Browne Craine & Co sponsored the Men’s Doubles Championship for a third successive year showing their continued support for the Islands premier doubles competition which was played 21 up off scratch. The event was well supported with 33 pairs taking part in a bid to win the title. As well as paying out to the semi-finals onwards, there were also prizes awarded for the furthest pair that included a second division player, third division player and furthest junior.

Losing out at the quarter final stages were the South Ramsey pairing of Alan Moore and James Teare, the Onchan/Marown combination of Rob Monk and Matthew Keggen, Port St Mary father and son duo Peter and Tom Collins along with North Ramsey man Steve Parker who was partnered with home greener Kevin Quirk.

In the semi-finals the first game off was the Marown pair of Phil Kelly and Arnie Withers who beat South Ramsey’s Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves. The Marown duo made the better start going 13-3 up, which the South Ramsey players were never able to fully recover from. Kelly and Hargraves pulled the score back to 11-16, were counting three only for Withers to trail the jack with his last bowl to settle the end and keep their opponents at arm’s length. From there the Marown men picked up a three and a single to see the game out to win 21-13.

The other semi-final was a good battle between the Peel father and son pairing of Dave Barney Kelly and the South Ramsey pair John Kennish and David Bradford with a number of dead ends leading somewhat surprisingly to a slighter longer game than the other semi-final. The Peel pair took a 6-0 lead before Kennish and Bradford got in to turn the game around to take a 12-11 lead after 16 ends, before slipping behind 13-12 due to losing two consecutive singles. From there the South Ramsey pair were able to see the game out winning four of the next five ends to win 21-14. The difference in the game being that whilst the Kelly’s managed to win 12 ends to their opponents 11 ends, Kennish and Bradford scored four doubles, and three three’s, with the Peel men scoring just two doubles.

In the final Kennish and Bradford started as big favourites having taken the title for the previous two years, however Kelly and Withers had other ideas taking a 9-5 lead after eight ends, then 15-13 lead after 20 ends with Kelly leading well at the front and Withers pulling out some great counting bowls at the back. Kennish and Bradford then got back in with a three to go 16-15 ahead. Kennish took his time before setting the mark changing tactics to play the edge along the pitch and putt side of the green. From there the South Ramsey men ran out with a double, with Bradford killing the next end, they then took a single and another double to secure the title for a third successive year to reaffirm their status as the Island’s premier doubles partners. Interestingly the ends won in the final was 12 each from 24 ends, with the Marown pair making just three doubles, and the South Ramsey pair counting five doubles and two three’s to make the difference.

The presentation was made by Association Chairman Neil Withers, who thanked the sponsors Browne Craine & Co for their continued support, Onchan Bowling Club and its members for providing helpers throughout the day and to the Ladies for the refreshments and the green keeper for preparing an excellent surface. It was good to see several juniors take part in the competition, with the prize for furthest junior being split between Sam Clague (Castletown) and the youngest player in the competition 10 year old Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey) who both reached the same score. The prize for the furthest pairing with a second division player went to Port St Mary pair Peter and Tom Collins, whilst Walter McCarthy and Kevin Kelly (both Marown) received the prize for furthest third division players. The top prize paid out to the winners was £200, with further prizes paid out to the runners up and losing semi-finalists on what was a great day of bowling.

In Ellan Vannin Fuels sponsored division one Marown A suffered their third defeat of the season losing 6-4 away to Onchan A. In the first half of the match the two captains played each other with Peter Slinger beating Paul Dunn 21-18. Kevin Quirk performed brilliantly to beat Matthew Keggen 21-3, with Colin Kelly recording the biggest win for the visitors winning 21-9 against Adrian Skinner, whilst Dean Kipling was not far behind seeing off Phil Kerruish 21-12.

In the second half of the match Jordan Cain beat Peter Kelly 21-10, with Matthew Quirk also winning 21-18 against Paul Kelly. For Marown Phil Kelly won fairly comfortably 21-15 against Rob Monk, with Neil Withers holding off the challenge of Mark Kelly to win 21-17.

Onchan took the two points for the aggregate thanks in part to Kevin Quirk’s huge win, whilst Mark Kelly getting to 17 against Neil Withers should also be noted.

Crucially all of Marown’s defeats this season have been away to the top four, with the Champions South Ramsey still having to play three games away from home to the top four in the final six fixtures of the season the league is far from over. Marown host South Ramsey in their next league fixture.

South Ramsey A took full advantage of Marown’s slip up by winning 10-0 at home to Port Erin A extending their lead to 16 points. The win wasn’t quite as straightforward as the score suggests with Bernie Durcan pushing John Kennish all the way before losing out 20-21 and David Cain fighting back from 9-16 down again Chas Grills to 17-18 with Cain lying one on with Grills playing a good last bowl to get back in and see the game out. Winning big for the home team were Peter Collister, Alan Moore and Stefan Kelly.

Peel A came away from Mooragh Park with a good 7-3 win over North Ramsey A. Winning for the home team Allan Callow had a comfortable 21-10 win against David Proctor, whilst Gary Merrill beat Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-19, with Steve Walmsley also winning to the same score against Frank Watson. For the visitors Tommy McMeiken and Jerome Surridge both won to single figures, whilst the three other winners for Peel Gary Smith, Tom Kelly and Stevie Kelly were all comfortable.

Marown B continue to pick up points to help their cause, but will have been disappointed not to take two points for the aggregate losing out by a solitary chalk (145-146) following a 3-7 home loss to Douglas A. Captain Harry Barton led the way for Marown with a 21-10 win over Gary Conwell, with Arnie Withers beating Willie Cowley 21-14 and James Kelly recording a 21-17 win over the experienced Ian Moore. For the visitors Mervin Sayle and Andy Kennish both won 21-15 against Alan Kennaugh and Juan Killip respectively, whilst winning three close games were Stuart Garrett, Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal.

South Ramsey B look to pull themselves away from the danger zone with a 4-6 away loss to Castletown A. For the visitors 15 year old Austin Hart recorded his first ever division one win beating Dean Kinley 21-12. Hopefully Hart can now use this win to kick on, as he has been knocking on the door all season scoring 17 or more in eight league games to show he can compete. Austin also found himself a bit richer with a couple of his club mates stumping up the cash as reward for his first win! The other winners for South Ramsey were Steven Waters who beat Ian Watson 21-10, Tony Dugdale who beat Jordan Drewett 21-13 and James Teare who held on to win 21-20 against David Quayle. For the home team Mike Hargraves just got over the line 21-20 against Christian Caley, Jeff Kinley beat Steve Moore 21-5. Peter Oates won 21-10 against Martin Caley with George Peach seeing off Ben Dugdale 21-16.

Douglas B hosted Port St Mary A taking three games off the visitors, losing out 3-7. For Douglas Andy Cannell won 21-11 against Steve Franks, Bob Callow beat Thomas Keggen 21-12 and Gordon Wynne-Smythe doing enough to beat Rob Cooil 21-18. For Port St Mary Trevor Quayle won to single figures, with Steve Hall, Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe also winning, whilst Wayne Roberts was pushed by Mark Corrin before getting over the line to win 21-17.

In division two league leaders Noble’s A had a tough looking away trip to face Ballaugh A, with the home team losing the advantage of a tricky home green following three consecutive days of rain. Winning for the visitors were Tommy Collister, Kevin Firth, Glenn Boland, David Pease with Reginald Temporaza defeating Peter Graham 21-4. For the home team Richard Fisher, John Maddrell and John Keenan were the winners.

Second placed Castletown B pulled two points back on the league leaders following their 9-1 away win against Noble’s B. The lone winner for the home team was John Singleton who beat Mark Saunders 21-14. For the visitors Ross Moore, Derek Lewney and Aaron Richardson all won to single figures against Juan Qualtrough, Stewart Cubbon and Peter Woods respectively.

Onchan B travelled south to take on bottom of the table Port Erin B coming away with a 7-3 win. For Onchan Mike Thomas recorded the biggest win of the night winning 21-8 against Ben Mowle, whilst Edward Carlyle and David Inch both won 21-18. The home team winners were Harry Minor, Christopher Dent and Ken Horsley who beat Paul Bailey 21-20.

Peel B sent Port St Mary B home with the tail between their legs with a 9-1 defeat. The sole winner for the visitors was Bernard Thackrah who was the only Port St Mary player to make it into double figures beating Dougie Allan 21-16. Alec Taylor & David Smith both won 21-2, Ray Shooter and Michael Kavanagh won 21-5, whilst Gordon Corrin and Harry Kelly both won 21-8.

Port St Mary B slipped up at home to Peel C winning just 6-4. Brian Corrin and Tom Collins both lost 20-21 to Peter Kelly and Jimmy Corlett, with the other two Peel winners being Bob Berry and Jeff Wilson. Winning for the home team were Peter Collins, Ray Maddrell, Tim Williams and Derek Kneen.

Finch Hill A made the journey north to take on North Ramsey B and came away with a 6-4 win taking the aggregate by just eight chalks with three of the Finch Hill losers scoring 17 or above to help take the win. Winning for the visitors were Tony Epifani, Arthur Halsall, Paul Dougherty and Billy Long. For North Ramsey Brian Colquitt, Alex Yates, John Breen and Paul Cannon won.

With Ballaugh B taking their turn to sit out in division three it gave the teams below them the opportunity to close the gap with Marown C doing just that with a 9-1 home win over Douglas D. Five of the home team won to single figures. Picking up the only win for the visitors was David Boylan who beat Steve Wilson 21-16. Marown have now jumped ahead of Castletown C to sit just one point behind Ballaugh B.

Castletown C slipped up away to Peel D losing 3-7. Brian Lindsey recorded the biggest win for the home team whilst Bert Quayle inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Juan Drinkwater with Quayle winning 21-14. Winning for the visitors were Sam Clague who beat Leslie Halsall 21-18 in a close game, John Kinley picking up where he left off last week beating Adam Kelly 21-12 and Philip Smith who won 21-13 against Owen Crompton 21-13.

Douglas C hosted near neighbours Finch Hill B with the match ending in a true draw 4-4 and the chalks tied at 123 each. Winning for the home team were Andy Foster, Mike Cain, Keith Fearnley and Thomas Rougvie who beat Stephen Oates 21-2. For Finch Hill Eric Stanley had his work cut out to beat Davy Stewart 21-19, whilst Kevin Anderson was the biggest win 21-7 against John Ferguson, Sam Stannard maintained his chase for the third division merit beating Les Quayle 21-13 with Paddy Murphy being awarded a walkover.

South Ramsey D won 8-2 at home to Ballaugh C, however third division merit leader Ian Moore lost his 100% record just losing out 20-21 to Trevor Jones. The other winner for Ballaugh was Patrick Grant who beat Ryan Surridge 21-11. Ryan Hargraves returned to winning ways with a 21-17 win over Phil Faragher, with Jay Moore winning to the same score against Alan Kelly. Peter Morgan beat Bert Quayle 21-19 and Franz ten Donkelaar held on to beat Peter Corlett 21-20.

Onchan C lost 4-6 at home to South Ramsey C with Mike Kelly winning 21-8 against Robert Snape. For South Ramsey Tony Hart beat Paul Clinton 21-7 with the northern men winning the aggregate by just 5 chalks.

Peel Bowling Club held the Peel Town Cup on Saturday with a healthy entry of 44 players keen to get their hands on the prestigious trophy it was Marown man Paul Dunn who won it, winning his first open competition in style.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Sid Bolton (South Ramsey), Harry Minor (Port Erin), Colin Kelly (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary).

Falling at the semi-final stage was Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) who was well beaten by home greener Stevie Kelly, who was the quickest out of the blocks with Kelly winning comfortably 21-13. Also losing out was multi time Peel Town Cup winner Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to Paul Dunn, with Dunn performing well to see the game out 21-18. This put an end to the home crowds hopes of an all Peel final between father and son.

The final was sure to be entertaining, with both players knowing a new name would be on the trophy and that one of them would be winning their first open. Kelly started well, picking up the first few ends to take a 11-6 lead before Dunn got in to go on a good run turning the score from a five point deficit into a five point lead to go 16-11 up playing a lengthy mark over the crown, constantly altering the length slightly. Kelly got back in to take the next few ends to pull the score back to 14-16. Dunn showed a determined attitude throughout the final, with his composure helping to see the game out winning deservedly 21-15 to finally break his duck in open competitions.

The presentation was made by Peel President Dougie Allan, who thanked everyone who had entered, all the Peel members who had helped in any way throughout the day. It was also noted that £320 was paid out in prize money, in part thanks to an anonymous sponsor on the day which helped contribute to a good prize fund.

The final of the Rayner Plate was won by Noble’s A following a brilliant comeback to win 185-175, winning by just 10 points in a thrilling final against third division side South Ramsey D. The handicaps were set with Noble’s A on +40 and South Ramsey D on +76, giving the Ramsey men a start of 36. The rain throughout the day had taken the electric pace out of the Villa green, unfortunately the green became quite heavy despite the puddles managing to clear before play took place.

Things were looking good for the D Team with Richard Davies turning in a stunning performance to see off the ever improving Glenn Boland to win 21-7 extending the lead to 50 points. Next off for South Ramsey was third division merit leader Ian Moore, turning in a fine performance to see off the experienced Dave Pease to record a fine 21-12 win to extend the lead to 59 points. Noble’s responded as expected with Reginald Temporaza and David Quayle both performing well to both win 21-9 against Franz ten Donkelaar and Martin Caley respectively. At the halfway stage Noble’s had clawed just one point back, however they had a good back four to go on with it all to do.

First game off in the second half was the wily Tommy Collister, who took a 15-1 lead against Matthew Corkill, with Corkill doing well to dig in playing some excellent bowls before eventually losing 13-21. Next game off was between the two captains with Kevin Firth leading the way for his Noble’s team with a strong 21-9 win against James Moore. This pulled the deficit for Noble’s back to just 15 points. Mark ‘Postie’ Quinn was the next game off against 10 year old Ryan Hargraves who was competing in his first major final, giving a good account of himself throughout the game for the way he played and conducted himself throughout the game. Young Ryan started in style with a six inch bowl and a two foot bowl with Quinn bowling a good second to save one. From there Quinn played well, with Ryan chipping in with the odd point. At lying game down Ryan hit a great strike to take the jack off the green, which had the crowd cheering. Quinn finished the game off next end beating a good bowl, which Ryan just missed when playing up for Quinn to record a 21-7 win. This reduced the deficit to just one point with the last game on the green it was another experienced Noble’s player John Ruscoe needing to win his game against Jay Moore to secure the victory and a great comeback for Noble’s. Ruscoe wasted no time in doing this with an assured 21-10 win.

This South Ramsey team can take great pride in their performance in their first major final against a team that are looking favourites to be playing first division bowls next season, and they have players who can only improve in the future. All credit to the Noble’s players who performed brilliantly to turn around a huge deficit to record their first Rayner Plate win. Before Noble’s Park and Noble’s Mixed merged a few years ago to create Noble’s, Noble’s Mixed A won the Rayner Plate in 2006.

The presentation was made by Association Chairman Neil Withers who congratulated both teams on their performance, Douglas for the use of the green and the refreshments, Steve Moore for running the sheet and the supporters who turned up for what was an entertaining final, with good support for both teams around the green.

Port St Mary hosted the Dreswick Cup sponsored by the Albert Hotel on Thursday afternoon, with the competition attracting 43 entries to play on a tricky green in glorious sunshine.

The competition is unique in that it is the only Men’s Open Age competition that is held during the week on a working day. I have been reliably informed that the shops around the Island used to close on a Thursday afternoon, which would allow those that worked in the shops to enter the competition. School kids have been known to skip school to play in the popular competition, with the most notable being a 14 year old John Kennish winning his first open.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Neil Withers (Marown), Brian Kelly (Marown), Keith Rise (Douglas) and home greener Paul Skelly.

In the first semi-final Jordan Cain (Onchan) had the tough task of facing South Ramsey man John Kennish, with Cain taking an early lead before Kennish fought back to go 19-18 up. Cain then secured three singles to see the game out 21-19 to book his place in the final. In the other semi-final Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won his game comfortably 21-11 against Port St Mary player Wayne Roberts.

The final started as expected with Cain going for the shorter lengths and Kelly playing the longer marks as he had done all day. Kelly made the better start taking a 13-9 lead. Cain got back in but struggled to lead as well as he done throughout the day and during the semi-final, perhaps not helped by the green losing some of the pace with the shadow being cast over the green. Kelly managed to keep Cain at arms lengths throughout with the lead going to 17-12 and then 19-14. Cain then picked up a further two points to put the score at 16-19. On the last end Cain was unable to put up a good lead which Kelly managed to beat, with Cain then failing to better his first bowl it allowed Kelly to play a second counting bowl for game.

The presentation was made by Port St Mary Vice President, Peter Collins, who thanked the Ladies for the refreshments, everyone who had helped run the competition and prepare the green. Pat O’Meara from the Albert Hotel was then introduced to present the prizes.