News: Men’s
Quayle Wins Port Erin Singles Open
Port Erin Singles Winner 2018
The inaugural Port Erin Men’s Singles competition was held on Saturday. The green was somewhat heavy to start with having been well watered on Friday but, by the time 30 entrants had trampled all over it in the blazing sunshine, the green improved through the afternoon.
One person who mastered these changing conditions was Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) beating home greener Ken Horsley 21-13 in the final.
The losing semi-finalists were Paul Quirk (Peel) and Tom Kelly (Peel).
Champions Have It All To Do
Champions South Ramsey extended their lead at the top to eight points with a 10-0 away win against Castletown A. Dido Kelly and David Bradford both won 21-3, whilst Chas Grills recovered from a poor start going 8-0 down before winning 21-18. Having competed in the Parish Walk on Saturday Stefan Kelly was quick out of the blocks going 9-0 up on Mike Hargraves before stumbling over the line 21-20. Whilst South Ramsey sit top at the half way stage they still have it all to do in the second half of the season with having to travel to the teams that sit in the top five, Marown A, Peel A, Onchan A and Douglas A.
Marown A sit in second place and will have been delighted to come away from their visit to the Villa with a 9-1 win over Douglas A, which stretched the gap on the teams below them. Captain Andy Kennish spared the whitewash for the home team with a 21-13 win over Phil Kelly. Dean Kipling and Paul Dunn made light work of their games beating Stuart Garrett and Ian Moore to single figures. Paul Kelly and Matthew Keggen were pushed a lot harder by Mervin Sayle and Keith Rise winning their games 21-18. Marown have seven home games in the second half of the season (due to their B Team being in the same division) and only have to face Onchan A away out of the top five, will fancy their chances of closing the gap on South Ramsey A to take their first league title since 2013.
Third placed Peel A once again proved they are force to be reckoned with defeating visitors Onchan A 7-3, on another night it could have been 9-1 with Gary Smith and Tommy McMeiken both just losing out 19-21 to Jordan Cain and Phil Kerruish. Steve Crampton had a comfortable 21-13 win over David Proctor. For the home team winners Frank Watson was pushed hardest winning 21-18 over Mark Kelly. Captain Stevie Kelly had a good 21-10 win over June Festival quarter finalist Matthew Quirk, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly made it back from his World Cup visit to Russia to beat Kevin Quirk 21-14. Tom Kelly beat visiting captain Peter Slinger 21-13 and Jerome Surridge won 21-15 against Rob Monk in a result that put them eight points ahead of their opponents on the night.
Port St Mary A sit in mid table and made the trek north to take on South Ramsey B, coming away with a 7-3 away win. Wayne Roberts won 21-3 over Christian Caley, whilst Ewan Cooil, Dan McCabe and Thomas Keggen had fairly comfortable wins, with Trevor Quayle pushed a lot harder before getting out 21-18 against Tony Dugdale. Home captain Ben Dugdale led by example winning 21-8, whilst Sid Bolton and Steven Waters both won 21-18 to help secure an extra two points for the team.
North Ramsey A won 8-2 with Allan Callow and John Cannan both winning to single figures. Geoff Porter was pushed harder with a 21-18 win over Seamus Whelan. The winners for the visitors were Steve Durcan and Peter Addison.
Marown B appear to have settled into division one nicely now and have given themselves plenty of breathing space to remain in the top tier following their 10-0 win over Douglas B, who appear set for the drop sitting nine points away from the two teams above them. I tipped Marown B to stay up at the start of the season and they look well placed to achieve this. No doubt helped by a quick green, the Marown players winning to single figures were Brian Kelly, Arnie Withers and John Kelly. James Kelly did well to beat visiting captain Andy Cannell 21-20, whilst another young star Bobby Thorne beat the experienced Pat O’Donohue 21-19.
In division two, word is reaching me that Ballaugh have a running green, which hasn’t been the case for a number of years now, no doubt helped by the recent fine weather and taking advice from Mike Atherton. The A Team would appear to be enjoying this recording a 10-0 home win over Noble’s B. The visitors did have to give a game away due to being a player short. For the home team Steve Grant had a fine 21-4 win.
Noble’s B continue their quest for promotion with a 7-3 home win over Finch Hill A, with their green not as quick as Festival week having been well watered ahead of their match. At the halfway stage Noble’s sit six points ahead of Castletown B, who had a slip up away to Peel C losing 4-6. The match ended 4-4 on games, however Peel picked up the aggregate thanks in part to Bob Berry’s 21-6 win.
Onchan B drew 5-5 at home to Peel B, despite winning 5-3 on games they lost the aggregate by three chalks with David Smith defeating Bernie McPhee 21–9. Onchan returned the favour with Paul Bailey beating Peter Greenlees 21-8, however of their other four winners Mike Alexander, Mike Thomas and Edward Carlyle could only win 21-19, whilst Roger Payne just got over the line 21-20 against Paul Quirk.
Port St Mary B took on their C Team with three big wins for the B Team, Dave Saxon, Paul Russell and Ray Maddrell all winning to single figures. Winners for the C Team were Ken Karran who beat Peter Collins 21-17, whilst Milton Cubbon stepped in to roll back the years beating Tom Collins 21-13.
Port Erin B didn’t fare well on their visit north to take on North Ramsey B at Mooragh Park, with the home team winning 9-1. Sparing the visitors blushes was Christopher Dent who beat Barry Teare 21-15. Winning big for North Ramsey were Alex Yates, Bryan Corner and Brian Colquitt.
In division three match of the week was Ballaugh B who took on league leaders Marown C. The home team had an 8-2 win, which allowed them to leapfrog the visitors to sit top of the table at the halfway stage. The two winners for Marown were Dan Smith and Stephen Rundle, whilst Dicky Watson won to single figures for Ballaugh. The other five winners for Ballaugh rather unusually recorded wins to scores of 15,16 17,18 and 19.
Castletown C slipped up away to South Ramsey C with the home team winning 7-3. This only tells half the story as Castletown gave away three games due to only being able to field five players, which pains me as the club up until a few years ago regularly had four teams competing in the league. James Drinkwater, Juan Drinkwater and Philip Smith all won for Castletown, whilst the two winners for South Ramsey were Anthony Kelly and Paul Routledge.
Finch Hill B closed the gap on the teams above them with a 9-1 win over Douglas D. Greg Brew was the only winner for the visitors beating Guy Smith 21-17. Finch Hill were awarded two walkovers. Home captain Pat Maher and Sam Stannard both won 21-9, with new bowler Brian Murphy winning his second game of the season, along with another newcomer Paddy Murphy who I am tipping to come on leaps and bounds, as he picked up his first league win in only his second league game for the club. It is great to see a player who has recently taken up the game getting around the opens, as this will definitely help improve his game.
Onchan C recorded a 6-4 home win over South Ramsey D, helped in part by Paul Clinton receiving a walkover. Winners for Onchan were Brian Woodall, Mike Kelly and Derek Anscomb. For South Ramsey Matthew Corkill and Ian Moore both won to single figures, with James Moore and Franz Ten Donkelaar also winning.
Peel D had an outstanding 7-3 away win against Douglas C, with Steve Tate and Bert Quayle winning to single figures, John Lightfoot who won 21-19 and Leslie Halsall winning 21-20. Winners for the home team were Parish Walk finisher Juan Readshaw, along with Keith Fearnley and Mike Cain.
Father Is Still The Master
Ken Williamson Winner 2018
An entry of 40 contested the Ken Williamson Trophy at Onchan on Saturday. A hot summer’s day provided a fast green which would ultimately prove beneficial to the home players.
Eight preliminary round games were played with the highlight being young Ryan Hargraves’ first Open game win coming back from 20-13 down to win 21-20.
First round games saw players begin cautiously as finding a length proved difficult. Eight Onchan players eventually progressed through to the second round.
The most impressive result of the second round was Trevor Quayle’s (Port St Mary) defeat of home captain Peter Slinger.
Local knowledge proved decisive in the quarter finals with four Onchan players progressing through to the semi-finals with Quayle losing out, along with the Marown trio of Ian Kissack, Brian Kelly and Paul Dunn.
In the first semi-final Kevin Quirk defeated Mike Thomas 21-13 in the battle of the ‘old masters’ whereas Matthew Quirk came out on top against Rob Monk in the ‘young guns’ contest.
A tense final saw Kevin take an early lead only to be overtaken by Matthew on the 18th end. Kevin regained the block soon after, however, to run out a winner by 21-18.
A note of thanks to Ken Williamson’s family for their continued support & provision of replicas, also to the Onchan Ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day.
Callum Hits The Jackpot in PokerStars Invitation
PokerStars Invitation Winner 2018 Callum Wraight
The PokerStars IOM Invitation took place on Friday evening at South Ramsey Bowling Club immediately after the conclusion of the IOM bowls festival.
It was a strong field taking part with every player in the field having played county bowls. The format was 31 up with 5 on the card which is a format that hasn’t been played for a number of years on the Island, but is a popular format across the water.
Robby Fitzpatrick (Merseyside) was the first jack on taking on Billy Speed (Lancashire), with Speed taking control of the game early on without ever going behind in the game. Speed won to a comfortable 31-20 score.
Local player Jordan Cain made his first appearance in the competition, with Cain only one point behind Carl Fielding (Warwick and Worcester) at 20-21. Fielding took control from there to see the game out with a 31-22 victory.
Derbyshire man Conor Chamberlain took on five time Manx Champion Colin Kelly, with Kelly’s knowledge of the green over the years proving enough to take a 31-21 win.
The final game in the top half of the draw had top Merseyside player Matt Gilmore taking on North Lancs & Fylde man Dave Jackson with Gilmore taking the biggest win of the round with a 31-19 victory.
In the bottom half of the draw Jon Palmer (Shropshire) took on James Wilcox (Yorkshire) with Wilcox proving too strong for Palmer taking a 31-23 win.
Nidge Hughes (Merseyside) took on one of the top players on the bowls circuit Callum Wraight (Shropshire) with Hughes hanging on to the tail of Wraight throughout the game and lying two bowls on top of the jack at 27-29, however Wraight had one of his trademark strikes taking off both of Hughes’ bowls with the jack staying on the green to leave himself one. Wraight secured another single on the next end to win 31-27 with Wraight’s striking ability being the difference.
Richie Goddard (Shropshire) and Kevan Shaw (Lancashire) was a good encounter with several tight ends and measures with Shaw getting over the line 31-26.
The last game in the bottom half of the draw had Paul Bailey (South Yorkshire) taking on Merseyside man Phil Lee with the game being close throughout with Lee going 30-27 up before Bailey hit back with two singles and a two to edge it 31-30 to book his place in the quarter finals.
The first game of the quarter finals had Speed up against Fielding with Speed taking an assured 31-23 win to book his spot in the semi finals.
Colin Kelly had his challenge ended by Gilmore who had a comfortable 31-17 win.
In the third quarter final Wilcox took on Wraight with the game living up to expectations. It was close throughout with the score tied at 27 and then 29 with Wraight scoring a double to secure a hard fought 31-29 victory.
In the last quarter final game Bailey was always ahead against Shaw taking a 31-19 win.
In the first semi final Speed took on 2015 winner Gilmore with Speed using all his experience to book his spot in the final with a 31-28 win with Gilmore pushing hard to get through.
In the second semi final Wraight took on Bailey, with both players being big hitters their striking didn’t disappoint with a number of hits throughout the game with Wraight taking a 31-24 win over Bailey.
In the final Wraight was quickest out of the blocks taking a 12-6 lead, then extending this even further to 25-10 on his trademark short marks to the middle of the green. Wraight held off Speed to take a 31-15 win to secure the title and a cheque for £1,200. Speed will no doubt have been cheered up by his cheque for £600, with the losing semi finalists each receiving £250, and the losing quarter finalists taking home £125.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by event organiser Glynn Hargraves, who thanked the sponsor PokerStars for their continued support, the players for what made for an entertaining evening of bowls, the spectators for turning up to support, all the club members who had helped in any way to prepare for the competition ahead of the day and on the night. Special thanks were also passed to the South Ramsey Ladies who once again catered for the event.
Kerruish Wins Ballacashtal Cup
Ballacashtal Cup Winner 2018
The traditional pre festival open the Ballacashtal Cup was held at Castletown on Sunday with an entry of 86 the competition had an early start to get through the games.
Rather unusually the quarter finals featured just one visiting bowler Neil Ridgen (New Longton) in a competition that has been heavily dominated by visiting bowlers over the years. Ridgen went out to Onchan man Phil Kerruish 20-21 after coming back from 14-19 down before losing out. In the second quarter final another Onchan player Matthew Quirk put an end to the challenge of Stevie Kelly (Peel) 21-16. In the third quarter final John Kennish (South Ramsey) had a comfortable 21-13 win over Neil Withers (Marown). In the last quarter final it was an all Marown clash with Colin Kelly having enough in the tank to beat team mate Paul Dunn 21-15.
In the first semi final Quirk took on team mate Kerruish, who despite being 14-19 down came back to 19-20 and had a good lead to which Kerruish played an even better bowl to count. Quirk struck and missed which confirmed Kerruish’s spot in the final. In the other semi final Kennish took on Kelly in a game that rarely disappoints for spectators. Kelly held a 13-10 lead, before Kennish kicked into gear to take take seven of the next eight ends to secure a 21-14 win.
In the final Kennish scored a two on the first end to take an 8-6 lead before Kerruish replied to take the next three ends to go 11-8 ahead, with Kennish responding with a two to sit one point behind Kerruish at 10-11. From here Kerruish used all his know how of the green picking a difficult mark to take six of the next seven ends to go 19-11 up and within touching distance of the trophy. Kennish never one to give up got back in with a single and led a fair lead which Kerruish beat. This forced Kennish into reaching up however he took his own bowl out allowing Kerruish the opportunity to make an easy two which secured a 21-12 win and with it a first Ballacashtal Cup win on the same green that he won the Manx Championship on in 1986.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Ron Williams who thanked Dennis Oates and Kath Kinley for their work in running the competition on the day and over a number of years, along with all the club members who helped in any way. Thanks were also given to the green keeper for preparing the green and the sponsor Friends Provident International. Adam Drewett was then introduced to present the prizes on behalf of the sponsor.
Bradford Finds Form
Jim Kernan Winner 2018
The Jim Kernan was held at South Ramsey on Saturday with the green running well despite the heavy rain overnight and early morning. There was an entry of 44 taking part.
Visiting bowler Paul Bailey lost out at the quarter final stage to home greener David Bradford with Bailey 12-10 up before Bradford ran out to win 21-13. Bailey will no doubt have found the competition useful practice ahead of the PokerStars Invitation next Friday. Dido Kelly had his hopes of a first Jim Kernan win ended by Marown man Paul Dunn who had a comfortable 21-14 win. Reversing the fortunes for Marown was James Teare who performed well to see off Marown’s Neil Withers with a 21-18 win. Another visiting bowler featuring in the quarter finals was Roger Lunn who ended the run of South Ramsey D team captain James Moore thanks to a 21-11 win.
In the first semi final it was Bradford against Dunn with the latter taking a 13-11 lead before Bradford kicked into gear to take four consecutive two’s, then two singles to book his place in the final with a 21-13 victory.
In the other semi final between Teare and Lunn it was close throughout with the score going level at 17, 18, 19 and 20 with Lunn just holding on to win 21-20 to secure his place in the final.
In the final neither player was able to get a run with the jack early on in the game with the score tied at 7, 8, 9 and 10 before Bradford ruthlessly used his knowledge and experience to secure his third Jim Kernan win courtesy of three consecutive two’s, a single and two further two’s to run out with a 21-10 win for a deserved victory.
The presentation was made by South Ramsey Chairman Steve Moore, who thanked George Brew for his generous sponsorship, those who ran the competition, prepared the green, and anyone else who helped. Special thanks were also given to the Ladies who had put on a variety of hot and cold refreshments throughout the day.
June Festival Preview
June Festival 2017
Men's Winner James WilcoxThe eagerly awaited Isle of Man June Festival takes place the week commencing 18th June with a good entry of over 340 in the Men’s competition.
On the first page of the draw former festival winner Gaz Lally (Crossgates) takes on Stewart Meddings (Royal Oak BC) in what should be a good game with both having expectations to go far in the competition. Former finalist Carl Fielding (Bradford Arms) will also be looking to make it to the latter stages, whilst Matthew Kelly-Walley (Stratton Anglesey) could face Billy Speed (Castlefields) in the second round. Local player and another former festival winner David Bradford will be looking to pick up his second title and first June win.
On the second page Ryan Clark (Thongsbridge) takes on Ian Sherbrooke (Wallasey) in the first round. Also on this page are current title holder James Wilcox (Crossgates) who starts off a handicap of two and Chris Mordue (Brighouse) who will be hoping to make it a memorable week.
On page three Joshua Mordue (Pudsey) will also be looking to have a good run, whilst regular visitor and serial winner Ian Nicholson (Kendal Vic) will be confident of another victory on Manx soil (or grass!) Another former winner Marown man Colin Kelly could well face Phil Lee (Wallasey) in what could be an entertaining game.
On the next page Andrew Spragg (Eastwood Park) will take on local Stevie Kelly (Peel) who will be looking to take a good scalp in his first game. If Martin Gilpin (Kendal Vic) and Nick White are able to navigate their way through their first game they could face each other in the second round. South Ramsey’s John Kennish the Islands most decorated player has his handicap back up to four, having been as low as scratch thanks to his September 2014 win, which was followed up in style with his June 2015 win despite giving most of his opponents a three start. Kennish will be confident of reaching the latter stages and would be a strong tip to make finals day.
On page five two players jump out with Richie Goddard (Castlefields) on the top half of the page and last year’s runner up Craig Gant (Thongsbridge) in the bottom half. Both players would need to win four games to face each other and if the festival has taught me anything it is that there is always plenty of shocks throughout the week, so neither player will be counting their chickens.
Looking at page six Andrew Duckett (Castlefields) will be hoping to have a good run with Brian Smith (Stratton Anglesey) standing firmly in his way with a potential second round face off.
Over to page seven and Nigel Hughes (Wirral) could face Conor Chamberlain (Stretton Anglesey) as early as Wednesday afternoon in the third round, whilst Kevan Shaw (Westhoughton RC) could play Carl Armitage (St Oswalds) in his second game with the winner potentially taking on Rob Fitzpatrick (Wallasey) in the next round.
On page eight Paul Morgan (Woodlands Park) winner of the September Festival in 1998 makes his long awaited return to the Island and faces Tommy King (Marton) who knows the Islands greens well with both players hoping to be on top of their game to ensure they make it through to the second round. Onchan man Kevin Quirk is finding form at the right time and will be hoping to pick up his first title after having gone close in previous years. Paul Bailey (Meersbrook) takes on Ian Hazlehurst (Wallasey) in his first round game, whilst Andrew Sorsby (Thongsbridge) will be keen to progress to the latter stages.
On page nine Marown captain Paul Dunn will be looking to take his league form into the festival, however he could have the tricky task of facing Kevin Nicholas (Gresford Colliery) in his second game. Chris Kelly (Thongsbridge) could have dodged a bullet in his second game with Danny Barwise (Wallasey) now rumoured to be unable to make it to the Island due to work commitments.
Page ten, this is littered with previous winners. Matt Gilmore (Wallasey) is the first of these and he could face Ben Gloag (Nursery Inn) in his third game which could make for great viewing, whilst Kez Smith (Crossgates) another former winner could face Jon Palmer (Castlefields) in his second game in what could be a fascinating battle. Jon Guess (Fairfield) could face Smith or Palmer in the next round should he find his way through two games. Neil Withers (Marown) is another of a handful of local players to have lifted the trophy and could face another former winner Alan Gilpin (Kendal Vic) in his third game, whilst Alan Belcher (Dukki Central) will be hoping to surpass his previous best in the competition to secure his first festival title.
On the final page Callum Wraight (Castlefields) is another regular visitor to the Island and will know full well that whilst it appears his half of the page is favourable, he will need to ensure he wins those games to make the eagerly anticipated Thursday afternoon, which never fails to throw out some classic encounters. Wraight will be a big favourite to reach the latter stages. On the other half of the page Jack Dyson (Thongsbridge) could face David Jackson (Knutsford) in Wednesday afternoon, whilst Mark Hughes (Crossgates) will be hoping to secure his first festival win having gone close previously.
Whilst I can’t guarantee the weather what should shine through, however, is the quality of the field and the week of bowls we have in store for us, with the Tourism, Men’s Doubles, Open Doubles, various flyers and consolation competitions there is plenty of bowls to be played & enjoyed for all.
Best of luck to all visitors and locals who are taking part throughout the week.
Marown Close The Gap
League action returned this week in the Ellan Vannin Fuel sponsored division one with the tie of the week being top of the table South Ramsey A taking on second placed Peel A, who sat nine points behind the league leaders at the start of play. In the first four John Kennish led the way with a 21-6 win over David Proctor, backed up by captain Glynn Hargraves who inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Tommy McMeiken 21-14. Peel hit back with Jerome Surridge beating Chas Grills 21-15. Gary Smith then levelled the score to 2-2 at the half way stage performing well to beat David Bradford 21-16. In the back four visiting captain Stevie Kelly inflicted a 21-6 defeat on Peter Collister. This defeat was the largest since Juan Kermode beat Collister 21-7 a number of years ago. Stefan Kelly wasted no time in defeating Frank Watson 21-3, to level the match at 3-3 with a 14 chalk advantage to South Ramsey. Things were looking precarious for the home team with Dido Kelly taking on Barney Kelly with Barney holding a 10-3 lead and Alan Moore just 6-5 up against Tom Kelly. Dido kicked into gear to run out comfortably in the end performing well to win 21-16, whilst Moore won 21-13 over Kelly. This earned the home team a 7-3 home win. Peel will have been disappointed with the result having handled the quick green extremely well. The result could just as easily have been 7-3 to Peel on another night.
Marown A took full advantage of the top of the table clash to jump into second spot with a 10-0 win away to North Ramsey A, in doing so closed the gap at the top to just seven points, despite missing two regulars. Paul Dunn, Phil Kelly and Neil Withers all won to single figures over Allan Callow, Tony Smart and John Cannan respectively, whilst Bob Clark stepped in to win 21-12 over Geoff Porter. Paul Kelly had a fairly comfortable 21-16 win over Steve Parker. The final three winners were not so comfortable for the visitors with John Kelly holding off Ray Skelly 21-17, whilst Colin Kelly and John Gelling had to work hard to hold off Stephen Walmsley and Gary Merrill to both win 21-18.
Onchan A had a good 9-1 home win over Marown B. For the home team Kevin Quirk & Phil Kerruish won to single figures. For Marown Peter Kelly was the only winner defeating Steve Crampton 21-15. James Kelly came next closest to taking another point before losing out 18-21 to Mike Thomas.
Port St Mary A had a good 8-2 home win over Castletown A with Trevor Quayle maintaining his 100% record to record his 10th straight league win of the season. Wayne Roberts, Thomas Keggen and Steve Hall had to work hard to beat Mike Hargraves, Jordan Drewett and George Foy respectively. For the visitors Peter Oates had a fine 21-14 win over Ewan Cooil. Dave Quayle was the other winner for Castletown beating Dan McCabe 21-18.
South Ramsey B continue to close the gap on the teams above them at the bottom of the table thanks to a 6-4 away win over Port Erin A. James Teare led the way for the visitors with a 21-6 win over Seamus Whelan, along with Ben Dugdale, Tony Dugdale and Sid Bolton. The four winners for Port Erin were Derek Allen and Dave McCabe, along with Steve Durcan and Peter Addison.
Douglas A were ‘away’ to their B Team with the B Team performing well to snatch three points off the A Team. For the B Team captain Andy Cannell beat Merv Sayle 21-19, whilst Mark Corrin and Bob Callow were the other two winners. For the A Team captain Andy Kennish won 21-4, with the other four winners being Gary Conwell, Shaun Seal, Ian Moore and Stuart Garrett to help them on their way to a 7-3 win.
In division two, Noble’s A maintained their lead at the top of the table with an 8-2 win over their B Team. The winners for the B Team were Stewart Cubbon and Juan Qualtrough.
Castletown B maintained the pressure on the league leaders with an 8-2 home win over Port St Mary B, with all of the visiting players reaching double figures. The winners for Port St Mary were Ray Maddrell who had an outstanding 21-3 win over Mark Saunders and Dave Saxon who beat John Alderson 21-10.
Onchan B performed well to beat Finch Hill A 7-3 away from home, whilst Peel B beat their C Team 7-3. North Ramsey B ensured that Ballaugh A continue to struggle on their travels with a 7-3 home win, whilst Port St Mary C will have been pleased to come away from their visit to Breagle Glen with a 8-2 victory over Port Erin B.
In division three, South Ramsey D performed well at home on a quick green to take four points off high flying Ballaugh B. For the home team Ian Moore won 21-2, whilst Richard Davies won 21-13. Ryan Hargraves came back from 12-17 down to win 21-19 over John Bolton, captain James Moore matched this with a 21-19 win over Tony Quine. For Ballaugh Paul Cubbon beat Jay Moore 21-7, whilst Mick Buckeridge, Phil Quayle and John Cooney also won. The aggregate went to Ballaugh by just seven chalks to seal a 6-4 win for the visitors.
Castletown C closed the gap on the teams above them with an 8-2 home win over Finch Hill B. The two winners for Finch Hill were Bryan Masterson and Stephen Oates.
Peel D won 8-2 at home against Onchan C, with the home team losing three games 19-21, it could just as easily have been a 9-1 win on another night.
South Ramsey C made the short trip to Ballaugh to take on their C Team, coming away with a good 7-3 win on the night.
Douglas D took on their C Team with the D managing to take two games off the higher ranked team. Winners for the D Team were Mike Dransfield and Michael Knowles.
Rayner Semi-Finals
Rayner Plate Winners 2017
Marown CRayner Shield
In a repeat of last year’s semi-final South Ramsey A took on Onchan A at Onchan Park in what was expected to be a close match it didn’t disappoint. With heavy rain the green was constantly getting heavier. The home team adjusted to the conditions quicker with Jordan Cain winning 21-7 over Alan Moore, whilst Kevin Quirk turned on the style to see off Dido Kelly 21-9. Tony Dugdale replied for the visitors with a 21-11 win over Mike Thomas. It is worth mentioning that the home team must have been grateful for the weather as this led to Peter Slinger being available to play with the boat not sailing, Slinger made the most of this defeating Peter Collister 21-8. At the half way stage Onchan held a 3-1 lead and led by 29 chalks (74-45). As expected South Ramsey hit back in the second half with David Bradford clawing back 17 chalks with a 21-4 win over Phil Kerruish. Glynn Hargraves was next off winning 21-11 over Steve Crampton, after being 20-5 up and lying two for game Crampton bowled in to save game and then earned a six extra points which turned out to be crucial. This levelled the match on games at 3-3 and gave Onchan a lead of just two chalks (89-87). Sealing the win for Onchan was Matthew Quirk who beat Stefan Kelly 21-9. John Kennish was last game off beating Rob Monk 21-13 to level the match on games 4-4, however this left the chalks 123-117 in favour of Onchan which was enough to book their spot in the final. All of the Onchan winners won their games to single figures, which was the difference on the night.
Conditions were similar in the south of the Island with Port St Mary A hosting Marown A in the other semi-final. Neil Withers got the visitors off to a good start with a 21-4 win over Thomas Keggen, backed up by John Gelling who beat Rob Cooil 21-16. Port St Mary replied with Paul Skelly winning 21-16 over Dean Kipling, whilst captain Trevor Quayle beat Matthew Keggen 21-13. The match was finely balanced at the half way stage 2-2 on games with Marown leading by nine chalks (62-71). Colin Kelly extended the lead with a 21-7 win over Nathan Hamilton, with Wayne Roberts and Dan McCabe both holding their nerve to beat Paul Kelly and Phil Kelly 21-20 respectively. Visiting captain Paul Dunn knew a win to any score would do due to the advantage on chalks and wasted no time in securing the victory with a 21-11 win over Ewan Cooil. The match ended 4-4 on games with the visitors winning by 29 chalks this was enough to book their spot in the final.
The final of the Rayner Shield between Onchan A and Marown A is to be held on Friday 13th July with the venue to be confirmed.
Rayner Plate
In another thriller Noble’s A (+40) took on Peel A (+10) at Noble’s Park. Noble’s knew home advantage could be crucial along with a 30 point start. Gary Smith continued his fine form for the season with a 21-7 win, backed up by Tommy McMeiken who beat Reginald Temporaza 21-6. Glenn Boland was 20-12 up on Frank Watson, however Watson then took nine consecutive chalks to run out 21-20. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat Bod Boland 21-16 to put the visitors just ahead 94-89 to leave the match finely poised at the half way stage. Tommy Collister beat Tom Kelly 21-16 to level the match on chalks. Kevin Firth handled the conditions well to beat Stevie Kelly 21-19, to give the home team a two point lead with two games left on the green with David Quayle 20-20 against Jerome Surridge. Surridge held his nerve to win 21-20 to reduce the deficit to just one chalk (151-150). David Pease was 19-19 with David Proctor, Pease managed to secure the win 21-19 to record a memorable win by just three chalks (172-169) for the home team to book their place in the final.
In the other semi-final South Ramsey D (+76) hosted Finch Hill B (+80) the visitors had their work cut out to win away to the team sitting nine points ahead of them in the table. 10 year old Ryan Hargraves was first off the green securing his second win of the week with a fine 21-17 win over Eric Stanley to level the match on chalks. Ian Moore beat Kevin Anderson 21-18, backed up by Martin Caley beating new comer Paddy Murphy 21-11. Richard Davies then beat Brian Murphy to the same score to give the home team a lead of 23 chalks at the half way point (160-137). Replying for Finch Hill Kevin Stannard beat Jay Moore 21-16, whilst Sam Stannard beat Matthew Corkill 21-7 to cut the deficit to just four chalks (183-179). Franz Ten Donkelaar eased the home team’s nerves with a 21-9 win over Frank Christian, whilst captain James Moore beat visiting captain Pat Maher 21-14. South Ramsey won the match by 23 chalks (225-202) whilst also winning 6-2 on games to ensure they take part in their first ever final.
The final of the Rayner Plate between Noble’s A (+40) and South Ramsey D (+76) is to be held on Friday 20th July with the venue to be confirmed.
Kennish, Collister and Kelly Win Threesomes Cup
Threesomes Cup Winners 2018
Threesomes Cup Winners John Kennish, Dido Kelly & Peter Collister16 Teams contested this year’s Men’s Threesomes at Port St Mary. On yet another beautiful day, with the sun shining and the recent dry spell, the green was running well and very tricky in places.
This kept the scoring down to mainly one’s and two’s, with the odd six here and there. Although many matches seemed quite close, on the scorecards the closest two matches of the day were both 21-16.
Losing out at the quarter final stage were Ken Karran, Brian Lowe and Ashley Qualtrough 12-21 to Colin Kelly, Kevin Kelly and Walter McCarthy. Mike Hargraves, Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves also lost 16-21 to Dean Kinley, Glenn Boland and Jordan Drewett, whilst Andy Sykes, Ewan Cooil and Chris Oates were defeated 9-21 to John Kennish, Dido Kelly and Peter Collister. Neil Withers, Paul Kelly and Jamie Joughin also lost 12-21 to Tim Williams, Trevor Quayle and Paul Skelly.
The first semi-final saw Colin, Kevin and Walter against Dean, Glenn and Jordan. After 11 ends the score was 12 across. Colin, Kevin and Walter scored a four, won the next four ends to win 21-12. The second semi-final saw John, Dido and Peter against home greeners Tim, Trevor and Paul. With the South Ramsey men scoring four the first end and a five on end eight, the home greeners were never in this match.
Before the final commenced, a special mention was given to the team of Ian Kissack, Arnie Withers and Juan Kelly. This Threesome has played together in this event, every single year since it started in 1975. They also managed to win it twice. They deservedly received a round of applause.
The final started off quite slow. With three dead ends in the first seven ends played, and mostly one’s being scored, the spectators were expecting a long match. The Marown men were leading 10-7 after seven ends before once again John, Dido and Peter turned on the style scoring three consecutive two’s, a five, and then a three to win 21-10.
The Presentation was made by Port St Mary Life Member Ann Maddrell. Ann firstly thanked today’s sponsors Cafe-Bar 26 of Derby Haven. Ann also thanked the ladies catering team, greenkeeper Ewan Cooil, anyone that has helped in any way, and all the players that took part. Ann then presented prizes to the semi-finalists and runners-up, and the trophy to John Kennish, Dido Kelly and Peter Collister.