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

In Division One it was very much a case of as you were at the end of the week, however the lead did change hands briefly as Marown A picked up their first 10-0 win of the season as they beat Douglas A at Crosby to hit top spot. Three single figure wins were claimed by Paul Dunn who beat Merv Sayle 21-6, John Gelling won 21-7 against Mark Kneen, whilst Glenn Boland beat Keith Rise 21-8. The highest scorer for the visitors was Gordon Wynne-Smythe who lost 16-21 to Peter Jones.

South Ramsey A had their toughest test of the season as they faced Onchan A at the Park. After a tough game the reigning league champions came away with a 4-6 win, with the visitors claiming the aggregate by just five chalks (140-145). First league defeats of the season were inflicted on the four losers for South Ramsey as Alan Moore lost 12-21 to Phil Kerruish, Bob Clark was beaten 16-21 by Matthew Quirk, David Bradford lost to the same score to Kevin Quirk, whilst Jordan Cain was defeated 17-21 by Peter Slinger. Winning for the visitors were South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves who won convincingly 21-10 against Reg Temporaza, James Teare beat Jamie Clague 21-12, Peter Collister recovered from a 7-14 deficit to run out with a 21-14 win over Neil Dunwell, whilst Stefan Kelly held his nerve to win 21-20 against Will Penhallurick to reverse last season’s score line.

Elsewhere on Monday evening North Ramsey A claimed their biggest victory of the season beat Port St Mary A 9-1 at Mooragh Park, Peel A got the better of Marown B 8-2 in the Sunset City, whilst South Ramsey B claimed a vital 7-3 home win against fellow strugglers Castletown A.

On Friday evening the clash of the season took place with South Ramsey A hosting Marown A on a tricky green. The home team made home advantage count early as South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves claimed a resounding 21-4 win over Glenn Boland, whilst Bob Clark showed no mercy to Paul Kelly as he matched his captains score to put the home team 2-0 up and leading by 34 chalks. David Bradford was next off with a 21-20 victory over Phil Kelly, with the former recovering from an 8-14 deficit to sneak home. With Peter Jones missing due to injury standing in for Marown was Tom Kelly who recovered from 10-15 and 14-18 behind to win 21-19 against Peter Collister.

In the second half of the match Marown captain Paul Dunn performed well against James Teare as he won 21-10. Tony Dugdale who was filling in for Jordan Cain performed brilliantly to beat Neil Withers 21-13, Colin Kelly was always in control with his 21-9 victory over Alan Moore, whilst Stefan Kelly had to dig deep for the second time this week as he got home 21-18 against John Gelling to secure a 7-3 home win and with it restore the three-point lead at the top of the table for South Ramsey.

Castletown A stayed firmly rooted to the bottom of the table following a 2-8 home defeat to Onchan A, with Jordan Drewett and David Quayle the two winners for the Town men.

Elsewhere on Friday evening Douglas A won 8-2 at home to Marown C, with Ian Moore returning following a shoulder injury to beat Andy Kennish 21-20 who was making his first night league appearance of the season, North Ramsey A continue to climb the table thanks to a 2-8 victory over Peel B, Peel A came away from Breagle Glen with a 4-6 victory over Port St Mary A by just three chalks (139-142), whilst Marown B won 7-3 at home to South Ramsey B.

In Division Two Ballaugh A hit top spot again thanks to a strong week with an 8-2 win over Noble’s A, then bettered that result with a 9-1 home win over Onchan C as the visitors scored just 68 chalks, explained by the Onchan men being three players short on the night. Ballaugh man Steven Grant leads the way in the individual merit with eight wins from eight games played.

Castletown B will be pleased with their weeks work as they beat South Ramsey C 8-2 at home on Monday evening keeping the visitors to 99 chalks as they claimed four single figure victories. The Town men won to the same score on Friday night as they beat Onchan B 2-8 away from home, with all players from both teams getting into double figures to sit on 56 points after eight games played.

Finch Hill A occupy third place despite losing 7-3 away to Douglas B at the start of the week, they bounced back to trounce Noble’s A 10-0.

Douglas B are by no means out of the race to get promoted as they followed up their victory at the start of the week with a 1-9 away victory over Noble’s B, with Juan Drinkwater the lone winner 21-16 against Andy Foster.

Ballaugh B lead the way by eight points in Division Three despite suffering a 4-6 home defeat to Douglas D, with two 7-21 defeats for the home team sealing their fate as they lost by nine chalks (127-136). The Ballaugh men bounced back on Thursday night with a 2-8 ‘away’ victory over their C Team.

Port St Mary B are making a decent attempt at going straight back up, as they won 8-2 at home to Peel D, then went one better in their next fixture as they won 1-9 at Crosby against Marown D with Junior Keggen winning 21-19 against Chris Williamson.

South Ramsey D are having one of their most impressive seasons to date, as they claimed back-to-back 8-2 victories, starting the week beating Noble’s D at home, then finishing the week with victory away to Peel D.

Noble’s D and Noble’s C clashed for the first time on Thursday evening, it was the D Team who took the spoils with a 7-3 win. For the D Terry Bates beat Steve Cain 21-14, Sam Colquitt held on to beat Lee Price 21-20, whilst Roy Moore beat Kevin Airey 21-1. Responding for the C Team were Andy Greggor who beat Andrew Bell 21-20, Lee Greggor beat Alex Colquitt 21-11, whilst Mike Caley won 21-14 against Kevin Moore.

In Canada Life International League Division One early pacesetters South Ramsey A faced their lower ranked B Team this week, with the higher ranked team winning 9-1 on the night. Winning comfortably to single figures were Glynn Hargraves, David Bradford, Bob Clark, and James Teare. Alan Moore was made to work for his 21-19 victory over Tony Dugdale. Preventing the whitewash for the B Team was Tony Hart who continued his good form to beat Stefan Kelly 21-17. Tougher tests come next week with Onchan A away on Monday night and Marown A at home on Friday evening.

Onchan A had tricky fixture against Douglas A, however the visitors came away with a 3-7 victory. The best winner for Onchan was Matthew Quirk, as he beat Gary Conwell 21-9. Comfortable wins were claimed by Kevin Quirk, Peter Slinger, and Reg Temporaza, whilst Jamie Clague impressed with a hard earned 21-19 win over Keith Rise. Winning for the home team were Andy Cannell, Mervin Sayle, and Gordon Wynne-Smythe with the latter edging home 21-19 against Mike Thomas.

Castletown A slumped to a 2-8 home defeat against Peel A at the Crofts. For the Town men captain Jordan Drewett beat Dean Kinley 21-16, whilst Nathan Cooil was in good form as he beat Andy Mackie 21-3. Suffering close defeats for the home team were Chris Lever 18-21 to Gary Smith, Mike Hargraves who lost out 19-21 to David Proctor, whilst Aaron Richardson also lost to the same score to George Gadsby.  For the visitors Tommy McMeiken was the best winner as he beat Nathan Hamilton 21-10, Peter Greenlees won 21-13 against Ron Williams, with international jetsetter Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly flying in to make a guest appearance as he beat David Quayle 21-14.

Peel B and Port St Mary A played out the closest contest of the night in the top tier as the Western men claimed a 7-3 home win, with just six chalks separating the teams (146-140). For the home team Colin Moore was the best winner as he beat Tim Williams 21-12, Pip Pemberton performed well to win 21-17 against Paul Skelly, whilst Dougie Allan beat Robbie Cooil 21-18 to earn his win. For the visitors Trevor Quayle won 21-10 against Peel captain Paul Quirk, whilst Dan McCabe beat Andrew Cover 21-17.

Marown B hosted North Ramsey A at Crosby with the home team winning 7-3 as they missed out on a full house by just six chalks as John Kelly lost 18-21 to John Cannan, Dean Kipling played his first game of the season to just lose out 20-21 to Rob Monk, whilst Brian Kelly also lost 20-21 to Paul Allison. Winning to single figures for Marown were Harry Barton and Walter McCarthy who beat Gary Merrill and Adrian Skinner respectively, whilst Karl Parker got home with a 21-18 win over Steve Walmsley.

On Tuesday night Marown C had the unenviable task of taking on their higher ranked A Team. The lower ranked side did manage to claim two wins on the night in their 2-8 defeat, with veteran Peter Kelly showing he hasn’t lost his touch as he beat Paul Kelly 21-4. Sam Clague was the second winner as he impressed with a 21-12 win over John Gelling. For the A Team Paul Dunn and Neil Withers won to single figures, Peter Jones managed to clawback a huge deficit to win 21-17 against Kevin Kelly, whilst Colin Kelly got the better of his son Tom Kelly with a 21-16 victory.

In Division Two Ballaugh A dropped from top spot to third place as they suffered a disastrous 4-6 home defeat to Douglas B losing out on the aggregate by nine chalks (121-130). For the visitors Nick Firth impressed with a 21-9 win over Nigel Tebay, Steve Cook also win to single figures as he beat john Keenan 21-8. For Ballaugh Steve Grant performed well to beat David Pease 21-6, Richard Hainge recovered from a slow start to beat Stuart Garrett 21-15, with captain Phil Quayle also winning to the same score against Paddy Murphy.

Finch Hill A took advantage of Ballaugh’s defeat as they won 3-7 away to Noble’s B to hit top spot. For the Finch men Dave McCabe was the only winner to single figures on the night, Paul Dougherty beat Graham Moore 21-18, whilst Pat Maher held his nerve to beat Stephen Corkill 21-20. For Noble’s Ciaran Broad won 21-16 against Tony Epifani, Phil Salmon won to the same score against Mark Taylor, whilst Michael Johnson won 21-13 against Dave Jones.

Castletown B missed an opportunity as they were well beaten 8-2 away to North Ramsey B. For the Town men Peter Oates won 21-16 against Adam Greenwood, whilst Ian Watson beat Lee Christian 21-18. For the home team Tony Smart was the best winner as he beat Derek Lewney 21-5, whilst Ray Skelly won 21-9 against George Peach.

South Ramsey C gave themselves some breathing space at the lower end of the table as they crushed Onchan C 10-0 at home keeping the visitors to just 89 chalks. Three single figure victories were claimed by Anthony Kelly, James Moore, and Jay Moore. Denis Maxwell came closest to picking up a point for the visitors, however Tony Marler managed to win 21-19.

Not to be outdone Port Erin A beat Peel C 10-0 at Breagle Glen, with two of their wins were hard earned as Ed Benson beat Jeff Wilson 21-19, and Steve Durcan just got the better of Kevin Mort 21-20. Single figure wins arrived from Derek Cadamy, Seamus Whelan, and Bernie Durcan.

Onchan B hosted Noble’s A with the home team getting the better of the visitors with an 8-2 win. Four single figures wins came from Sid McKnight, Steve Parker, Colin Spence, and Mike Alexander. Alex Yates responded for Noble’s with a 21-5 win over Bernie McPhee.

In Division Three league leaders Ballaugh B won five games away to Finch Hill B, as the visitors lost out by four chalks (137-133) to draw 5-5 on the night. Sam Stannard-Duke beat John Kneen 21-10, whilst Chris Wilson was the only single figure winner as he beat Richard Green 21-8. For Ballaugh Mike Buckeridge and Gary Griffiths won 21-17 against Peter Woods and Finch Hill captain Kevin Stannard respectively.

Peel D are ticking along nicely as they won 8-2 at home to Douglas C. For Peel Dewi Barlett had a debut to remember as he won 21-8 against John Ferguson to claim the team kitty. James Lee beat Ashley Halsall 21-19, whilst Charlie McMeiken won 21-18 against Trevor Latus. The two winners for the Villa men were John Harrison who beat William Quirk 21-14, whilst Greg Tomlinson beat Mike Ashmole 21-20.

South Ramsey D came away from Ballaugh C with a solid 2-8 victory. Greg Barlow continues to perform well as he beat Maurice O’Reilly 21-5, with the next best win coming from Junior bowler Ryan Hargraves who won 21-10. For Ballaugh Paul Cubbon won 21-4 against Chris Brown, whilst Steve Bassil beat Frank Feeney 21-17.

Port Erin B made the most of being able to field a full team as they drew 4-4 on games at home to Marown D, as they edged the all-important aggregate by just five chalks (141-136) to win 6-4. Alan Crebbin was the best winner for the Breagle men as he beat Keith Watterson 21-10, whilst Phil Dunn responded for Marown with a 21-7 win over Robert Woodford.

Noble’s D kept in touch at the top after seeing off Port St Mary B 7-3 at home, with all players from both teams reaching double figures, as the home team claimed the bonus points by eight chalks (144-136). Roy Moore had to scrap for his 21-20 win over Nicholas Peterson, whilst all of the visitors’ wins were all to a 21-13 score line from Mike Keggen, Peter Collins and Derek Cain.

Noble’s C continue to impress in their debut season, despite missing their captain Steve Cain this week as they took on Douglas D at the Villa, as the visitors came away with a 3-7 win. Winning for the Noble’s men were Lee Greggor, Lee Price, Dean Sowerby, Kevin Airey, and Andy Greggor, with Mike Caley just losing out 20-21 to Greg Brew, whilst Paul Moore was beaten 18-21 by James Teare.

The first Men’s singles open competition of the 2023 season took place at Ballaugh Bowling Club on Saturday, with some spare dates in the bowling calendar Ballaugh were the lucky recipients of the extra open. The competition attracted an entry of 43 on a good day, with the green running particularly well for the time of year.

The first two quarter finals had South Ramsey players progress to the next round as David Bradford came through 21-16 against Matthew Keggen (Marown). Also progressing was Bob Clark who ended the hopes of another Marown player, Brian Kelly with a 21-9 win.

In the bottom half of the draw Neil Withers overcame Marown clubmate Karl Parker 21-17 in a close game, whilst Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) held off Castletown man Nathan Hamilton 21-15.

In the semi-finals Clark was just too good for Bradford with the former running out with a 21-10 win to book his place in the final, whilst Neil Withers went one better as he beat Roberts 21-9 to claim his spot in the final.

The final got underway with Withers fully punishing Clark on the first end as the latter passed up the opportunity to make two as the Marown man played out Clark’s counting bowl, only for Clark to respond with a two. On the third end Clark once again didn’t make two, with Withers once again taking advantage to score a single and tie the game at 8-8.

Clark then got into his groove as he played brilliantly to pick up two singles then three consecutive doubles to shoot ahead 16-8 . Withers threatened a comeback as he jumped in on a poor lead from Clark the following end to claim a two, then started to work his way around the green scoring two more singles.

The South Ramsey man clicked back into gear pouncing on a poor lead from Withers, as Clark scored a single then made certain of the victory with two good ends to run out with a well-deserved 21-12 victory.

The presentation was made by competition organiser Gordie Moore, who thanked he club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day.

It was a return to action in Canada Life International League Division One this week, with Marown A hosting Peel B at Crosby. The visitors were impacted by players moving up to the A Team with players missing from both of Peel’s A & B Teams the Crosby men took full advantage winning 9-1, with Dougie Allan the hero or the villain on the night as he recovered from a 2-16 deficit to John Gelling to creep ahead 17-16, then gave away two successive singles to go behind 17-18, only for the Peel man to rally once more to run out with a 21-18 victory. Marown had four single figure winners and Paul Kelly was the lucky recipient of a walkover. The next closest Peel came to picking up another point was Jeff Wilson, who lost out 17-21 to Glenn Boland.

South Ramsey A maintained their two-point lead at the top of the table courtesy of a 1-9 away win over a hugely understrength Peel A. Preventing a home whitewash was Peter Greenlees who performed well to defeat Stefan Kelly 21-9, whilst Stevie Kelly lost out 17-21 to James Teare. For the visitors Bob Clark and Glynn Hargraves won to single figures against Rob Middleton and Andrew Cover respectively, with the rest of the wins for South Ramsey in the low double figures.

Third placed Onchan A are already 15 points behind second placed Marown A after just five games following their 8-2 home win over Marown C. Winning for the visitors were Peter Kelly who beat Mike Kelly 21-17, while Tom Kelly beat Steve Parker 21-10. The next two closest to picking up points for the Marown men were Sam Clague who lost out 19-21 to Phil Kerruish and Conor Keenan who was beaten 17-21 by Kevin Quirk.

South Ramsey B stepped out of the bottom two following their first win of the season after they beat Douglas A 7-3 at home. Toby Hart was the best winner on the night as he beat Ian Moore 21-6, Toby’s brother Austin won 21-15 against Merv Sayle and Dad Tony beat Jimmy Sansom 21-17. For the Villa men Gary Conwell continues to impress with a 21-7 win over Eddie Carlyle, Andy Cannell beat Frank Watson 21-15, while Shaun Seal ensured it wasn’t a heavier defeat with his 21-20 win over Christian Caley.

Port St Mary A and Marown B played out the closest match in Division One as they drew 4-4 on games with the visitors edging the chalks by a single point (137-138) to win 4-6. There were just two single figure wins with Trevor Quayle beating Darren Kerruish 21-7, while Harry Barton hit back for Marown with a 21-8 win over Tim Williams. Paul Skelly is getting back to winning ways thanks to his 21-19 win over Brian Kelly, whilst Juan Killip managed to see of Port St Mary captain Wayne Roberts 21-17.

North Ramsey A remain in bottom place despite claiming up their first win of the season as they beat Castletown A 8-2. Allan Callow picked up his first ever 21-0 victory in Division One as he beat Alan Phair, Rob Monk won 21-7 against Aaron Richardson, whilst Steve Walmsley and Steven Waters both won 21-17 against Chris Lever and Nathan Cooil respectively. Winning for the visitors were Nathan Hamilton who beat John Cannan 21-15, whilst Town captain Jordan Drewett beat Adrian Skinner 21-17.

In Division Two Castletown B hit top spot following their 7-3 home win over local rivals Port Erin A with Collin Holland winning 21-7 against Steve Durcan. Junior bowler Sam Quayle continues to impress with a 21-8 win over Derek Cadamy, whilst John Matheson just edged home 21-20 against Ed Benson. For the Breagle men the evergreen Derek Allen was the best winner with a 21-14 win over George Peach, Ken Horsley beat Derek Lewney 21-18, whilst Harry Minor held off Ian Watson 21-19.

Finch Hill A closed the gap on their opponents on the night Ballaugh A to just one point after they made home advantage count with an 8-2 victory. For the Finch men Paul Dougherty was the best winner as he beat Mike Spooner 21-8, with Richard Hainge responding for the visitors with an even better 21-7 win over Dave Jones. Also winning for Ballaugh was Steve Grant who beat Tony Epifani 21-12.

Noble’s A hosted South Ramsey C with the home team taking apart the Ramsey men 9-1, with three single figure wins from Mark Quinn, Dave Naughton, and Alex Yates. Ian Moore was the lone winner for the visitors as he beat Martyn Hobson 21-16, Andy Morgan lost out 19-21 to Juan Qualtrough and Billy Blair was defeated 18-21 against John Andrew.

Douglas B are in the mix as they have some experienced bowlers turning out for them as they are in fourth place following their 8-2 home win over Onchan B. For the Villa men Stuart Garrett, Mark Kneen and Steve Cook all won to single figures, whilst Paddy Murphy beat Bernie McPhee 21-19. David Tait and Sid McKnight were the two winners for Onchan as they beat Alistair Lothian and David Pease respectively.

North Ramsey B had a better week as they came away from relegation rivals Onchan C with a 4-6 win, winning by a single chalk (128-129) despite suffering two single figure defeats. Winning for the visitors were Ray Skelly, Lee Christian, John Corteen and Brian Colquitt who was the only winner to single figures for the Mooragh men.

Peel C hosted Noble’s B on Tuesday evening, with the visitors coming away with an impressive 2-8 win they are looking well equipped to handle life in Division Two. Junior bowler Alex Hampson was the best winner for the visitors as he beat Bob Berry 21-7, whilst Paul Baker won 21-5 against Michael Cooper for Peel.

In Division Three Ballaugh B continue to set the pace at the top as they are 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals following their 9-1 home win over bottom team Port Erin B. Gary Griffiths was the best winner for the home team as he beat Robert Woodford 21-2.

Port St Mary B hosted Ballaugh C at Breagle Glen with the home team winning 8-2. Peter Collins was the only single figure winner as he beat Tim Merriman.

The remaining four fixtures were all 6-4 wins for the home teams, with South Ramsey D seeing off Douglas D. For the home team winning to single figures were Greg Barlow, Geoff Collier, and Frank Feeney. Responding for the visitors Greg Brew beat Steve Kelly 21-7, whilst Bob Banning beat South Ramsey captain Franz ten Donkelaar 21-20.

Marown D hosted local rivals Peel D at Crosby with just eight chalks separating the teams after a 4-4 draw (136-128). For the Marown men Phil Dunn and Eddie Rough won to single figures whilst Junior bowler 11-year-old Bobby Kerruish played his first game of the 2023 season and had a night to remember thanks to his 21-20 win over Kevin Murray.

Nobles C won by 13 chalks (140-127) as they hosted Finch Hill B. For the home team Lee Greggor continued his fine start to bowls as he won 21-8 against John Smith, Lee Price beat Chris Thompson 21-10, a result matched by Steve Brennan who beat Guy Smith, whilst captain Seve Cain made it five wins from five games. For the visitors Sam Stannard-Duke won 21-6 against Kevin Airey, with Peter Smith and Sefton Dent just winning 21-19 against Paul Moore and Andy Greggor respectively.

Rounding off the fixtures for the week Douglas C beat Noble’s D at the Villa by 10 chalks (144-134). Greg Tomlinson beat Roy Moore 21-8, whilst David Caley just missed out 20-21 against Terry Bates. For the visitors Andrew Bell beat Tony King 21-19, Kevin Moore beat Rob Tomlinson 21-12, with Steve Colquitt the best winner for the visitors with a 21-9 victory over Trevor Latus.