With Douglas Bowling Club having stepped in to host the Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship at the Villa this weekend on a fantastic surface it brings the event back to the same green that David Bradford won his first Manx Championship on in 2015. Bradford must surely start as the favourite on this green, having won a number of open competitions on the Villa over the past five years.

Beaten finalist in 2015 Trevor Quayle will be hoping to go one step further this time to win his first title, as will team mate Paul Skelly who has previously reached the semi-finals. 

Last year’s winner and 11 time champion John Kennish has played very little bowls so far this season, however it would take a brave man to bet against Kennish picking up title number 12. 

Marown have four previous winners with Colin Kelly’s five wins, the last of which was in 2011 against team mate Neil Withers, who himself won his only championship on his own green in an epic final in 2009. Dean Kipling’s win was way back in 1992 on Port Erin, whilst Phil Kelly won his title on Noble’s 1 in 1994.

Peel have just one previous winner with Andy Kennish, who won the last of his three titles in 1999, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly will have competition from son Stevie to get his name on the trophy for the first time.

Onchan have two previous winners in their ranks with Kevin Quirk having won twice in 2005 at Ronairco & 2008 on Noble’s 1, whilst Phil Kerruish won it on Castletown in 1986. Both of these players have vast experience & were in good form last weekend to each pick up individual open wins. As well as their experienced players Onchan have a group of young players who themselves now have a wealth of experience with Matthew Quirk who recently got a huge breakthrough to win his first singles open, whilst Jordan Cain and Rob Monk will also be keen to lift the trophy on Sunday.

Apart from Bradford & Kennish South Ramsey have Glynn Hargraves who will be hoping to take the trophy home to add to his two back to back wins on Finch Hill & Castletown in 2012 & 2013, with Hargraves having narrowly lost out to Trevor Quayle in the semi-finals in 2015. Dido Kelly could do well on this green with there being plenty of trickery to work with.

Best of luck to all bowlers this weekend, who knows there might just be a new name on the trophy…

Peel A hosted Marown A in the sunset city in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one with the match turning out to be a thriller. Last season the Crosby men suffered an 2-8 loss in this fixture.

Peel made a good start in the match to go 3-1 up at the half way point with a 21 chalk lead. Tom Kelly was up against his Dad Colin Kelly for the first time in a league fixture and probably won’t be welcome round for a Sunday roast dinner anytime soon after pulling off a stunning 21-13 win. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won 21-9 against Dean Kipling, whilst Jerome Surridge got home with a 21-18 victory over Phil Kelly. Picking up a valuable win for Marown was Paul Kelly who did enough to win 21-19 against Gary Smith.

Andy Kennish was Peel’s only winner in the second half of the match edging out Matthew Keggen, with Kennish having trailed 13-17 he had to dig deep to take a 21-19 win. Marown’s fight back started with Neil Withers winning 21-10 against David Proctor, whilst Paul Dunn left the match finely poised at 4-3 (124-122) to Peel with his 21-11 victory to inflict a first league defeat on Tommy McMeiken. Home captain Stevie Kelly was 15-4 and 17-7 up on John Gelling and looked on course to seal a 7-3 win, however Gelling had other ideas rolling back the years to score 14 consecutive points to pull off a stunning comeback and in doing so the Crosby men went home delighted with their 4-6 win by just two chalks (141-143).

Peel can take heart from having pushed Marown so hard, however it is hard to argue with Marown being the team to beat this season having played three fixtures in which they picked up just 10 points from last season (South Ramsey A, Marown B and Peel A) yet this season they have picked up 22 points from the same fixtures.

Onchan A have crept along quietly this season and find themselves top on 48 points after seeing off Castletown B with a 9-1 home win. Rob Monk sits in first place in the merit table closely followed by team mate Matthew Quirk. Jordan Cain inflicted a first league defeat of the season on former doubles partner Bob Clark, whilst the sole winner for Town was George Foy who beat Mark Kelly 21-8. Onchan’s next five games see them face tough tests with away games against Douglas, North Ramsey and Port St Mary, whilst hosting close rivals Marown A and South Ramsey A to reach the half way point of the season.

Castletown A hosted South Ramsey A with the same fixture in 2018 resulting in a 10-0 win for the visitors. This time round the Town men took three games off the visitors with Sam Clague keeping his composure to record an assured 21-11 win over Stefan Kelly. Jordan Drewett dug in for his team to claw his way back from 11-19 down against Peter Collister to run out with a 21-19 win, whilst David Quayle recovered from 15-20 down to beat Alan Moore 21-20. For the visitors David Bradford beat Peter Oates 21-7, with James Teare not far behind defeating George Peach 21-9. South Ramsey sit in third place on 44 points, with tough away games against Onchan A & Peel A still to come in the first half of the season, which will give them a better idea of where they will finish this season, however the title looks to be too far away on current form.

Port St Mary A got back to winning ways after three consecutive defeats with a 4-6 away win over Noble’s A who are now bottom of the table with 18 points after six games. For the Port men Wayne Roberts & Paul Skelly won to single figures, whilst Trevor Quayle was also back in business with a 21-13 victory over David Pease with Bernard Thackrah holding off Steve Cook to win 21-18. For the home team Glenn Boland, Kevin Firth and Tommy Collister won fairly comfortably, whilst Steve Hall marked his first match against his former club with a 21-20 victory over Dave McCabe.

South Ramsey B won’t be too unhappy with their 4-6 home defeat to Douglas A, with Tony Dugdale making it five wins from six games holding off Ian Moore to win 21-19, with Edward Carlyle also pushed hard by Keith Rise before getting over the line 21-18. Steven Waters made light work of Shaun Seal to win 21-8, whilst Christian Caley will have been pleased to see off Gary Conwell 21-15. Winners for the villa men were Mervin Sayle, Jimmy Sansom, Stuart Garrett and captain Andy Cannell who got home 21-19 against George Brew.

Marown B sit comfortably in mid table following an assured 7-3 home win over North Ramsey A. The three winners for the Mooragh men were Steve Walmsley, Gary Merrill and Bryan Corner. Home captain Harry Barton led the way for his team, backed up by Luke Hyland and the experienced trio of Arnie Withers, Peter Kelly and Juan Killip.

In division two league leaders Ballaugh A put some distance between their nearest placed rivals Finch Hill A with a fine 9-1 home win over the Finch men. Young Patrick Grant stepped up into the A team and recorded his first league win of the season with a 21-19 victory over Sefton Dent. Peter Hughes prevented the whitewash thanks to a 21-19 win over Barry McDonald.

Marown C headed south to take on Port St Mary B, putting up a good fight before losing 7-3, taking three games off a team who will be looking to challenge at the top of the league. Winners for the Crosby men were Walter McCarthy, Jamie Joughin and Darren Kerruish.

In division three South Ramsey C really have the bit between their teeth following their 10-0 demolition of Noble’s B to extend their lead over second placed Ballaugh C to 13 points. The Ballaugh outfit could only draw 5-5 at home thanks in part to Port Erin B being a player short.

The Noble’s Cup was held on Sunday with an entry of 22 pairs, with the men playing on Noble’s One with the green running well despite the recent heavy downpours.

The eventual winners were Marown duo Paul Dunn & Neil ‘Nev’ Withers, who went one better than the day before having lost in the final at Castletown, seeing off the strong challenge of Onchan pair Jordan Cain & Matthew Quirk 21-18. Neither pairing were able to get more than two points ahead of the other throughout the entire game. On the last end Cain & Quirk were lying three for game at 18-20, however Withers played a great last bowl to just sneak past the Onchan pairs two nearest bowls to take the all important point for game to win 21-18.

Losing out at the semi-final stage were two South Ramsey pairings, with David Bradford & Glynn Hargraves who were well beaten 8-21 by the Marown pair, whilst Alan Moore & Stefan Kelly couldn’t quite get over the line letting a good lead slip to lose out 20-21 to the Onchan pairing.

Losing quarter finalists were home greeners Reginald Temporaza & Steve Cook, Brian Kelly (Marown) & Stevie Kelly (Peel), Peel pair Mike Ashmole & Peter Greenlees along with Port St Mary men Wayne Roberts & Trevor Quayle.

The presentation was made by Clare Cooper, who thanked everyone who took part and the club members for assisting throughout the day. During his speech Neil Withers remarked on the good condition of the green.

Wow, crown green bowlers are hardy. 17 pairs braved storm Hannah on Saturday for the Cringle Fours held at Castletown. Between the entry fees, raffle money and donations £200 was made for Manx Blind Welfare Society. Despite the horrendous weather there was a great atmosphere on and around the green. The green was running really well and considering the amount of rain that had fallen no puddles developed.

Losing semi-finalists were Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) who went out to Marown pair Neil Withers & Paul Dunn. Also losing out in the semi-final were another Marown pairing Colin Kelly & Juan Killip who had a close game against the eventual winners Sam Clague (Castletown) and Glenn Boland (Noble’s).

The young pairing of Clague & Boland would have been outside favourites to overcome the experienced Marown pairing of Dunn & Withers, however they stormed into a 15-8 lead, and then led 18-12 only for the Marown men to pull the score back to 16-18 before the young pair dug deep to take a well deserved 21-17 win. Both pairs won eight ends in the final, with the difference being that the winners scored a three and four early in the game, whilst the opposition were limited to scoring no more than two throughout the game.

The presentation was done by Phil Taubman, club Chairman, who thanked Noel Cringle, the sponsor of the competition, and Shoprite for their voucher. Sam and Glenn accepted the trophy, thanked everyone and congratulated the amount raised for the charity. It was great seeing the young pair win, especially Sam who is coming back after been very poorly.

South Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the IPS Administration Jim Senior 4’s on another fine day with a fair entry of 14 teams (56) on Easter Sunday.

The competition was played as two doubles, with the team with the most chalks progressing to the next round.

In the early rounds the home pairing of Judy Kelly & Ryan Hargraves gave Caroline Parker & Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) a scare performing brilliantly to go 20-13 ahead, before cruelly losing out 20-21. In the second game Steve Kelly & Gillian Jopson lost out 11-21 to Shannon McMullan & Helen Martin allowing the Mooragh Park Ladies to progress into the next round.

The shock of the early rounds was undoubtedly the south team who put out last year’s winners to turn the tie around with Margaret Tasker & Caroline Whitehead losing out 16-21 to Alan Kelly & Stefan Kelly, only for their team mates Derek Allen & Bernard Thackrah to record a stunning 21-10 win over Jordan Cain & Dido Kelly.

Also worthy of a mention was the comeback of the mix and match team. Edward Carlyle & Dave McCabe were well beaten 11-21 by Paul Routledge & James Evans leaving team mates Steven Waters & Allan Callow a huge mountain to climb needing to win 21-10 or better against home greeners Tony Hart & Anthony Kelly to progress into the next round. Waters & Callow did just that winning 21-10 to win the tie 32-31.

The winning team on the day were home greeners Austin Hart, James Teare, Alan Moore & Glynn Hargraves who defeated club mates Kim Hargraves, Jenny Moore, Fiona Kennish & Elaine Moore in the final (42-27).

Losing out at the semi-final stage to the eventual winners were the husband and wife pairings of Derek & Lynda Cadamy, who were teamed up with Alec & Philippa Taylor. The Cadamy’s lost out to 9-21 to Hargraves & Moore, whilst the Taylor’s lost out 12-21 to Hart & Teare.

Also falling at the semi-final stage was the south team made up of Derek Allen, Bernard Thackrah, Margaret Tasker and Caroline Whitehead who just lost out to the South Ramsey Ladies team in a finely balanced tie. Elaine Moore & Fiona Kennish got over the line 21-18 against Allen & Thackrah, whilst Jenny Moore & Kim Hargraves lost out 19-21 to Tasker & Whitehead but in doing so the South Ramsey team scored enough to book their place in the final (40-39).

The presentation was made by South Ramsey Chairman Steve Moore who thanked IPS Administration for their continued sponsorship, those who had helped prepare the green, the club members for assisting throughout the day, the ladies for providing an excellent selection of refreshments and all the new players who participated.

Onchan Bowling Club was the host venue for the seasons first Association singles competition which attracted an entry of 52 to play on a fantastic surface which was running well on a fine day.

At the conclusion Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly was the winner, defeating home greener Rob Monk convincingly 21-8 in the final with Monk not hitting the same form he had in previous rounds.

Losing out at the semi final stage were Colin Kelly (Marown) to Monk who performed well to end the Marown mans challenge 21-16. In the other semi-final Barney ended the good run of Reginald Temporaza (Noble’s) with a 21-14 win to book his spot in the final.

Losing out at the quarter final stages were home greener Kevin Quirk to Colin Kelly 18-21, Marown man Juan Killip lost 10-21 to Monk, Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) who lost 18-21 to Temporaza in a close encounter, whilst South Ramsey’s Stefan Kelly lost 14-21 to Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.

The presentation was made by Association Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen who thanked Onchan for hosting the competition, their club members for assisting throughout the day and the ladies for providing a good selection of refreshments. The excellent condition of the green was also mentioned along with the improvements made during the winter, most notably the new floodlights along with the sponsor boards placed around the corners of the green.

North Ramsey A made the long journey to the south of the island in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one to take on Port St Mary A, with the visitors pulling off a shock 3-7 win over their rivals to record one of their best wins in recent history. For the visitors Steve Walmsley got off to a good start defeating Dave McCabe 21-9, with captain Allan Callow & John Cannan beating Dan McCabe & Bernard Thackrah respectively. Gary Merrill pulled off a stunning 21-17 win to inflict a first home league loss since August 2017 on Trevor Quayle. Geoff Porter also recorded an equally good win to see off Paul Skelly in a close game 21-19. Hitting back for Port St Mary were Wayne Roberts, Rob Cooil and Tim Williams who all won fairly comfortably, but couldn’t manage to stop the visitors from taking the aggregate two points having lost out by six chalks (138-144).

Marown B had a tough night in their home fixture against Douglas A with the experienced Arnie Withers the only winner (21-12) against Gary Conwell, whilst Peter Kelly lost out 18-21 to Ian Moore.

Marown A remain top of the league after their visit to the Crofts to take on Castletown A, coming away with a respectable 2-8 win. The two winners for Castletown were Captain Ian Watson who beat Matthew Keggen 21-16, backed up by the experienced Juan Kermode who had a fine win over former team mate Paul Kelly 21-10. For the Crosby men John Gelling won 21-4 against Dean Kinley, whilst Neil Withers and Phil Kelly had to work hard to record their wins over Nathan Hamilton & Jordan Drewett respectively.

Onchan A occupy second place, they closed the gap on the league leaders by a point following a fairly straightforward 1-9 away win over South Ramsey B. The lone winner for the home team was Steven Waters with a 21-13 win over Frank Watson. Tony Dugdale came closest to taking a second win off the visitors before losing out 19-21 to Matthew Quirk.

South Ramsey A climbed up to third place following their 1-9 away win against Noble’s A, with Reginald Temporaza continuing to perform well in his debut season in the top division recording a 21-15 win over Alan Moore. The visitors won four games to single figures, whilst James Teare was pushed hard by Steve Cook before getting over the line to win 21-18 to maintain his 100% record.

Peel A sit in fourth place following their 8-2 home win over Castletown B. Ste Kelly and Andy Kennish both won to single figures for Peel, whilst for Castletown Ross Moore won 21-16 against David Proctor, with Bob Clark maintaining his 100% start to the season following his 21-16 win over Gary Smith. Clark is one of just nine players to have won their first four games in division one.

In division two Ballaugh A took a massive stride forward in their quest to return to division one recording a 10-0 home win over league leaders Port St Mary B. Thomas Keggen came closest to snatching a point for the visitors, however Edgar Cowin just got over the line to win 21-20. The result meant Ballaugh A leapfrogged Port St Mary to go top on 30 points, whilst the Port men fell to fourth spot.

Finch Hill A sit in second place level on points with Ballaugh A following a good 2-8 away win against Port St Mary C. The Finch Hill men have started the season strongly with four of their players having 100% records.

Douglas B are in third place following a good 9-1 home win over Ballaugh B, who had John Kneen to thank for sparing the whitewash with a good 21-11 win over Rob Matthews.

In division three this week league leaders South Ramsey C had another solid performance with an 8-2 home win over Ballaugh C to jump up to 33 points after four games played.

Noble’s B sit in second place on 23 points following their 2-8 away win against Peel D, with Ballaugh C sat in third place on the same number of points.

In division one Onchan A hosted Peel A with the match ending 4-4 on games. Onchan secured the aggregate to seal a 6-4 win by just two chalks (132-130). For the home team Phil Kerruish and Rob Monk both won to single figures against David Proctor and Gary Smith respectively, backed up by Matthew Quirk who won 21-13 against Jerome Surridge and Jordan Cain sneaking home 21-19 against Andy Kennish. For the visitors Tom Kelly won 21-9 against former team mate Frank Watson, Tommy McMeiken performed well to win 21-11 against Peter Slinger, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won 21-12 against Steve Parker with Stevie Kelly also turning in a good performance to beat Kevin Quirk 21-16.

Marown A recorded a good 9-1 home win over Port St Mary A with the visitors feeling they could have got more on the night. Home team winners were Matthew Keggen, Neil Withers and Phil Kelly all winning fairly comfortably. Paul Dunn inflicted a first league defeat of the season on 2018 league merit winner Trevor Quayle, with Colin Kelly getting home 21-17 against Paul Skelly. Dean Kipling won 21-19 against Wayne Roberts with Harry Barton stepping up from the B team to also win 21-19 against Tim Williams. The win takes Marown top by two points.

South Ramsey A got their season back on track with a 9-1 home win over near neighbours North Ramsey A. David Bradford  and Stefan Kelly both won to single figures for the home team, whilst for the visitors Tony Smart was the only winner seeing off Chas Grills 21-10.

Douglas A hosted Castletown A at the Villa with the home team taking the spoils with a 7-3 win. Keith Rise and Mervin Sayle won to single figures over Dean Kinley and Peter Oates respectively. Also winning for the home team were Captain Andy Cannell, along with Stuart Garrett and Shaun Seal who both won 21-17. For the visitors Ian Watson won comfortably 21-14 against Gary Conwell, with Derek Lewney and David Quayle battling through to see off Jimmy Sansom and Ian Moore.

Marown B currently sit in fifth place thanks to a good 4-6 away win over Castletown B. The Crosby men took the extra two points courtesy of winning the aggregate by 19 chalks. For Marown Peter Kelly won 21-4, with son John Kelly also winning comfortably. Darren Kerruish had to work hard to beat Willie Corkill 21-18, along with Over 60’s player and ‘Dad’s Army’ Captain Steve Bridson who held off Ross Moore to the same score.

South Ramsey B played their home fixture on Tuesday evening against Noble’s A recording a good 8-2 home win to lift them clear of the bottom of the league. Austin Hart seems to be settling into division one having had a tough first season, with the experience of last year no doubt helping this season. Hart recorded a fine 21-6 win over Steve Cook. Also winning for the home team were Tony Dugdale, Edward Carlyle, Sid Bolton, Ian Moore and Christian Caley. For the visitors the ever reliable Tommy Collister won comfortably against George Brew with Reginald Temporaza picking up another win to beat Steven Waters 21-10.

In division two Port St Mary B lead the way on 25 points following their 8-2 home win over North Ramsey B. For Port St Mary Peter Collins, Paul Russell, Dave Saxon and Thomas Keggen all won to single figures, whilst Brian Corrin and Ray Maddrell also won. For the visitors Brian Colquitt beat Tom Collins 21-17, with Rheuben Thomas winning 21-18 against Louis Callister.

Finch Hill A sit in second place on 22 points following a tough home game against Port Erin A, taking a 6-4 win mainly due to Port Erin being in the unfortunate position of being a player short on the night.

Ballaugh A lie in third place following their 7-3 home win over Douglas B, whilst Peel B won 9-1 at home to Ballaugh B with the visitors losing three games 19-21 and a 20-21. On another night the match could have ended in a 5-5 draw.

Marown C are coping quite well with life in division two following their 6-4 home win over Port St Mary C. The Crosby men taking the aggregate by just nine chalks, with relative newcomer Karl Parker just missing out on taking an extra point losing 20-21 to the experienced Chris Oates.

On Tuesday evening Peel C hosted Onchan B with the visitors coming away with a 3-7 win.

South Ramsey C were the only away winners in division three this week following a good 9-1 win away to Noble’s C, with James Evans, Tony Marler and Anthony Kelly all winning to single figures. For Noble’s Les Brookes was the only winner defeating Paul Routledge 21-5. The result leaves South Ramsey top of the table by two points.

Ballaugh C recorded a good 8-2 home win over Onchan C, whilst Castletown C won 7-3 at the Crofts against Douglas C. Noble’s B just managed to secure a 6-4 win against Finch Hill B by just three chalks (143-140) and Port Erin B also won to the same score despite being a player short against Peel D taking the aggregate by just seven chalks (126-119).

The preliminary round and first round of the Rayner Shield also took place this week with Port St Mary A travelling north to take on South Ramsey A in the tie of the round. The visitors ran the home team close before South Ramsey managed to take a 5-3 (136-126) win. David Bradford and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly won comfortably with Dan McCabe and Wayne Roberts responding for the visitors. In the second half of the match Paul Skelly eased to a 21-4 win over Glynn Hargraves, with Chas Grills seeing off Rob Cooil 21-14. With the match score at 3-3 South Ramsey were trailing on the aggregate by five chalks after six games, however Stefan Kelly won 21-14 against Dave McCabe and James Teare secured their place in the next round with a 21-13 win over Bernard Thackrah.

There were no shocks to report on at team level, although Onchan B hosted Peel A with the home team losing 5-3, with Gary Lee pulling off a shock 21-16 win over Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.