News: Men’s General
Sun Shines on Kennish in Kernan
Jim Kernan Winner 2017
John Kennish present by Bailey Hotchkiss grandson of sponsor George BrewThe first of the pre-festival opens The Jim Kernan Cup was held in glorious weather on a fantastic South Ramsey green that got quicker throughout the day. The competition attracted an entry of 48 bowlers, which was half price entry for Over 60’s and free for Juniors.
The winner was John Kennish, who mastered the green and made it a staggering 11th time that he has picked up the trophy on his home green.
Losing out at the quarter-final stage were home greeners Steven Waters, David Bradford and Glynn Hargraves, along with visiting bowler Keith Turton.
In the semi-final Kennish ended the challenge of visitor Roger Lunn.
In the other semi-final home greener Dido Kelly booked his place in the final by defeating Edward Carlyle (Onchan).
In a good quality final Kelly got off to a good start against Kennish, before Kennish turned the game round to go 16-12 up. Kelly then dug in to pull the score back to 15-16, before Kennish rallied to see the game out 21-16.
The presentation was made by Steve Moore, who thanked the sponsor George Brew and his family, those who helped run the competition and the Ladies for the excellent refreshments throughout the day. This was the first open that South Ramsey have held using their new clubhouse.
Thanks to Gary Weightman for the photos
Roberts & Ryan Win September Festival
Welsh wizard Leighton Roberts (Cunliffe) picked up his first ever Isle of Man Main Men’s Bowls Festival title last week at the second time of asking.
After falling at the final hurdle in June last year, Roberts was in no mood to let this final slip through his fingers against former Champion, and festival stalwart, Martin Gilpin (Kendal Vic).
That said he didn’t have things his own way and despite leading 14-10 found himself level at 15-15 and then again at 17-17 as Gilpin, the master tactician from Cumbria, tried to use all his experience to outfox the youngster and add another festival title to his long list of honours.
Conditions on finals day deteriorated with every bowl sent, but not even the foul weather could stop Roberts who dug deep, and when some thought he might falter due to nerves he found the composure of a true champion. as he managed to seal the win 21-18.
Champion Roberts booked his final birth thanks to a 21-12 win over James Wilcox (Crossgates) and a nail biting 21-20 win over Neil Slattery (Nimble Nook), in which he came from behind with some brilliant bowls to edge to victory.
Gilpin was on song in the semi-finals where he eliminated bookies favourite, close friend and Kendal Vic stable mate Ian Nicholson 21-15 after starting the day with a 21-9 win over Graham Higgins (Lower Hopton).
Marown’s Colin Kelly was the furthest local in the men’s main competition losing out in the last eight to James Wilcox.It was a much better showing for Manxmen in general as in June they failed to get a single player to the last 32 of the competition and this time around eight of our own made it to the same stage.
Tracy Ryan (Meole Brace) bagged the ladies title with a dominant finals day display which never really saw her threatened. She lifted the trophy after a 21-16 final victory over Olwen Edwards (Llanfair Pwll).
Ryan was control from the off and after going 11-6 up managed to ensure Edwards never closed the gap moving to 19-14 up before the latter rallied but could never get back on terms.
Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) was the furthest local lady in the competition as she did exceptionally well to make the semi-finals before going down to Ryan 21-10.
Monk wasn’t the only Manx player in finals day and was in good company as Lyn Bolton and Elaine Moore (both South Ramsey) made the last eight. In fact Monk played Bolton winning 21-14 to make the semis whilst Moore fell 21-18 after a highly entertaining affair against Carleen Doody-Millington (Meole Brace).
Thursday morning saw the final stages of the Mens and Ladies Tourism Competitions and there was some good local presence and some brilliant performances as both Glynn Hargraves and Christine Price made it to the finals of their respective competitions.
Hargraves eventually lost out 21-11 to Ian Nicholson after battling hard in his two previous matches, beating Paul Beer (Meole Brace) 21-20 in his first match of the morning and David Halstead (Kirkham) 21-16 next time out. It was a good week for Glynn who showed some of his best form throughout the week, as he also made the last 32 of the main competition and he should be very proud of his efforts.
South Ramsey team mate John Kennish was also in fine fettle to make the last eight before being eliminated by eventual winner Ian Nicholson 21-16 in the quarter-finals.
It was a similar story for Price who won well in her first two games before going down after a fight 21-17 to Sarah Fox (Woodlands Park). In her semi-final she beat Julie Pearce (Meole Brace) 21-12 after taking down Doody-Millington 21-15 in the quarters. Again Christine should be really proud of her efforts as she really did give a great showing in the competition.
In the Men’s consolation competition Peter Yates (Kirkham) took the win with a 21-15 result over Merseyside’s Danny Barwise. Hazel Borrowdale (Nether Field) won the ladies competition with a win by the same score-line over Joyce Jones (Syke BC)
The last chance Mixed Final saw one of the main competitions pre-tournament favourites Chris Slater (Colwyn Bay Legion) produce a good display to beat Martin Middleton (Meole Brace) 21-14.
The final singles competition of the week, the visit.com flyer, saw two locals battling out with Alec Taylor (Peel Sunset) handling the conditions better to defeat Edward Carlyle 7-0. Congratulations to Alex on his win.
As always the doubles competitions provided a lot of entertainment and another chance of success for visiting and local bowlers alike. The main open doubles was won by Dave & Ben Phillips (Lloyd Hotel) who were on song winning 11-2 against Leighton Roberts & Nick Hughes (Cunliffe).
In the men’s event Bob Whyatt & Steve Baskerville took the title with an 11-1 victory over Mel Hobson & Andrew Moore. Jimmy Samson (Douglas) was the furthest of the locals losing out with visitor Stuart Marshall 11-8 to the eventual winners at the semi final stage.
In the ladies competition there was a Manx victor as June festival champion Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) took the crown with Patricia Lonsdale (Morecambe Bay Mixed) as they beat Dawn Bray and Janet Cropper 11-5.
Elaine Moore just missed out on a mixed doubles win as her and partner Tony Parsons went down 9-5 to Paul Drabble & Nicola Gilmore.
Thanks as always goes to the Department of Economic Development for their continued support of what is without doubt one of the premier events on the bowling calendar.
It was also great to see quite a lot of new faces, as well as regular ones, which is a good indicator that Steve Moore and his team are continuing to do a fantastic job in both promoting and running both the June and September Bowls Festivals.
Keenan 4’s Mens Doubles Trophy
Keenan Pairs 2016 Winners
Robert Monk & Matthew KeggenOn Saturday the Ballaugh Bowling Club held the Keenan 4’s Mens Doubles Trophy. With an entry of 39 pairs it was always going to be a long day for both the Competition Hut and the Kitchen teams as well as the players. Despite the forecasted bad weather most of the rain passed us by and the green was running well. By the time the final was played there was blue skies over Ballaugh..
After nearly 7 hours play the winners were Matthew Keggen & Rob Monk who beat Colin & Tom Kelly In the final. Losing semi-finalists were Jordan Cain & Bob Clark and Neil Withers & Paul Dunn and the losing quarter finalists were Adrian Skinner & Kevin Quirk, Mike Hargraves & Ian Kissack, John Keenan & Peter Graham and Geoff Porter & Norman Radcliffe.
At the conclusion Club President John Keenan thanked all those who helped to make it a success and presented the prizes..
Best placed home greeners were John Keenan and Peter Graham getting into the quarter finals with three other pairs getting two games.
Once again thanks to the lades keeping us fed and watered together with Paul Bradford and Ann Gale for help in the Competition Hut
Dreswick Cup
Dreswick Cup Winner 2016 - John Kennish
The annual Thursday afternoon Dreswick Cup was held at Port St Mary BC on the 21st of July once again kindly sponsored by the Albert Hotel P.S.M, with a good entry of 45 making the trip south to tackle the tricky ever quickening green. The competition was played in excellent conditions all day and the competitors were kept well refreshed as always by the ladies section of the host club.
At the conclusion of play it was down to a closely fought final between two multiple winners in the form of South Ramsey’s John Kennish and David “Barney” Kelly from Douglas with the former just taking the honours 21-20 after a mini comeback at the end when it looked like Barney might just have enough to get over the line.
In the semi’s Barney won a comfortable game 21-12 over Ewan Cooil from P.S.M with Kennish coming through to the same scoreline against a new face to many in the form of Steven Waters from North Ramsey who only started playing the game a couple of months ago but belied his inexperience to take some good scalps along the way. Fallers at the Quarter final stage were Ray Maddrell (P.S.M), David Bradford (South Ramsey), Mike Ashmole (Peel Sunset) and the newly crowned over 60’s Manx Champion Dave Faragher from Castletown.
Robert Cooil the clubs Vice President was on hand at the end of play to thank all the entrants for making it a good day, he also thanked Ray Watterson for producing a challenging playing surface, Sean Lillee for running the sheet and the clubs ladies section for all their hard work creating and serving all the refreshments. He then introduced Pat O’Meara from the Albert Hotel P.S.M to present the prizes and the trophy to the winners.
R & A Grimshaw Men’s Doubles
Thirty pairs made the annual pilgrimage to Marown on Tynwald day to take part in the Grimshaw fours and it was Colin Kelly & Michael Collister who came out on top in a magnificent final.
They took the win by the narrowest of margins beating farther and son pairing Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly & Stevie Kelly 21-20 after a terrific encounter. The balance of play couldn’t have been more even until Collister found an out of this world front toucher with his lead on the final end to seal the fate of the battling challengers who couldn’t find a way to better it.
Kelly & Collister also have to show their metal in the semi-finals as they eliminated newly crowned Manx Doubles Champions John Kennish & David Bradford 21-19 after another ding dong battle. The Kelly’s also had a tricky encounter against Port St Mary’s Ewan Cooil & Wayne Roberts but had enough in the tank for a 21-17 win.
Losing out in the quarterfinals were Steve Parker & Steve Walmsley, Grahem Moore & Les Warburton, Ian Kissack & Mike Hargraves and Peter Slinger & Kevin Quirk.
Thanks go to Marown for putting on and running another superb competition.
Browne Craine & Co Mens Doubles Championship
Thirty pairs made the pilgrimage to Nobles Park on Saturday in search of the first ever Brown Craine Manx Mens Doubles Championship victory, and it was John Kennish and David Bradford who managed to secure the first title.
This is a fantastic new competition putting the spotlight on the doubles format of the game and it obviously captured the imagination of the local players with some of the finest pairings I have ever seen put together.
Kennish & Bradford, who looked the most formidable pairing on paper, proved that sometimes things do go to form as they were ruthless all day. In the final they just had too much for the colourful Bob Clark & Jordan Cain with the former winning 21-13.
The eventual victors stamped their authority on proceedings in the Semi Finals as they took on Colin Kelly & Neil Withers it what potentially looked like a classic encounter. Kennish & Bradford were just too good and ran out comfortable 21-5 winners. Clark & Cain dispatched South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves & James Teare 21-12 at the same stage.
Fallers at the quarterfinal stage were Barney Kelly & Stevie Kelly, Mike Hargraves & Ian Kissack, Tim Williams & Ray Maddrell and Stuart Garrett & Ian Moore.
Thanks go to Neil Withers and the Isle of Man association for organising and running the competition but more importantly to Brown Craine who shared in our vision for a premier doubles competition and gave us the support to allow it to happen.
Isle of Man vs Derbyshire
Isle of Man County Squad 2015
The Paddy Power sponsored Isle of Man Senior Men’s county team took the greens for the final time this year and fell just short of finding their first illusive overall victory.
They took on a very strong Derbyshire team both at Castletown and away in Burton on Trent and despite losing out in both legs can draw many positives from another brilliant display at the highest level.
It was an emotional day all round for both counties as they spent the match was dedicated to the memory of both our own Lillian Slinger and Derbyshires Darren Smith, two of the finest exponents our sport at seen.
It had almost become the norm for the Manxmen to win their home leg, having done so on the last three occasions, and the performance of the visitors to stop them was a stark reminder of just how hard bowls is at the top table.
Gellings home man of the match Phil Kerruish was the only local winner in the first four and he was simply magnificent as he beat Belvedere’s ‘Matt Kelly-Walley 21-13. Paul Stretton (Belvedere) won the Endsleigh Insurance player of the leg award for his 21-12 win against Peter Collister.
There was more success in the next four blocks as the Isle of Man added two more victories with Port St Mary’s Ewan Cooil winning 21-12 against Chris Adams (Burbage) and John Kennish fighting his way back with a brilliant performance to win 21-19 over John Dewey (Belvedere).
David Bradford added his name to the winners list playing extremely well to beat Paul Hawker (Whaley Brodge) 21-15. That was in for the locals on home soil as they went down 8 games to 4 and by 30 points.
Across he water something quite remarkable was happening as the men in red in yellow put in their finest away team performance to date and at one point and unprecedented away leg victory looked on the cards, however they lost out by just four points overall.
Barney Kelly led from the front with a totally assured Captains performance to put the Isle of Man 1-0 up as he beat Dave May 21-17. Neil Withers lost out by the narrowest of margins in the next game going down 21-20 before Jordan Cain righted the ship with another inspired away county performance beating Conor Chamberlain 21-18.
The Island didn’t have to wait too long for their next win as Rob Monk was in truly sensational form to win 21-9 against Neil Worthington and pick up the Endsleigh Insurance Man of the match awards for his efforts. I can’t put into words how well he played and I am sure he made his grandma Lillian proud with his breathtaking performance.
Matthew Quirk and Peter Slinger both came close, scoring 20 and 19 respectively, before Paul Skelly picked up his first county win and the Isle of Man award for man of the match after a spirited performance to fend off the battling Mick Grattan 21-19.
Phil ‘Rambo’ Kelly is fast becoming the patriarch of the Isle of Man team and he put in another stunning display last man on to beat arguably Derbyshires best player Paul Chamerlain 21-15. To put this into perspective Chamberlain has won his other two home matches this year 21-4 and 21-6. Five wins, two 20’s and a 19 is not just competing away from home it is showing that we really can mix it with the best. I am sure it will not be too long before our stars align both at home and away to bring us the overall match victory we so desperately want to see. A massive thank you to sponsors Paddy Power, Castletown for hosting the match and anyone else who helped in any way.
Ballacashtal
In contrast to the recent sunshine Castletown Bowling Club hosted the 50th Anniversary of the Veros Digital Sponsored Ballacashtal Cup in wind and rain on Sunday.
104 bowlers made the pilgrimage to the old capital for this biggest one day competition on the Island. It Was South Ramsey’s John Kennish went one step further that the previous day lifting the trophy thanks to a superb 21-7 final win over the Wirral’s Peter Jones.
Kennish eliminated Port St Mary’s Paul Skelly in the semi final 21-11 whilst Jones had to fight all the way to see of the challenge of Marown’s Neil Wilthers 21-20.
Losing out at the quarter final stage were Ian Johnson, Mark Bramhall, Dave Halstead & Michael Hewitson.
Thanks go to Casteltown Bowling Club for putting on and running a superb competition despite very testing conditions for organisers and competitors alike and also to Veros Digital for their sponsorship.
Jim Kernan
Visitor Wayne Ditchfield won the Jim Kernan trophy on a very tricky South Ramsey green beating John Kennish 21-19 in a highly entertaining final.
Ditchfield settled superbly from his first bowl of the day and had to be at the top of his game to beat pre-tournament favourite Kennish on his own patch.
Wayne had to overcome the challenge of another local in the semi-finals as he dispatched David Bradford 21-14. At the same stage Kennish beat his common adversary Colin Kelly by the same score.
Fallers at the quarter finals were Stevie Kelly, Tony Hary, Mark Bramhall & John ‘Doctor’ Watson.
Thanks go to South Ramsey and to George Brew in both his capacity as green keeper for turning out an immaculate playing surface but also as sponsor. Thanks George.
June Festival Preview
It’s always hard to predict what will happen in the Men’s main festival competition, as unlike the programme the games won’t be played on paper.
There is always someone who tears up the form book and puts in a barnstorming performance to set the cat amongst the pigeons!
This year is no different and with the usual host of top visiting names it is almost impossible to call. Nicholson, Gilpin, Ditchfield, Wraight, Bailey & Gilmore they are all now familiar names on the Island and will be hoping this is their year.
There are some new names this time too and some unfamiliar faces who will be hoping to make their first visit to the Island a fruitful one.
There should be a strong local showing as well, although John Kennish will need to play the tournament of his life to win as he is giving the field a five point start after winning back to back festivals in September 2014 and June 2015. Colin Kelly will hope to do well as will David Bradford, Glynn Hargraves and in form Matthew Keggen to name just a few.
This always backfires on me but my predictions to qualify from their sections and make the last eight on finals day is below:
Jack Dyson v James Palmer, Ian Nicholson v John Bailey, James Wilcox v Matt Gilmore, Callum Wraight v Colin Kelly