The final stages of the Canada Life International Manx Championship were played at Castletown Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon, with the qualifying rounds having taken place the previous weekend in very wet conditions, which improved as the afternoon went on. Better weather was experienced this week for an afternoon of bowls in front of a good crowd.

Last 16 Results

Ian Watson	10	21	Glynn Hargraves
Tom Kelly	21	11	Paul Quirk
Peter Slinger	21	5	Peter Jones
Peter Collister	21	12	Matthew Keggen
Matthew Quirk	13	21	David Bradford
Colin Kelly	21	11	Stevie Kelly
Bob Clark	17	21	Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly
Neil Withers	21	6	Stephen Rundle

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) who led for the entire game, only to lose out 20-21 to Tom Kelly (Marown), with the difference ultimately being Kelly scoring five two’s to his opponents four doubles. Onchan captain Peter Slinger had the measure of Peter Collister (South Ramsey) with a resounding 21-6 win. Current holder going into the day David Bradford was the third South Ramsey man to lose out at the quarter final stage with Colin Kelly (Marown) winning 21-17 as the latter scored five doubles to his opponents two, whilst Neil Withers (Marown) progressed to the final with a hard fought 21-18 win over Peel man Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.

At the semi-final stage Tom Kelly mastered the corner/crown mark to build a six chalk lead at 20-14 over Slinger, before conceding a double and a single then securing the point he needed to reach his first final. Withers looked to have a game on his hands with Colin Kelly, however he gained his revenge over Kelly for the recent Ballacashtal Cup final defeat with a resounding 21-12 victory.

The final got underway with Withers, starting as favourite having one previous Manx Championship and a Isle of Man Festival title under his belt, he started the stronger as he played the length that had served him well throughout the day to go seven chalks ahead after nine ends with the score at 10-3.

The next two ends went in favour of Kelly, who picked up a two and a single as he headed for a corner, only for Withers to get back in with a double. After the 13th end Withers maintained his seven point lead with the score now 13-6.

The rain arrived for a brief period as Withers shifted up a gear to go within touching distance of the title as he shot into a 19-11 lead. Kelly had to dig deep to drag himself back into the game as he bowled two great bowls to win the end, followed by another good end as he went on to win four successive ends, picking up three doubles along the way to put the score at 18-19.

With all to play for Kelly went back along the edge of the green, with his first bowl a good length Withers stepped in with his first bowl which pulled up quickly to rest 18 inches away from the jack. Kelly’s second bowl looked to be on a good track, somehow it went through the gap between the jack and Withers counting bowl. Withers who was safe in the knowledge that he was counting for one settled himself as he took a deep breath to send his second bowl to make two to claim his second Manx Championship victory with a hard fought 21-18 win. This second win arrives 14 years after his previous win at Marown in 2009.

The presentation was made by competition secretary Matthew Keggen who thanked Castletown Bowling Club for preparing the green, providing the refreshments and measurers. In his speech Withers dedicated the win to his Mother Pat who sadly passed away last year. Withers and Kelly along with play off qualifier Peter Slinger all qualify to represent the Isle of Man on Saturday 29th July at Heaton Park BC in Manchester in the Senior Individual Merit.

Another double week of fixtures took place across all three divisions this week in the Canada Life International sponsored bowling leagues.

In Division One league leaders South Ramsey A had a good week with two 9-1 victories. Monday’s win was away to Peel B, with the most notable result of the evening coming from South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves who fought back from an 8-19 deficit to run out with a 21-19 win over Dewi Bartlett to ensure further points weren’t dropped for his team. Alan Moore had to dig in for his 21-17 win over Andy Mackie, whilst Dougie Allan shown once more how hard he is to shift with a 21-11 win over James Teare to secure a point for the home team.

With South Ramsey A missing two regulars on Friday evening the result at home to rock bottom Castletown A could quite easily have been 7-3, with Ben Dugdale in a battle with David Quayle, before eventually winning 21-16, whilst James Teare returned to winning ways with a 21-18 win over Aaron Richardson who performed well in the second half of the game to recover from a 10-17 deficit. Winning to single figures for South Ramsey were David Bradford, Bob Clark and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly. The lone winner for the Town men was Nathan Hamilton who beat Alan Moore 21-12.

Marown A matched the leaders on Monday evening as they beat Port St Mary A 9-1 at Crosby. Neil Withers also made a good comeback as he trailed Trevor Quayle 10-17, battling back to win 21-20, whilst Glenn Boland got over the line 21-18 against Chris Oates. Four single figure wins arrived from Paul Dunn, Colin Kelly, Peter Jones and John Gelling, whilst Port St Mary captain Wayne Roberts prevented the whitewash with a 21-13 win over Phil Kelly.

On Friday evening Marown A travelled to Mooragh Park to take on North Ramsey A, with the visitors missing four regulars they had to draft players in from other teams. Winning comfortably for the visitors were Peter Jones and Colin Kelly, whilst Neil Withers and Matthew Keggen had it easier still as they both won to single figures to ensure the chalks were safe (122-136) for the aggregate. For the home team Paul Allison beat Karl Parker 21-12, Steve Walmsley beat Juan Killip 21-11, which Rob Monk matched as he beat Paul Kelly. The fourth win for the Mooragh men was from John Cannan who beat Dean Kipling 21-18, in a result that could prove quite damaging to the Crosby men’s title hopes.

Elsewhere Onchan A played out a 5-5 draw at Mooragh Park on Monday evening with the home team winning the five games, however the aggregate went in favour of the visitors who had two single figure wins.

On Friday evening Onchan A and Peel A battled it out, with the visitors performing well to take a solid 3-7 away victory helped by three single figure wins for the visitors from Philip Pemberton, Dean Kinley and Gary Smith over Mike Thomas, Reg Temporaza and Jamie Clague respectively. Tommy McMeiken just edged past Neil Dunwell 21-20, with George Gadsby beating Will Penhallurick 21-16. Winning for the home team were Peter Slinger, Kevin Quirk and Matthew Quirk, with the latter inflicting a first league defeat of the season on Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.

South Ramsey B picked up seven points this week as they lost 3-7 at home to Peel A on Monday night, with Tony Hart, Toby Hart and Tony Dugdale all winning, whilst a 6-4 away defeat to Peel B on Friday was not too damaging to their hopes of staying up, with Lee Dawson, Eddie Carlyle, Tony Hart and Toby Hart all winning.

Douglas A had a good week picking up an 8-2 home win on Monday evening, then came through a tough home game for a 6-4 home win over Marown B on Friday night.

Marown C had a positive week picking up 11 points, following a close 4-6 defeat to Marown B losing the aggregate by just four chalks (137-141), whilst a 7-3 home victory was claimed by a closer margin of two chalks (139-137) over relegation rivals Port St Mary A.

In Division Two Finch Hill A sit in top spot by eight points following their 2-8 away win to Peel C, whilst a home 6-4 win over second placed Port Erin A kept the visitors at arm’s length.

Port Erin A did start their week in red hot form as they inflicted a 9-1 defeat over Ballaugh A at Breagle Glen to damage the visitors hopes for promotion.

Third placed Castletown had an up and down week, starting brightly with a 7-3 home win over Douglas B, then slipped to a disastrous 4-6 home defeat to Noble’s A.

North Ramsey B took a solid 8-2 home win over Onchan B, then slipped to a 4-6 home defeat to Ballaugh A as they lost the aggregate by three chalks (139-142).

South Ramsey C won 6-4 at home to Noble’s B on Tuesday evening, claiming the aggregate by just two chalks (139-137) then slipped to a 2-8 home defeat against Onchan B two days later.

Onchan C remain 11 points adrift of safety as they suffered two 2-8 away defeats, firstly away to Noble’s A, then Noble’s B repeated the trick on Friday night.

Peel C had a better end to the week as they beat Douglas B 8-2 at home with just nine chalks separating the sides (142-131).

In Division Three Port St Mary B sit top following an 8-2 home win to South Ramsey D, then went one better later in the week as they beat Noble’s C 9-1 at Breagle Glen.

Ballaugh B are hot on their heels, sitting just a point behind the Port men as they beat Marown D 7-3 at home, then won their second home fixture of the week as they won 9-1 against Douglas C.

Noble’s D will be happy with their weeks work after two away games beating Douglas D 1-9, then winning 3-7 against Ballaugh C.

South Ramsey D had their second trip of the week to Breagle Glen, this time facing Port Erin B as the visitors made the long trek home with a 4-6 victory (134-149).

Douglas D did manage to pick up their third league win of the season as they beat Peel D 8-2 at the Villa.

Peel D pulled off a good 4-6 away win to Finch Hill B on Tuesday evening, with the Finch men having a tough week as they went on to lose 8-2 to Marown D at Crosby.

After a week of Festival Bowls an entry of 27 took part in the Ken Williamson Memorial Cup. Ken was a popular player amongst the bowling community. As the sun shone this helped to quicken the pace of the Onchan green as the day went on.

The winner was Bob Clark who defeated South Ramsey teammate Glynn Hargraves 21-16 in the final to win the competition for a second time, with the first title being won in 2010 as a 17-year-old.

With Clark winning the coin toss, he headed for a mark that had served him well throughout the day to take an early 8-4 lead after three ends. On the fourth end Hargraves got his first points on the board, with Clark lying two a good last bowl won the end. A further two singles followed, with Clark getting back in he headed for his favoured mark. With Clark lying two Hargraves somewhat fortuitously grabbed the jack to make two and level proceedings up at 9-9.

Playing a fair length on a straight mark Hargraves put up a good lead, however Clark played a great first bowl which his opponent was unable to take out.

From there it became clear that both players were playing better to each others jack.

With Hargraves leading 11-10 a good lead bowl was beaten by Clark, with Hargraves just going through the gap with his second bowl the game was tied at 11-11.

The pair were tied once more at 13-13, with Hargraves playing two good bowls on a big round peg, with Clark’s last bowl being played to perfection to win the end and lead 14-13. The pair went level again at 14-14. Clark won the next two ends to lead 16-14 and was counting for one only for Hargraves to play Clark’s bowl out cleanly to sit one point behind at 15-16.

Clark then stepped up a gear to pick up a double and a single to lead 19-15. As Clark headed for a longer mark Hargraves picked up a single. With a last throw of the dice Hargraves opted for distance, however left ample room for Clark to play two good bowls to finish the game off with a 21-16 victory.

Clark had been in good form throughout the day on his way to victory as he navigated his way through five tough games to take a deserved win.

Losing out at the semi-final stage were Peter Jones (Marown) who was beaten 12-21 by Clark, whilst Hargraves ended the run of Port Erin’s Bernie Durcan with a 21-13 win to take his place in the final.

Falling at the quarter final stage were Matthew Quirk (Onchan) 14-21 to Clark, Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) was defeated 13-21 to Jones, Pete Collins (Port St Mary) reached the end of the road as Durcan won 21-13, whilst Hargraves beat Finch Hill man Dave McCabe 21-9.

The presentation was made by Kevin Quirk with thanks given to Mark Kelly for running the competition and to the ladies for putting on refreshments. Ken Williamson’s niece Diane Crossley was then introduced to present the prizes.

The ever-popular pre-festival Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday attracting an entry of 70 bowlers, made up of local and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in good condition, the competition was once again sponsored by ABS Solutions.

At the quarter final stages five of the eight players were locals. Losing out were South Ramsey’s David Bradford who led 20-15 and was lying two for game against Colin Kelly only for the Marown man to run out with a 21-20 win. Steve Barber (Chapel Park) made it through to his second semi-final of the weekend with a comfortable 21-12 win over Marown’s Karl Parker.

In the other half of the draw Keith Middleton (Fairfield) was lying game down at 20-20 against Jordan Cain, with Cain attempting to get a second counting bowl he slightly opened the end up to give his opponent an opportunity to get in which he duly did with a great last bowl to progress to the next round. The final game of the quarter finals saw another Marown player Neil Withers put an end to the run of Paul Bradley (Fairfield) with a 21-10 victory.

The standard in the semi-finals shifted up another gear, with Barber taking on Kelly, with the latter trailing 6-11 and 14-17, with one last big push from the local man enough to see him book his place in the final with a 21-17 win.

The second semi-final was well poised with Withers against Middleton, the game was all square at 15-15 after 13 ends. Both players scored a single and a double to level up again at 18-18, with Withers then scoring a double to lead 20-18. A single for the Fairfields man put Middleton one end away from the final, however the local man got the one point he needed to progress with a 21-19 victory.

The final had most neutrals predicting a Kelly win, however an upset looked on the cards as Withers made a strong start playing his customary shorter length to build an 18-10 lead after 11 ends.

A fight back looked like it could be on the cards with a single and a two for Kelly was stopped in its tracks with a single for Withers to lead 19-13. Another point was picked up by Kelly, as he headed straight for the corner towards the gate, but proceeded to get low with both bowls gifting Withers the opportunity to make another for game. Withers failed to make another with his second bowl falling short.

This ultimately proved to be a game changer as despite leading 20-14 Kelly got in the following end, then headed for his less preferred corners with a last throw of the dice, scoring five singles with a double in between to run out with an unlikely 21-20 victory to win the Ballacashtal Cup to claim his first singles open win of the season.

The presentation was made by Castletown Club Chairman Phil Taubman who thanked the sponsors ABS Solutions for their continued support of the competition, the ladies for the refreshments and Kath Kinley for running the competition. Upon accepting the trophy Colin noted it was another good comeback which had helped get him over the line on the day.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday afternoon, in what is traditionally the first of the pre-festival opens with a strong entry of 63. With heavy rain overnight and into the morning this took the pace out of the green, however it did help the competition finish at a reasonable time.

At the quarter final stage home greener Greg Barlow lost out 10-21 to Paul Dunn (Marown), club mates Matthew Keggen and Neil Withers (both Marown) faced each other with the latter winning 21-18. Visitor Wayne Jevons (Wirral) got the better of Finch Hill man Dave McCabe 21-14, whilst another visitor Steve Barber (Chapel Park) just got past Alan Moore 21-20.

In the semi-finals the two remaining locals faced each other, with Dunn up against Withers, as the former was quickest out of the blocks opting for a longer length to build up an eight point lead at 16-8. Withers responded to score eight of the next nine points to sit just one chalk behind at 16-17. Marown captain Dunn then finished the game off winning three of the next four ends to book his place in the final with a 21-17 win.

The second semi-final was also well contested between visiting bowlers Jevons and Barber, with the latter reaching the semi-final for a second consecutive year. The first 10 ends of the game saw just one double scored by Barber on the first end which put the score at 11-10. Jevons stepped up a gear to score four doubles to lead 20-13. Barber attempted to make a comeback with two doubles, however a great last bowl from Jevons with his opponent counting for two sealed a 21-17 win and his place in the final.

The final got underway with a crowd of almost 60 people still in attendance to see who would take home the trophy, it was local man Dunn who made the better start on a longer length to lead 11-6 after seven ends.

Merseyside man Jevons fought his way back into the game a shorter mark to sit just one point behind at 13-14. The Marown man rallied once more to see the game out with a single and three doubles to record a 21-13 victory and with it his second time of lifting the trophy, and follows on from his win in his last outing at Marown, Dunn is in fine form as we head into the festival and upcoming Manx Championship.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey chairman Steve Moore who thanked George Brew for once again sponsoring the competition, the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition throughout the day. The prizes were then presented by George’s grandson Bailey.

After a welcome week’s break due to the TT it was back to league and cup action in the Canada Life International bowling leagues. 

Match of the week in Division One was between South Ramsey B and Port St Mary A on a tricky Ramsey green. The visitors came away pleased with a 4-6 win, as they took the aggregate by a solitary chalk (136-137). Helping the home team pick up three of their four points were the Hart family with Dad Tony who beat Tom Collins 21-16, youngest son Toby beat Bernard Thackrah 21-7, Toby’s older brother Austin impressed as he inflicted a rare league defeat on Trevor Quayle 21-19, whilst Tony Dugdale picked up the fourth win as he beat Dan Mccabe 21-11. For the Port men Paul Skelly held off Ben Dugdale 21-17, with comfortable wins picked up by Wayne Roberts, Robbie Cooil and Tim Williams over Eddie Carlyle, Frank Watson and Christian Caley respectively. 

At the top end of the table Marown A hosted Castletown A at Crosby on Monday night, with the home team missing two regulars in Colin Kelly and Phil Kelly, however they still took home a convincing 9-1 win, with Ian Watson making a return to the A Team, he impressed with a convincing 21-9 win over Matthew Keggen. For Marown Dean Kipling won 21-7 against Nathan Hamilton, whilst Neil Withers beat Mike Hargraves 21-3. 

South Ramsey A had a tricky looking away game against Marown C the following evening, so it proved despite winning 1-9 on the night they had to battle for three of their wins. Bob Clark was 19-11 up on Tom Kelly, before winning 21-18, Peter Collister led 18-13 against Marown captain Stevie Rundle, with Rundle levelling up at 18-18, only for Collister to rally to win 21-18. South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves trailed 7-13, then 16-19 to Andy Kennish, with the former finishing strongly to secure a hard fought 21-19 win. Preventing the whitewash for Marown was Peter Kelly who beat James Teare 21-12. The result ensured the top two matched each other once again. 

Elsewhere Peel A had a comfortable 9-1 home win over North Ramsey A, with Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly leading the way with a 21-2 win over John Corteen, notably four of the home team wins were 17 or above. For the Mooragh Men Steve Walmsley picked up the only win as he held off Dean Kinley 21-19. 

Onchan A picked up a solid 9-1 home win over Marown B, with home captain Peter Slinger the only single figure winner on the night as he beat John Kelly 21-8. Walter McCarthy was the man who prevented a 10-0 defeat as he beat Jamie Clague 21-11. 

Douglas A hosted Peel B at the Villa, with captain Mervin Sayle winning 21-2 against Rob Middleton, whilst Gary Conwell held off Andy Mackie 21-20, with Gordon Wynne-Smythe also winning a close game 21-19 against Paul Quirk. For Peel Gordon Corrin beat Shaun Seal 21-19, whilst Dewi Bartlett continues to impress as he settles in to Island life winning to the same score against Andy Cannell. 

In Division Two third placed Castletown B are in the mix with a 7-3 home win over Ballaugh A, with two single figure wins from Ross Moore and Derek Lewney, whilst George Peach and John Matheson both scraped home 21-20. The visitors are 11 points behind league leaders Finch Hill A, however they do have a game in hand to close the gap. 

Finch Hill A came away from Onchan C with a good 2-8 win, as they stayed top of the table by two points on 70 points from 10 games played. 

Port Erin A just missed out on a 10-0 maximum by two chalks following their 9-1 home win over South Ramsey C, as Andy Morgan prevented the whitewash with his 21-19 win over Mark Stockholm. 

Elsewhere Douglas B occupy second place following their 3-7 away win over Noble’s A, North Ramsey B beat Noble’s B 7-3 at Mooragh Park, whilst Onchan B won 4-6 away to Peel B (123-127). 

In Division Three the match of the night was between two of the top teams, with leaders Ballaugh B hosting third placed Noble’s D. The visitors managed to secure five wins to claim a 5-5 draw, with the home team edging the chalks (144-142). For the home team two single figure wins from Gary Griffiths and Mike Buckeridge ensured the aggregate went in favour of the home team. 

Port St Mary B went joint top with Ballaugh B with a 3-7 away win over Douglas C.  

Elsewhere South Ramsey D slipped to a 4-6 home defeat to end their recent good form, Noble’s C impressed with a 6-4 home win over Peel D, with the final two matches seeing a single chalk separate the teams as Finch Hill B claimed a 6-4 home win over Peel D (125-124), whilst Port Erin B drew 5-5 with Douglas D as the Breagle men managed to field a full team. 

Plumbmaster Rayner Shield 

The quarter final stages were played out on Wednesday evening on another fine evening, as the tie of the round saw South Ramsey A host Marown A.

The first two games off went in favour of the Crosby men as Colin Kelly beat James Teare 21-16, with Glenn Boland gaining revenge over Glynn Hargraves as he impressed with a 21-6 win. South Ramsey got their first win under their belt with Jordan Cain seeing off Neil Withers 21-16. Paul Kelly put the visitors 3-1 up at the half way stage getting over the line 21-17 after a spirited comeback from Stefan Kelly.  

In the second half with South Ramsey trailing by 19 chalks, their back four turned the match around with David Bradford beating Paul Dunn 21-13, Peter Collister ran out with a 21-20 win after trailing 17-20 against John Gelling. With two matches left on the green the comeback was almost complete with Bob Clark well ahead against Peter Jones, as Clark went on to win 21-12. The last game on the green was between Dido Kelly, who was making his first appearance of the season and Phil Kelly who had just returned from holiday. A good start from Dido to lead 10-0 kept his opponent at arm’s length throughout the game, as they matched each other point for point from there for Dido to win 21-11 and secure a 5-3 win for the home team to progress to the semi-final stage. The match was well contested by both teams with Marown putting in a good performance as just nine chalks separating the teams (144-135). 

Elsewhere Onchan A progressed to the next round with a solid 2-6 away win over Castletown B, with Peter Oates and Ross Moore the winners for Town. North Ramsey A made home advantage count as they won 8-0 against South Ramsey C, with four single figure wins, whilst Marown C won to the same score against Douglas B, with Stuart Garrett coming closest to snatching a consolation win for the Villa men as he lost out 18-21 to Steve Rough.  

Plumbmaster Rayner Plate 

Ballaugh A (+30) had to turn around a 20-chalk deficit against Noble’s A (+50), which they managed to do comfortably as they won by 27 chalks, with all six of their wins being comfortable which helped their cause. 

Finch Hill A (+30) hosted South Ramsey B (+40), despite the home team winning 5-3 on the night, they couldn’t make up the 10-chalk deficit as they lost by 15 chalks (156-171), as two single figure wins for the visitors from Tony Dugdale and Tony Hart, along with Ben Dugdale’s 21-10 win over Paul Dougherty were enough to get them over the line. 

First Division team Peel B (+20) hosted third division outfit Finch Hill B (+65) with the home team having to clawback a 45-chalk deficit, which they did by 17 chalks (188-171) thanks to an 8-0 victory. 

The final match of the round was held on Thursday evening between third division leaders Ballaugh B (+45) and first division side Marown B (+15) with the visitors having to make up a 30-chalk deficit… Report to follow…