).

Cheshire ended up topping the group, going on to the reach the final where they came up against Warwick & Worcestershire who prevailed in Group 2, in a group that included Merseyside, North Midlands and Potteries. In the final Warwick & Worcestershire edged out Cheshire as they won by just four chalks (146-142) with the winners hanging on to a 22 chalk lead at the half way stage to take the title home.

The Isle of Man Team who were managed by Phil Kerruish and assisted by Juan Kermode finished in a very respectable second place on four points in the group to surpass last years performance in this competition, as they also finished +21 on aggregate chalks to show they can compete with other counties, with Cheshire progressing largely thanks to a huge 50 chalk win over Wales in their second round match, they then went on to beat South Yorkshire by seven chalks to also finish on four points and progress to the final with a better aggregate (+32) than the Isle of Man.

To put this into perspective the Isle of Man have just 13 bowling greens available on the Island, with a limited pool of bowlers to choose from. Whilst other counties have hundreds of greens to play on and thousands of bowlers to pick from, it could well be argued that the Isle of Man are punching above their weight.

A great team effort overall, with all players winning at least one game, no defeats to single figures and generally high scores even in defeat helping contribute to the overall result. It says a lot that the team were disappointed not to reach the final, to show the expectation has increased within the squad.