The Isle of Man Team took part in the 2024 BCGBA Senior Supplementary County Championship which was held on Sunday at Florence BC in Stoke on a tricky green, which has some interesting marks with one particular section of the green known as the roundabout.

Drawn in Group 1, as expected the opposition was tough with North Midlands, Wales and Derbyshire awaiting.

In the first round of matches the eight man team were up against North Midlands, the team lost this match by 28 chalks (156-128) and 6-2 on games, with David Bradford winning 21-11 against Shane Day, whilst Paul Dunn beat Matt Horton 21-19. 

In their second round match Wales were the opposition, the team managed to draw 4-4 on games, however with matches decided on chalks it was Wales who won by 25 chalks (151-126). Neil Withers was the best winner as he won 21-13 against Robin Bennett, whilst Peter Jones, David Bradford, and Paul Dunn won 17, 18, and 19 against Ian Jones, Stefan Williams, and Owen Jackson respectively.

In their final match they faced Derbyshire who had all to play for, as they had won both their group games, they needed to beat the Isle of Man to ensure safe passage to the final. Against the toughest team in the group the Island held their own showing improvement with each game played as they lost by 15 chalks (153-138), which equates to less than two chalks a man. 

Individual wins arrived from Paul Dunn who made it three wins from three games played at number one in the order, as he beat Josh Furniss 21-18, whilst Peter Jones held off Conor Chamberlain to the same score. Picking up his second win was Neil Withers who won comfortably 21-13 against Steve Barber.

In Group 2 playing on Green 2 it was Shropshire who topped the table after games against Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cheshire as they beat all three teams to reach the final. 

The first half of the final took place on the number two green with Derbyshire adjusting well to the heavier of the two greens well as they won 3-1 on games against Shropshire to take a lead of 18 chalks back onto the green they had played all day. Whilst Shropshire did win two games on the much trickier number one green they were only able to claw back seven chalks as Derbyshire took the win by 11 chalks (143-132) whilst also winning 5-3 on games.

After solid performances the past two years, with the team playing on greens similar to those on the Island playing on a tricky green thiproved to be a tough test for the players.

The Isle of Man Team were managed by Phil Kerruish and assisted by Juan Kermode, thanks must go to both for their efforts selecting the squad, and for making all the arrangements for the trip.

The final of the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate took place on Friday evening at Onchan Park in extremely wet conditions between first division side Peel A (+15) and third Division side South Ramsey C (+60).

Peel started as favourites as they ply their trade two divisions above South Ramsey, with the latter team having a 45 chalk start, they do however have a mixture of players with first division experience, improving bowlers and some quietly determined individuals.

The evening started positively for Peel as the evergreen Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly was the first game off with a 21-2 win over Anthony Kelly, followed shortly by 2020 Rayner Shield final hero Peter Greenlees, who beat Jay Moore 21-8, with 32 chalks recovered after just two games. Hitting back for South Ramsey was Greg Barlow, who took up the game two years ago, storming to a 21-5 win over Peel captain George Gadsby. Barlow puts the time into his game, with this result paying dividends for his dedication. This put the lead back to 29 chalks for the Ramsey men, only for Gary Smith to reduce the deficit to 23 chalks at the halfway point (106-83) as the Peel man recovered from a 1-8 deficit against Paul Routledge to runout with a 21-15 win as he got hold of the jack as conditions worsened to win eight consecutive ends.

Reducing the deficit further, Tommy McMeiken got the best win of the second half as he beat South Ramsey captain Dave Corkill 21-6, whilst the writing was on the wall with the final three games finishing within minutes of each other as Pip Pemberton won 21-12 against Richie Davies, as Peel got their noses in front for the first time on the night by a solitary chalk (124-125), swiftly followed by David Proctor with a 21-10 victory over James Moore, whilst Paul Quirk put the cherry on the cake for Peel with a 21-16 win over Franz ten Donkelaar to seal a deserved win by 17 chalks (150-167).

In doing so Peel A etched their name onto the trophy for the third time following their previous successes in 1999 and 2011.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee Officer Wayne Roberts who thanked Onchan for hosting the final, along with providing measurers and the refreshments. Captain George Gadsby was then presented with the trophy, he congratulated his team on their performance and offered his commiserations to South Ramsey.

Peel Sunset A	+15	+60	South Ramsey C
Peter Greenlees	21	8	Jay Moore
George Gadsby	5	21	Greg Barlow
Gary Smith	21	15	Paul Routledge
Dave Kelly	21	2	Anthony Kelly
Pip Pemberton	21	12	Richie Davies
Tommy McMeiken	21	6	Dave Corkill
Paul Quirk	21	16	Franz ten Donkelaar
David Proctor	21	10	James Moore
7 Games Won	167	150	1 Game Won

In Canada Life International Division One, it was the highly anticipated clash of the top two teams as South Ramsey A hosted Marown A on Monday evening in fine conditions.

The home team got off to a flier with David Bradford seeing off Peter Jones 21-2 to establish a first point and a 19 chalk lead towards the all-important handicap. Marown hit back with Colin Kelly scoring 15 consecutive chalks having trailed 6-12 to Bob Clark, with the Crosby man going on to win 21-12 in the corners. Things got worse for the home team as John Kennish, who had only lost two games for South Ramsey on home turf since the late 1990’s lost 17-21 to Tom Kelly. The final game of the first half was between Neil Withers and South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, with the latter staring down the barrel with a five chalk deficit at 13-18, only for a strong finish with eight consecutive chalks scored over six ends to seal a 21-18 win.

The second half saw the match finely poised at 2-2 on games, with the home team holding a nine chalk lead. This lead was soon wiped as Paul Kelly won 21-10 against James Teare. The Marown men sensing a huge upset fed off this, with Marown captain Paul Dunn who led 18-5 against Jordan Cain getting over line 21-14. The following game was well battled throughout between Stefan Kelly and Dean Kipling, with the former getting himself close to victory at 20-17, only to concede a double, then missing out on an opportunity to make game in the corner the following end. With the score at 20-20 two good bowls from Kipling on the deciding end were unbeaten to give the Marown the win and put his team 4-3 ahead on games with a 10 chalk advantage. The final game was between Glenn Boland and Dido Kelly, with the former leading 18-7 the chalks were assured for the visitors. Boland performed well throughout the game, having played out his opponent to count for two on several ends. The South Ramsey man fought back to 15-20, however Boland secured the one chalk needed to seal a 2-8 win for the Marown men (130-146), who are now in a commanding position with just five games left to play, as they hold a seven point lead over South Ramsey.

Marown B recorded the biggest win in the top flight, as they beat Rayner Shield finalists Castletown A 9-1 at Crosby. Four single figure wins kept Town down to just 88 chalks, with Nathan Hamilton the only winner as he beat Kevin Kelly 21-11. Dean Kinley and Ian Watson came closest to picking up wins for the visitors as they lost to 17 and 18 to Phil Kelly and Sam Clague respectively.

Onchan A were just three chalks off recording a 0-10 away win over Port St Mary A at Breagle Glen following their 2-8 away win, as Jamie Clague lost 19-21 to Wayne Roberts, whilst Trevor Quayle edged home 21-20 against Will Penhallurick.

North Ramsey A were back to winning ways at home as they turned over Peel A 7-3 at Mooragh Park, with Paul Allison and Steven Waters both winning to single figures, however the most impressive result was from Steve Walmsley who beat Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-14.

Marown C had a better week, however they are still nine points adrift of Port St Mary A following their 7-3 home win over Douglas A on Tuesday evening, with just 14 chalks separating the teams (142-128).

In Division Two Peel B had a good week as they beat Ballaugh A 8-2 at home to go one point ahead of their opponents on the night to go joint top with South Ramsey B, who suffered a 7-3 defeat away to Onchan B, with just four chalks between the two sides, this went in favour of Onchan (147-143).

Castletown B closed the gap on the teams above them them with a 6-4 home win over local rivals Port Erin A at the Crofts, whilst North Ramsey B slipped to a 6-4 defeat away to Finch Hill A.

Douglas B are firmly mid table after their 8-2 home win over Noble’s A, whilst the victory looks convincing only six chalks separated the two sides as the Villa men edged it (155-149) in a high scoring match as they had three wins to 17, two wins to 18 and one to 20. For the visitors Martyn Hobson held off David Pease 21-19 in another close game, whilst Dave Naughton won the kitty for the visitors as he beat Andy Foster 21-10.

In Division Three Noble’s B are joint top with their lower ranked C Team on 82 points as the two sides face off the B team suffered a huge upset with an 8-2 defeat. The two wins for the B were to single figures from Ciaran Broad and Rob Bell, whilst Alex Colquitt returned the favour for the C Team with a 21-6 win over fellow Junior bowler Alex Hampson.

South Ramsey C are still in the mix, just four points off the top two following their 7-3 home win over Marown D, with 11-year-old Arran Dunn finishing the game strongly, staring defeat in the face to turn it around and win 21-19 against Billy Blair.

Noble’s D are still in with a shout of promotion, following their 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D, as they are five points away from the top two, they currently occupy fourth place.

Onchan C and Ballaugh B played out a true draw 5-5, with both teams winning four games each and sharing the aggregate (143-143) in a result that pops up now and again. Port St Mary B welcomed Peel C to Breagle Glen, it was the home team who took the spoils 8-2 on the night.

In Division Four Ballaugh C still have a healthy lead at the top thanks to their 9-1 home win over Noble’s E, they missed out on a 10-0 whitewash as Dan Kelly just lost out 19-21 to Paul Cain.

North Ramsey B occupy second spot, they did manage to close the gap by a point following their 10-0 home win over Douglas C, who were kept to under 100 chalks (168-98).

With two big wins in the other fixtures Castletown C and Finch Hill B played out a 4-4 draw, with the visitors cause not helped by being a man short this ensured the aggregate went in favour of the Town men to seal a 6-4 home win.

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Nobles Cup Men’s Doubles on Saturday with 29 pairs taking part, on a superb playing surface with the entries matching 2023.

Losing out in the quarter finals were home greeners Grahem Moore and Phil Salmon 20-21 to clubmates Mark Bradshaw and Alex Yates, whilst Marown pair Paul Kelly and Matthew Keggen lost 19-21 to Les Brookes (Finch Hill) and Eddie Carlyle (South Ramsey).

In the other half of the draw Phil Dunn (Marown) and Brian Lindsay (Peel) recovered from a 9-19 deficit to Noble’s Steve Hampson and Juan Drinkwater, only to agonisingly lose out 20-21. The final game also went to the wire as South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves and David Bradford lost 20-21 to Villa men Keith Rise and Andy Cannell, with the latter pair whitewashing Marown’s Glenn Boland and Peter Jones in the previous round.

At the semi-final stage Brookes and Carlyle won 21-16 against Bradshaw and Yates to end the home green hopes of a win, whilst Rise and Cannell won to single figures (21-9) against Hampson and Drinkwater to take their place in the final.

The final was over in just 12 ends as Rise and Cannell dominated the game scoring a four on the first end and the penultimate end to rack up eight points, scoring seven singles throughout the match, only conceding three chalks on consecutive in the early part of the game to run out with a well deserved 21-9 victory to lift the cup for the first time.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson, with prizes paid down to the quarter finals. Club Chairman Phil Salmon was introduced to present the prizes.

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Roy Williamson Memorial Cup Junior Boys competition on Saturday morning, with a good standard of bowls from the Juniors.

With the early stages played as a round robin the qualifiers to reach the semi-final stage were 11-year-old Arran Dunn (Marown), who faced 12-year-old Kian Bradford (South Ramsey), with the younger of the two progressing to the final with a 21-16 victory.

In the other semi-final the older Juniors battled it out with Clark Kelly (Douglas) taking on Alex Hampson (Noble’s), with the latter also winning 21-16 to book his place in the final.

The final was a repeat of last year with Dunn taking on the current holder Hampson. With another year’s experience under his belt Arran’s all round game has improved to such an extent that he managed to turn a 10-21 defeat in last year’s final into a thoroughly deserved 21-10 victory to lift the title for the first time.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson, with all competitors receiving a prize.

In Canada Life International Division One this week Marown A took on their C Team, who are firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, with the A team winning 10-0. In an eight man team Walter McCarthy came closest to picking up a point as he lost out 18-21 to Paul Kelly, with his 18 chalks making up 25% of the chalks scored by the C Team. This result sent Marown back to the top of the league by a solitary point.

Peel A made light work of Marown B, winning 10-0 at home. Peel captain George Gadsby was the best winner 21-7 against Sam Clague, whilst Kevin Kelly came closest to preventing the whitewash as he lost 18-21 to Gary Smith.

Castletown A hosted Port St Mary A at the Crofts, with the home team claiming a vital 6-4 win, with the aggregate won comfortably by 29 chalks (151-122). Town Captain Jordan Drewett just missed out on securing an extra point for his side, as he lost 20-21 to Chris Lever, who returned to his old stomping ground. Recording single figure wins were Nathan Cooil, who beat Robbie Cooil 21-7, whilst Dean Kinley won 21-1 against Tom Collins.

Douglas A went home happy with an 8-2 home win over North Ramsey A, with the Villa men winning two games 21-20, whilst Merv Sayle beat John Cannan 21-18. For the visitors Rob Monk won 21-10 against Shaun Seal, whilst Steve Walmsley held off Andy Cannell 21-19.

Fixture of the week was between Onchan A and South Ramsey A, with the visitors having to match or better last week’s 9-1 win by Marown A at Onchan Park to stay in touch with the league leaders. The first four games the visitors could have been 3-1 down on games, however Dido Kelly won 21-13 against Neil Dunwell, having trailed 2-10, James Teare was in a tough game with last week’s lone winner Peter Slinger, with the former ending the game strongly to win 21-14. Kevin Quirk made light work of Peter Collister, with a 21-3 victory, whilst a win from John Kennish was never in doubt with a 21-7 victory over Gary Conwell.

In the second half David Bradford was in a tough game early on with Will Penhallurick, with Bradford going on to win 21-10. Jordan Cain built up a 17-7 lead with Reg Temporaza, with the Ramsey man taking a 21-17 win. South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves was up against Onchan captain Matthew Quirk, with Hargraves never relinquishing the lead in the game, leading 12-2, 15-9 and 18-11, with the South captain getting over the line 21-16. The last game on the green was between Stefan Kelly and Jamie Clague, with Kelly leading 20-10 a spirited fightback from the Onchan man saw the deficit close to just two chalks at 20-18, with Kelly getting the vital chalk needed to win 21-18 and help his side secure a 9-1 away victory.

Castletown A played their rearranged fixture (Game 10) with Onchan A on Tuesday evening, following the Southern 100. The home team manage to race to a 5-3 win, however two heavy defeats for the Town men ensured Onchan came away with a 5-5 draw as they won the aggregate by nine chalks (128-137). Winning for the visitors Peter Slinger won 21-5 against Jordan Drewett, Kevin Quirk beat David Quayle 21-6, whilst Matthew Quirk won 21-12 against George Foy. Just missing out 20-21 was Jamie Clague to Nathan Cooil with a measure going in favour of the Town man.

In Division Two South Ramsey B sit in top spot following a solid 9-1 home win over Castletown B, who are in danger of being relegated to Division Three. The home team did manage to sneak two 21-20 wins, with George Brew beating Phil Cannon, with Christian Caley holding off a strong challenge from Peter Oates. Lone winner for the Town men was Willie Corkill who beat South Ramsey captain Ben Dugdale 21-15.

Ballaugh A are joint top, continue to apply the pressure with a 10-0 home win over Douglas B, with the Villa men now cut adrift from a challenge for promotion. Richard Hainge won 21-1 against Andy Foster, whilst Tony Quine was pushed all the way by Bob Callow before prevailing 21-20 to seal the whitewash.

Peel B had a tricky away fixture to North Ramsey B at Mooragh Park, as they looked to avoid a third consecutive defeat, however the home team won 7-3 to lift themselves off the bottom of the table, with the Peel men dropping to third place, five points off the top two.

Port Erin A were on the receiving end of a 3-7 home defeat to Finch Hill A. Winning for the home team were Derek Allen, David Cain, and Christopher Dent.

Noble’s A were also suffered a home defeat with Onchan B winning 2-8. Just missing out on picking up points for the home team were Juan Qualtrough 19-21 against Neil Richmond, whilst Mark Bradshaw was on the wrong end of a 21-20 scoreline against Mike Kelly.

 In Division Three Noble’s C hosted South Ramsey C on Monday evening, with the home team winning 7-3, the result helped Noble’s leapfrog the Ramsey men to sit in second place.

League leaders Noble’s B took home a 3-7 away win over South Ramsey D, with Grahem Moore the only single figure winner on the night.

Marown D had a positive 7-3 home win over Onchan C, to lift themselves clear of the bottom two, with the Crosby men winning three games to single figures, whilst the visitors could only win two games to single figures with 13 chalks separating the teams (133-120).

Ballaugh B won 8-2 at home to Port St Mary B to go into joint third place on 71 points with South Ramsey C, whilst Peel C hosted Noble’s D with the Peel men having the opportunity to close the 11 point gap on their opponents, which they managed to do clawing back six points thanks to an 8-2 victory.

In Division Four Ballaugh C came away from the Villa with a 3-7 win over Douglas C to sit eight points clear of North Ramsey C who came away from Finch Hill B with a 4-6 win, thanks to taking the aggregate by 13 chalks (123-136), with Paul Arthur and Bryan Corner winning to single figures.

Mixed Team Championship Fixtures

Ballaugh won 5-4 on games in their home game against Port St Mary A, however the visitors won the all important chalks to get the two points for the win by eight chalks (141-149).

Marown A won 9-0 at home to Nobles A, with the Crosby side keeping their opponents under 100 chalks (189-94), as they look to win the group with a 100% record.

Group B is still all to play for the top two as North Ramsey A hosted Nobles B at Mooragh Park with the home team winning all their games to take a 189-86 victory and boost their chalks for to a superior 194.

South Ramsey A were at home to Douglas A, with the visitors giving a good account of themselves despite losing 7-2 on games, they lost out by 21 chalks (173-152). South Ramsey are level on points with North Ramsey, however their chalks is 141, trailing North Ramsey by 53 chalks.

Mixed Team Plate

Group A

Peel Sunset are the first team to get their place as they hit the 10 point mark in the group following their 30 chalk victory over Marown B (165-135).

Douglas B won by 18 chalks at home to Castletown A (153-135) winning 5-4 on games.

Group B

Port Erin prevented South Ramsey B from winning the group with a comfortable win by 28 chalks (175-147). South Ramsey will be keeping a keen eye on the last fixture of the season with Port Erin only needing to win to seal their place in the final with having a superior chalks for difference over South Ramsey B

Peel Sunset Bowling club hosted the popular Peel Town Cup on Saturday afternoon. The competition attracted 75 entries, despite the poor weather. With handicaps ranging from +3 to +9, it certainly made for an interesting day with some shock results. There were a number of high profile casualties early on.

Losing out at the quarter-final stage were Stevie Rundle (+7) 13-21 to Marown clubmate Tom Kelly (+4), home greener Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (+3) lost out 18-21 to Peter Jones (Marown)(+3). In the other half of the draw David Bradford (+3) got the better of teammate Glynn Hargraves (+3) 21-11, whilst Stevie Kelly (Peel)(+3) held off a strong challenge from Toby Hart (+7) to win 21-18.

Both first semi-finals resulted in the favourites advancing to the final with relative ease as Jones won 21-12 against Tom Kelly, whilst Bradford won 21-13 against Stevie Kelly.

With Bradford fresh from his win on Thursday in the Dreswick Cup, the rain had stopped in time for the final, however the wind picked up to throw a different challenge to the two finalists.

Bradford conceded two singles on the first two ends, then got a foothold in the game getting a run on the wall edge, that he had played in earlier rounds to take a 10-5 lead, then led 12-7 over Jones. The Marown man managed to claw his way back into the game winning six out of eight ends to level the game at 15-15. The South Ramsey man responded to ensure Jones didn’t take the lead, with three singles scored over four ends. Jones gratefully took up a good chance to make two to level the game up once more at 18-18.

The following end Jones played a short round peg with Bradford beating a two foot bowl to go within touching distance of the win to lead 19-18. In a change of tactics Bradford played his jack over the crown, with his lead just over two foot wide, with Jones being caught out with both bowls being left short for Bradford to score two to win 21-19 and secure the title for a second time.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by competition organiser Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, who thanked the sponsors Central Bar & Bistro for their support, and the club members for assisting throughout the day. Paul Gelling from The Central then presented the prizes.