Following his previous win in 2014 Glynn Hargraves overcame a strong field to pick up his second Ramsey Town Cup trophy a decade later.

With a total entry of 52 bowlers from across the island, eight of whom are currently in the top 20 on the Island, a great day’s bowling was in prospect. With a dry start and a superbly prepared green the preliminary rounds kicked off on schedule at 12 noon with no great shocks, however in the 1^st round of 32 there were some very tight games and a few shock results. Greg Barlow (South Ramsey) overcame Tom Kelly (Marown) 21-20, home greener Steve Walmsley beat Dave Naughton (Noble’s) 21-20, John Cannan (North Ramsey) just failed to oust Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) 20-21 and unfancied John Piekalns (North Ramsey) defeated one of the competition favourites Paul Dunn (Marown) 21-16.  

The best game of the 2^nd round of 16 was the game between family rivals Stefan and Dido Kelly (both South Ramsey). After 17 ends Stefan was 20-15 ahead and looked certain to get across the finishing line in style however Dido won the next four ends to make it all square at 20 each. Following a nervy 22^nd end Stefan finally managed to get the one chalk to achieve the win.

In the first of the quarter finals David Bradford (South Ramsey) faced off against teammate John Kennish. The game was nip and tuck all the way through with neither player able to make a decisive break with the final result being a win for David Bradford 21-19. The second quarter final saw home favourite Rob Monk paired with Stefan Kelly. This again was a very tight match with both players trading blows until end 17, with the score standing at 17-16 in Stefan’s favour he managed to win four ends in a row to win 21-16.

The third quarter final featured Dean Kinley (Castletown) against home player Paul Allison. The game was tit-for-tat all the way through with the scores standing at “all-but” across after 19 ends. However, it was Paul who managed to hold his nerve to get across the line 21-20. In the last of the quarter finals in another all South Ramsey clash Peter Collister met Glynn Hargraves. Whilst the first six ends were shared Glynn upped his game and finally ran out as the 21-10 winner.

In the first of the semi-finals between Bradford and Kelly after eight ends Stefan was leading 14-8 and looked set to romp home to victory, however last year’s champion David is made of sterner stuff and by end 14 was just one chalk behind at 15-16. In the following ends the players traded blows to reach “all-but” across after 22 ends with David winning the 23^rd end to take the match.

The second semi-final between Paul Allison and Glynn Hargraves was a much more clear-cut affair. With Paul struggling to find line and length and Glynn always in close proximity to the jack Glynn ran out as the winner 21-9 after just 13 ends.

As was to be expected with the top two players in the competition competing in the final this was a fine end to an excellent day’s bowling. After eight ends David and Glynn were tied on 11 chalks each. At this point a shower of rain possibly affected the characteristics of the green which Glynn was better able to adjust to enabling him to win eight of the next nine ends to stretch the score to 20-12 in his favour. Whilst David managed to pick up three chalks in the next two ends Glynn managed to win the 20^th end to secure the game and the Ramsey Town Cup for the second time.

Rob Monk, President of North Ramsey Bowling Club, introduced Tim Pressley representing the sponsors Corkhill and Callow Ltd and thanked him and the club members who organised the competition and provided catering and raffle support for their efforts. He then presented prizes to the losing quarter and semi-finalists, runner up and winner. The trophy was then presented to Glynn Hargraves by Tim Pressley.

Marown hosted the ever-popular Tynwald Day R & A Grimshaw Pairs Trophy on the Bank Holiday Friday with the green in superb condition. 22 pairs took part, and the competition was once again sponsored by Investasure Financial Services Ltd.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were home greeners Paul Dunn and Neil Withers 14-21 to Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk (South Ramsey/Onchan), with the Marown men having a sizeable lead, never scoring again. Noble’s Steve Colquitt and Mark Bradshaw lost 10-21 to Tom Kelly and Colin Kelly (Marown). In the other half of the draw Port St Mary’s Tim Williams and Ray Maddrell were defeated 6-21 to another Marown pair Glenn Boland and Peter Jones, whilst James Teare and Paul Allison (South Ramsey/North Ramsey) progressed with a 21-15 win over Derek Allen and Bernard Thackrah (Port Erin/Port St Mary).

At the semi-final stage both winning pairs came through their games comfortably, as Cain and Quirk won 21-12 against the Kelly’s, whilst Boland and Jones ended the hopes of Teare and Allison with a 21-14 win.

So to the final, defending champions Cain and Quirk kept up the good form they had shown throughout the day playing short and tricky marks, as they made a good start to lead 16-4 after just five ends, scoring a four on the first end and the fifth end. Boland and Jones finally got in to win three of the next four ends scoring a four themselves to reach double figures, with the score now 10-17. Cain and Quirk put a stop to the comeback with two doubles to take a well-deserved 21-10 victory to retain the title, lifting the title for a fourth time overall.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked the sponsors for their support, Brian Kelly for running the sheet, everyone who had helped with the running of the competition, the Marown Ladies for the refreshments provided. Thanks were also given to Arnie Withers and Colin Kelly for preparing the green for the competition.

The final stages of the Canada Life International Manx Championship were played at Peel Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon, with the qualifying rounds having taken place the previous day, with 78 entries this year, a good increase on the 2023 entry, boosted by over 20 entries from the host club alone.

As is always the case there were high profile casualties on the Saturday, with the draw being played down to 16, the target being to navigate safely through the early rounds to reach finals day.

Matthew Quirk	21	16	David Bradford
Paul Quirk	10	21	John Kennish
Tony Carroon	7	21	Colin Kelly
Tom Kelly	7	21	Paul Dunn
Peter Jones	12	21	Trevor Quayle
Will Penhallurick	18	21	Dean Kinley
Jordan Cain	21	20	Peter Slinger
Neil Withers	21	16	Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Matthew Quirk (Onchan) 12-21 to John Kennish (South Ramsey). Two Marown men faced off, as Colin Kelly looked to add to his seven championship wins with a 21-18 victory over Paul Dunn. In the other half of the draw it was a southern battle as Dean Kinley (Castletown) displayed good form to beat a previous finalist in Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) 21-17. South Ramsey’s Jordan Cain having coming through a tough Last 16 game against Peter Slinger, couldn’t get the better of the current holder Neil Withers (Marown) as the latter prevailed 21-14 to reach the semi-final.

The first semi-final looked to be a blockbuster between Kennish and Kelly, and had been the final of the Manx Championship on five previous occasions, with the former having won all five finals. With the score tied at 7-7 Kennish shifted up a couple of gears seeing the game out scoring eight doubles, whilst keeping Kelly down to two doubles early in the game as he booked his place in the final with a 21-11 win.

The other semi-final saw Withers get off to a good start to build up a 10-1 lead, this was quickly extended to 15-2. Kinley started to get a foothold in the game as he closed the deficit to six chalks at 10-16, only for Withers to finish the match off with five chalks scored to seal a 21-10 win, to take his place in the final for a second successive year.

The final got underway with over 70 spectators still in attendance, they were treated to a match that had it all. With the jack cleared off the green by Withers on the first end Kennish had a game plan of heading for the corners, however forfeited the jack on more than one occasion due to sending the block off the green, with Withers preferring a mark over the middle of the green. The South Ramsey man looked like he could run away with it early on, as he built up a five chalk lead at 8-3. Withers responded to win four of the next five ends scoring three doubles to take the lead at 10-9.

This started a pattern of both finalists going on mini-runs, as a change in tactics saw Kennish pick up two doubles to re-take the lead 13-10. The Marown man hit back with six chalks over four ends to lead 16-13. Kennish got his nose in front once more to lead by a solitary chalk at 17-16 by the 24th end, with both players taking out their own bowl when playing through to go two down.

As the final approached the business end two-time Manx Champion Withers dug deep to score a single followed by a two to be the first man to be one end away from victory at 19-17. Three successive singles on a longer mark from Kennish got him one good bowl away from victory at 20-19, however a single from Withers, clipping off John’s lead bowl then connecting with the jack tied the score at 20-20.

The tension had built up nicely for the final end, and what an end this proved to be, as Withers played a great lead bowl just over a foot from the jack. Kennish left his lead bowl a yard short, with Withers beating his first bowl to count for two and doing everything he could to win the game. Kennish showing no sign of any pressure, changed his peg to play a superb reaching bowl, sitting out Withers closest bowl to rest next to the jack and seal a 21-20 win and with it his 12th Manx Championship in a thrilling finish to the game.

This success was his first Manx Championship title win on Peel, leaving Castletown and Ballaugh as the only (current) greens he hasn’t picked up a Manx Championship on, with all the other greens on the island ticked off, with Noble’s Two green being the only green he has won two Manx Championships on, as he continues to break his own records. Remarkably Kennish has never been beaten in the final of the Manx Championship.

The presentation was made by Association competition committee member Steve Moore, who introduced IOMCCGBA President Michele Cubbon to present the prizes. In his speech John thanked the Association for running the competition, reserving special praise for the team who look after the Peel green, which was playing and running superbly, with an incredible turnaround in less than two years.

John and Neil will both compete in the Senior Individual merit at Pennfields BC, Staffordshire on Saturday 27th July, with John also competing in the Champion of Champions at Owley Wood Recreation Club, Cheshire on Saturday 28th September.

After a week’s break for the Isle of Man June Festival the Canada Life International Division One got back underway on Monday evening, as the league season approaches the halfway stage.

The closest match in Division One was between Castletown A and Peel A at the Crofts, as the town men beat fourth placed Peel A 6-4, although the Town men won comfortably on chalks (146-119). For the visitors Dave ‘Barney Kelly leads the way in the merit as he maintained his unbeaten start to the season, with a 21-7 win over David Quayle. The other three wins for Peel were close, as Ste Kelly won 21-17 against Nathan Cooil, Tony Carroon beat George Foy 21-18, whilst Peter Greenless held his nerve to beat Ian Watson 21-20. The home team wins were all comfortable with Aaron Richardson beating Pip Pemberton 21-3, whilst Nathan Hamilton also won to single figures 21-9 against David Proctor.

Onchan A took on Douglas A at home, with the Onchan men winning 7-3. Kevin Quirk was the only single figure on the night, as he beat Mark Kneen 21-3, whilst Will Penhallurick held off Gordon Wynne-Smythe 21-19. Winning to the same score for the visitors were Mervin Sayle and Dave McCabe against Neil Dunwell and Phil Kerruish respectively.

North Ramsey A picked up their third win of the season at home to Port St Mary A. For the home team captain Rob Monk beat Chris Lever 21-7, whilst Steve Walmsley went one better with a 21-6 win over Tom Collins. The three wins for the Port men was enough to keep from off the foot of the table, although they are now eight points adrift of the Mooragh Park men.

League leaders South Ramsey A took on Marown C, with the Crosby men managing to take a vital point as Steven Rough performed well to win 21-11 against Peter Collister, however five single figure wins from the home team ensured a 9-1 win for the South men, keeping the visitors down to 77 chalks.

Marown A ensured that South Ramsey didn’t extend their lead as they beat their lower ranked B team 9-1. Karl Parker was the lone winner for the B, with a 21-8 victory over Glenn Boland. John Gelling was the only other potential winner, however he just lost out 20-21 to Colin Kelly. Winning to single figures for the A team were Peter Jones and Tom Kelly over Phil Kelly and Juan Killip respectively.

In Division Two Peel B show no sign of taking their foot off the gas, with a 9-1 home win over Castletown B, with Andy Mackie and Jimmy Corlett sitting in second and third place in the individual merit.

South Ramsey B are in second place eight points behind the league leaders, they have a five-point cushion on third placed Ballaugh A who they beat 4-6 away from home. Tony Dugdale made it eight wins from eight games played with a 21-7 win over Mike Spooner.

Port Erin A make the trek north to Mooragh Park as the Breagle men came away with a 3-7 away victory, edging the aggregate by two chalks (146-148), with David Cain just missing out on an extra point for his side as he slipped to a 20-21 defeat to Brian Colquitt.

Noble’s A closed the gap on Finch Hill A to a single point with a 6-4 home win over the Finch men, with Mark Bradshaw beating Mark Taylor 21-4, with Mike Caley stepping up from the D team he won 21-10 against Brian Aspden.

Douglas B would have been disappointed to slip to a 3-7 home defeat to Onchan B, with their fate sealed on the aggregate as Colin Spence stunned David Pease 21-1.

Over to Division Three, Noble’s C used home advantage to beat South Ramsey D, edging the aggregate by seven chalks (141-134). The match did see a battle of the Juniors as Kian Bradford picked up his first ever league win for South Ramsey, as he beat Max Johnson 21-17, with the latter making his league debut.

South Ramsey C beat high flying Noble’s D 7-3 at home, with Lee Price winning 21-2 for the visitors.

Elsewhere Marown D slipped to a 3-7 home defeat to Peel C, with the visitors claiming two single figure wins, whilst Ballaugh B also suffered the same fate with a 3-7 loss to Noble’s B, as they lost out on the aggregate by a solitary chalk (140-141).  Onchan C were well beaten 1-9 at home to Port St Mary B.

In Division Four it was Ballaugh C who took their turn to sit out this round of fixtures, giving the teams below them an opportunity to close the gap. North Ramsey C took home a good 8-2 win over Douglas D at Mooragh Park, whilst Peel D hosted Castletown C in the Sunset City with the home team taking home a 7-3 win. Elsewhere Noble’s E were at home to Douglas C, with the Villa men taking a 4-6 away win.

Friday evening saw the return of a post festival invitational competition, with Marown Bowling Club hosting the event and 32 bowlers accepting the invitation to play, with the competition featuring 16 of the top local bowlers, and 16 visitors who had taken part in the Isle of Man June Bowls Festival.

The competition was put in place in memory of the late Sheila Freeman, who visited the Island for a number of years with her partner Derek Halsall who sponsored the competition.

The format was 21 up with 5 on the card for visiting bowlers and 3 on the card for home greeners, with the draw taking place earlier in the afternoon from two pots with visiting bowlers playing local players in the first round.

With a strong field taking part, it proved tough for the local bowlers, with only three of the 16 locals winning their first round games, with Jordan Cain (South Ramsey), John Kennish (South Ramsey) and home greener Colin Kelly going into the second round.

Cain won his first game 21-17 against Richie Goddard (Shropshire), John Kennish edged through 21-18 against Ryan Clark (South Yorkshire), whilst Colin Kelly made light work of Dave McDermott (Merseyside) with a 21-11 win.

Cain was knocked out in the second round with a 12-21 defeat to Billy Speed (Lancashire). With the rain well and truly set in at the quarter final stage it left Kennish and Kelly as the last locals in the competition, with the former winning 21-17 against one of the top bowlers in the game Callum Wraight (Shropshire), as the South Ramsey man started to show signs of his old form returning having not played regularly since 2018. Conor Chamberlain (Derbyshire) progressed with a 21-14 win over Speed. In the other half of the draw Kelly disposed of Josh Mordue (Yorkshire) with relative ease with a 21-12 win, whilst Joe Cranston (Yorkshire) had to work for his 21-17 win over Matt Gilmore (Merseyside) to progress to the semi-final stage.

The first semi-final saw Kennish breeze through with a 21-12 victory over Chamberlain, whilst Kelly was comfortable in his game to book his spot in the final with a 21-15 win over Cranston.

The final got underway labelled as ‘El Clasico’ by one spectator with the finalists having played each other in countless finals over the years, with both men winning most of the top titles in Manx Bowls over the past 30 years. Kelly may have been fancied to take the win with home advantage and the conditions perhaps favouring him, however Kennish rolled back the years putting in a superb performance, scoring five doubles on his way to a resounding 21-9 victory to pick up the first prize of £500, keeping the Marown man down to six singles and never allowing Kelly to win two consecutive ends.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Marown club Chairman Peter Kelly and competition organiser Paul Dunn who thanked everyone had had accepted the invitation to play, the ladies for providing the refreshments, all the club members who had helped in any way, along with competition sponsor Derek Halsall who was introduced to present the prizes, as he pledged to sponsor the competition in 2024.

The ever-popular pre-festival Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday attracting an entry of 84 bowler, which was an increase on the 2023 entry, made up of local and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in good condition, the competition was once again sponsored by ABS Solutions.

At the quarter final stages it was the end of the road for three locals as Marown’s Tom Kelly lost out 20-21 to John Clarke (Wrockwardine Wood), with Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) defeated 14-21 to Peter Jones (Marown).

The third local to dip out in the quarter finals was Kelly’s Dad Colin, as he also lost out 20-21 to Jamie King (Wrockwardine Wood) after leading 20-15 only for King to hit some vital strikes to keep him in the game, with the last game being won by Martin Gaut (Wrockwardine Wood) with a hard fought 21-18 win over Paul Bradley (Fairfield).

At the semi-final stage Jones kept his opponent Clarke to six singles as the Marown man won 21-12, scoring five doubles and five singles on the way to booking his place in the final.

The other semi-final was an all Wrockwardine Wood affair with King and Gaut battling it out for a place in the final, with King having won this competition two years ago. It was Gaut who got off to the better start taking a 14-7 lead, swiftly extended to 17-8. King hit back with two doubles and a single in between conceding a single to close the deficit to five chalks (13-18). It looked all over barring a miracle on the next end with Gaut scoring two to lead 20-13, however King had other ideas as three consecutive doubles playing along the edge on the road side of the green put the score at 19-20. On the next end King was counting two for game, with a play through by Gaut saving one. With the score now 20-20 on the deciding end, King played back along the edge however he didn’t send his jack far enough, being just under the 19 metres required after a measure it allowed Gaut to set the mark. With King lying game once again Gaut held his nerve to seal the win with a good last bowl to take his place in the final.

The final was a good watch for the spectators with neither player being able to get away from the other as they drew level on 11 occasions throughout the final, rather bizarrely each time the players card markers checked the score, it was level to prove how close this final was with there never being a run of two winning ends for either player or a gap of more than two points all game. It was Jones who made the first move to go within touching distance of the title in his third final in this competition as he scored a single to lead 20-18. Gaut responded with a two to level the game up at 20-20, he headed into the corner to play a good lead bowl, with Jones just failing to beat it as he clipped the wrong side of the bowl. Gaut then doubled up to apply the pressure, leaving Jones no option other to strike, which didn’t make the right connection for Gaut to pick up the famous old trophy for the first time, whilst Jones lost out for the third time in the final of this competition.

The presentation was made by Castletown Club Chairman Phil Taubman who thanked the sponsors ABS Solutions for their continued support of the competition, the ladies for the refreshments and Kath Kinley for running the competition. Upon accepting the trophy Martin commented that it was great for both players to have support around the green.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday afternoon, in what is traditionally the first of the pre-festival opens with a healthy entry of 62. With heavy rain late morning and just as the competition started this took away any prospect of a quick green.

At the quarter final stage Danny Barwise (Merseyside) put paid to hopes of the last home greener Glynn Hargraves with a 21-15 win, whilst fellow Merseyside man Paul Ashmore had a good run only to lose out 12-21 to 2023 winner Paul Dunn (Marown). In the bottom half of the draw Matt Gilmore (Wirral) beat Jon Guess (Fairfield) 21-13, whilst Marown man Colin Kelly just edged home 21-20 against Michael Coupe (Wirral).

Both semi-finals were fascinating matches for the spectators who were treated to some top quality play, with Barwise leading 15-11 against Dunn, only to trail by three chalks at 15-18. Four consecutive singles saw the Merseyside man lead 19-18 only for Dunn to see the game out with three singles to book his place in the final with a 21-19 win.

The other semi-final was just as close, as Gilmore led 16-10 against Kelly, only for the latter to take the lead 18-16. A single and a double for the Wirral man saw him edge ahead 19-18, with Kelly matching this mini run to see the game out with a 21-19 victory to join his Marown teammate in the final.

Kelly got off to a flier in the final scoring three doubles and three singles over the first six ends in the corners to lead 14-5. With Dunn finally picking up his first point, the Marown captain went on to win six of the next seven ends to close the deficit to just two chalks at 14-16. Kelly got in at the right time to keep ahead and in doing so extended the lead to 19-15. Dunn scored four singles on the bounce to level the game up at 19-19, then finished with a two to retain the title, in doing so won the cup for the third time in four years with his 21-19 victory – the only time he was ahead all game, but crucially at the most important time, as he proved once again a game is not over until you get to the magic score of 21.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey competition secretary James Teare who thanked the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition. James then introduced long term sponsor George Brew to present the prizes. In his speech Dunn thanked George for the sponsorship of the competition.

Link to full draw – https://challonge.com/h90ebuk

After a two week break of men’s night league fixtures, action got back underway in Canada Life International League Division One, with someone forgetting to tell the weather man it was June and not November.

League leaders Marown A made the short trip along the A1 out to Peel to take on their A Team on a windy evening across the island. With a five point lead the Crosby men were looking to extend their advantage at the top, however the men from the Sunset City had other ideas, as they inflicted a first league defeat of the season on their opponents 7-3. For the home team Peter Greenlees and Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly were the best winners as they won 21-10, with these two wins helping sealing the aggregate on chalks (146-134). Tommy McMeiken beat former teammate Tom Kelly 21-16, George Gadsby won 21-17 against Matthew Keggen, whilst Pip Pemberton caused the biggest upset of the night as he prevailed 21-18 against Manx Champion Neil Withers. For the visitors Peter Jones and Dean Kipling won 21-13 against David Proctor and Gary Smith respectively, with Marown captain Paul Dunn picking up their third win as he beat Stevie Kelly 21-15.

Taking full advantage of Marown’s defeat were South Ramsey A, who made the short journey across Ramsey to take on North Ramsey A at Mooragh Park, with the fixture being notoriously tough for visiting teams as proven by the Mooragh men going through the 2023 undefeated on games. The South men came away with a stunning 1-9 victory to jump ahead of Marown A by a point to hit top spot for the first time this season. Jordan Cain led the way with a 21-8 win over Steven Waters, with Stefan Kelly winning 21-9 against Gary Merrill. James Teare put in the performance of the night to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Rob Monk 21-10. Having to battle for their wins were David Bradford who prevailed 21-19 against Allan Callow, whilst Alan Moore won to the same score against Dave Moncaster, with the former trailing 18-8, a change in tactics saw Moore run out with a stunning 21-19 victory. Sparing the whitewash was Steve Walmsley who trailed 2-9 against Peter Collister, with the former going on to win 21-18.

Elsewhere Marown B had a solid 8-2 win at home to Port St Mary A, Douglas A beat Castletown A 7-3 at the Villa, whilst Onchan A came away from Crosby with a 1-9 victory over Marown C on Tuesday evening.

In Division Two Peel B stayed top with a 4-6 away win over Finch Hill A, whilst second placed South Ramsey B closed the gap to six points following a 10-0 whitewash over North Ramsey B. Ballaugh A occupy third place, however they lost ground on South Ramsey B as they won 3-7 away to Onchan B. Port Erin A were just three chalks off a maximum win as they won 9-1 at home to Noble’s A, whilst Castletown B continue their recovery from a poor start to the season as they won 6-4 at home to Douglas B.

In Division Three Noble’s B, D and C lead the way – in that order with the B Team defeating South Ramsey C 7-3. Noble’s D jumped ahead of their C Team as they won 9-1 at home to Onchan C, whilst the C Team suffered a 7-3 defeat away to Peel C. Elsewhere Port St Mary B won 8-2 at Breagle Glen against Marown D, whilst Ballaugh B came away with an 8-2 win over South Ramsey D.

In Division Four Ballaugh C look to be running away with the title as they extended their lead at the top to 17 points following a 9-1 home win over Douglas D, with new boys North Ramsey C winning 7-3 at home to Peel D, whilst Finch Hill B winning 7-3 at home to Noble’s E.

Rayner Shield

All four ties of the quarter finals of the Plumbmaster sponsored Rayner Shield took place on Wednesday evening with Castletown A seeing off Onchan C 8-0 at the Crofts. Marown C progressed to the semi-finals for a second consecutive year as they beat Peel C 6-2 at Crosby. Favourites South Ramsey A progressed thanks to a 5-3 home win in a tough game against Onchan A. In a somewhat bizarre event North Ramsey A thought they had gone into the draw for the semi-finals with a 5-3 win (chalks 137-115) at home to an under strength Marown B only to discover that a player they had called upon to help out had already featured for another team in an earlier round of the competition. This swung the result in favour of Marown B, with the score 4-4 on games chalks became the deciding factor, as the 21-10 home win became a 0-21 result for the vistors to win by 10 chalks (116-126).

Rayner Plate

In the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate the highest ranked team Peel A easily overcame a 25 chalk deficit away to Noble’s A as they won all eight games to win by 56 chalks (127-183). Finch Hill A made light work of Port St Mary B as they won 7-1 to overturn a 40 chalk deficit at home to win by 16 chalks (195-179). Ballaugh B and Onchan B started off the same handicap, however home advantage paid off for the Ballaugh men as despite drawing 4-4 on games they won by nine chalks (182-173). The final fixture was played the following evening in much harsher conditions, following heavy rain throughout the day and during the match as the visitors South Ramsey C had just a five chalk lead against Marown D, however the Ramsey men progressed into the next round thanks to a 21 chalk victory (182-203) with the games tied 4-4 there was little to choose between the two teams.