News: Reports
Port St Mary Show Why They Are Champions
Following a busy week of bowls for the June Festival the night league returned. The superb weather the island has been treated to over the last couple of weeks has made most of the greens fast and very tricky.
Kicking things off is the top 3 clash of Port St Mary vs Nobles. Second place South Ramsey sat out from this round of matches but were keeping a close eye on the match to see who would be top going into the final matches of the first half of the season. The Port St Mary green was running very fast with the home ladies using their home advantage to great effect to inflict Nobles biggest defeat since 2011.
Ann Maddrell and Trish Bull got Port St Mary off to a flying start both winning 21-2. Katy Williams and Val Macfarlane followed this up winning 21-12 and 21-16 respectively. Alison Keggen got Nobles on the board with a 21-11 victory. In the second half Port St Mary dominated winning all four games with Jayne Kneen 21-4, Chris Price 21-11, Margaret Tasker 21-12 and Kellie Maddrell-Reeve 21-14. The final match score was 179-94 (8-1).
Onchan welcomed Douglas with the match decided by 7 chalks. Onchan won five of the nine available games with Marilyn Ellison top scoring for the home side 21-6. The away side dug in and despite only winning four games Muriel Cain, Wendy Cowin and Paula Garrett all won to single figures to give the away side the chalks victory 136-143 (5-4).
Marown faced Purt Le Moirrey and it was the away side who mastered the very fast green the best taking an overall win by 45 chalks. Chris Holland and Roma Ware won to single figures for the away team with wins also from Sandra Lowe, Win Collister, Brenda Hawkard and Rita Callister. For the home side Rosie Winckle, Elaine Dewhirst and Lil Smith. Final match score 128-173 (3-6).
Peel entertained Ballaugh at Sunset City with the home-side just doing enough to take the victory. The match was tight on games with Peel winning five of the nine matches including single figure wins for Lynda Wilson and Sue Jones. Peel had the edge on the chalks to take the match 168-145 (5-4).
In the final match Castletown A faced their B team for the first time this year with the league newcomers suffering a whitewash defeat 189-85 (9-0).
With one game to go before the half way point Port St Mary hold a 20 chalk advantage over South Ramsey with Castletown only three points further back following their last four games in which they have averaged over 185. Nobles slip to fourth 104 points behind the leaders with clear daylight to fifth placed Peel Sunset. The title race will continue to be lively and I expect these top four teams to shuffle a little more before the end of the season.
Peel Sunset Top At Halfway Stage
The Trend sponsored Ladies Over 60s League returned from the break for TT with the teams reaching the halfway point in the season.
Before Thursdays fixtures South Ramsey welcomed Villa in a re-arranged match from earlier in the season. Villa won the match by 10 chalks with away player Muriel Cain ending Elaine Moores 100% record winning 21-17. The final score 85-95 (2-4)
Champions Port St Mary A were visited by Mooragh Park A who managed to take two wins from the home side with Ann Chapman and Julie Reiley winning for the away team. Val Mcfarlane, Win Collister and Trish Bull all won to single figures whilst Margaret Tasker ended Janet Monks 100% record winning 21-11. Final score 116-70 (4-2)
Peel Sunset have averaged 120 in their last three matches and improved this further by picking up their 5th maximum of the season defeating Douglas A away 48-126 (0-6). The result also means Peel Sunset take the top spot at the halfway stage nine points ahead of Port St Mary.
Marown remain third following their victory away to Breagle 91-116 (3-3). There were wins for home players Steph Swift, Gwen Tuck and Kay Primrose-Smith. For the away side Margaret Scarffe, Ceila Joughin and Philippa Taylor all won.
Nobles faced Ballaugh at home with the home side putting in a strong performance to win 112-74 (5-1). Flo Price and Joyce Ogden both won to single figures with Voirrey Oates picking up Ballaughs only win to prevent a whitewash.
Onchan had a comfortable 15 chalk victory over Villa winning four of the six games. Home player Maureen Payne top scored winning 21-8 with Villa player Joan Murphy winning 21-9. Final score 108-93 (4-2).
In the final match on Thursday South Ramsey were beaten at home by Castletown 85-104 (2-4)
The league takes another week off due to the June Bowling Festival but returns the following week with a double week of fixtures.
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.
Microgaming Pairs
Microgamin Pairs Winners 2018
Jenny Moore & Fiona KennishAn entry of 19 pairs contested the Ladies Doubles sponsored by Microgaming Software Services on Saturday 16th June at Castletown Bowling Green. The eventual winners were Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish who beat Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden 21-15 in the final. At one stage the final was nip and tuck and at 15-15 Jenny and Fiona scored a maximum 4 followed by a 2 and took the title.
Losing semi finalists were Kellie Maddrell-Reeve and Lorna Brady; Mary Alderson and Lynda Cadamy
Castletown would like to thank the sponsors for their continued support and all the players who entered.
Leaders Extend Winning Run
The Ladies Night League returned to action following TT fortnight and league leaders Port St Mary extended their winning streak to four matches with a strong away performance against Douglas.
Port St Mary players Val Macfarlane, Wendy Kennuagh, Chris Price and Ann Maddrell all won to single figures with Trish Bull just doing enough to win her game 21-19 against Shantelle Thorpe. For the home side Joan Murphy held on to win 21-20 against Kellie Maddrell-Reeve and Paula Garrett won 21-17 against Jayne Kneen ending her 100% record. Final match score 106-187 (2-7)
South Ramsey keep the pressure on Port St Mary with a strong away performance against Port Erin. Port Erin could only manage two wins with Lynda Cadamy and Leah Vickers winning 21-15 and 21-16 respectively. South Ramsey’s Elaine Moore, Fiona Kennish and Lyn Bolton all won to single figures with the match ending 115-178 (2-7).
Nobles have slipped to third and had the tricky away encounter against Mooragh Park. The home side managed to take three games off Nobles with wins for Caroline Parker, Janet Monk and Rosemary Quirk. Nobles won five of their six games to single figures to take the match 110-164 (3-6)
Purt Le Moirrey welcomed Peel Sunset with the away side taking the spoils 139-153 (3-6). Peel player Mary Moffatt top scored in the match with a fine 21-3 victory whilst home player Linda Dawson won 21-6.
Castletown A produced their best result of the season away at Ballaugh. The visitors produced a maximum performance winning 115-189 (0-9) with Marie Ashurst and Heike Perry winning to single figures. Another 100% record went as Gill Dixon lost narrowly to Kim Foy 19-21.
In the final match on Friday Castletown B faced Onchan. The match finished with an Onchan victory 148-180 (4-5) however Castletown B are improving each week and it won’t be long until they pick up their first league victory.
South Ramsey sit out the next round of matches but will keep a close eye on Port St Mary vs Nobles match to see how things stand as we approach the midway point in the season
Ladies’ Veterans’ County Championship
Wolverhampton is still recovering from the first half of this week when it was invaded by a group of Manx ladies, of a certain age, who were there to play in the Veterans County Championship.
The event was staged in a round-robin format on four greens, two at Woodfield Social BC and two at Pennfields BC, the final stages then moving to a third venue at Penn BC.
In the early stages each green had four teams playing a round-robin, the winner of each group moving to Penn BC to play in the semi-finals.
The Manx team were in a group with Shropshire, Lancashire and North Midlands and started their campaign against Shropshire, on a green which was tricky and very speedy, getting faster as the day progressed in the very warm, sunny conditions. Many struggled to find a length, although we did have two winners in Joyce Kelly and Mavis Franks with Margaret Tasker just losing out 14-15.
In the second match Lancashire were in fine form winning all eight games, with the two best Manx players being Mavis Franks with 13 points and Joyce Kelly scoring 12 against Manx Festival regular Joyce Jones.
Margaret Tasker was the lone winner in the final game against North Midlands, with Ann Holllingworth and Maureen Payne both reaching 12points.
Lancashire won the group, and moved to Penn BC to play Yorkshire in the semi-final. Yorkshire were beaten by Warwick and Worcestershire in a final that eventually finished under floodlights at 10.30pm.
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.
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.
Kennish & Bradford Retain R.H. Green Fours
Newsbeat Winners 2018
Ken Kinrade pictured with John Kennish & David BradfordSaturday saw a quality field of 30 pairs of all ages entered for the R H Green Trophy at Finch Hill and were blessed with a fine sunny day and a very fast green.
A number of Island players were entered and last year’s winning pairing of David Bradford and John Kennish got off to a strong start winning 21-9 against Kevin Firth and Terry Bates. Steve
Waters and Dido Kelly also won by a similar score against newcomers Bryan Masterton and Brian Murphy. Closest match of the day was between the home pairings of Dave McCabe and Frank Christian who just took the win 21-20 against Peter Hughes and Arthur Halsall. Other front runners included Dave and Steve Kelly who were pushed hard to a 21-18 win by Peter Collins and Wayne Roberts, whilst Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves had a comfortable win 21-13 against home
players John Harris and newcomer Paddy Murphy who has only been playing for a few weeks. Alan Moore and James Teare showed that they would be strong contenders as they eased past Lee Dawson and David Pease 21-14. Paul Dunn and Neil Withers had a good match against Bernie McPhee and Steve Crampton and eventually won 21-18.
In the second round we thought we were in for a shock result as John Kennish and David Bradford went 10-16 down to Stuey Garrett and Ian Moore but eventually hauled them back and ran out 21-19 winners. Dave and Steve Kelly picked up a bit of form and convincingly beat Les Brookes and Mark Kramer 21-9 while Steve Waters and Dido Kelly beat Adam Kelly and David Proctor by the same score. The eldest competitor and the newest newcomer Bill Cairns and John Smith respectively found the competition tough as they lost 21-6 to Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves. The home pairing of Dave McCabe and Frank Christian took advantage of local knowledge as they beat Walter McCarthy and Stephen Rundle 21-13. Also showing good form were Alan Moore and James Teare as they beat Eddie Carlyle and Nathan Hamilton 21-14, and Paul Dunn and Neil Withers as they beat Brian Kelly and Juan Killip 21-15. The closest and longest match in terms of ends saw Ian Kissack and Mike Hargraves ease past Derek Allen and Alec Taylor with a two on the final end to win 21-19.
As you would expect by the time we reached the quarter finals there were no easy matches and the top players were getting the feel of the green and we were treated to some wonderful bowls.
In the top half of the draw Alan Moore and James Teare had a good 21-13 win against Paul Dunn and Neil Withers whilst John Kennish and David Bradford did just enough to beat Steve Waters and Dido Kelly 21-17. The bottom half of the draw saw the son beat the father as Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves beat Ian Kissack and Mike Hargraves 21-15, and a strong performance from Dave and Steve Kelly saw them beat home favourites Dave McCabe and Frank Christian 21-12.
The semi-finals saw John Kennish and David Bradford take on Alan Moore and James Teare and once again the quality of play from Kennish and Bradford was just too much for Moore and Teare as they ran out comfortable winners 21-14. The other semi-final between Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves and Dave and Steve Kelly was a much closer affair with neither team able to take a firm grip of the match, but with a three on the final end it was the Kelly’s who took the win 21-19.
In the final, last year’s winners Kennish and Bradford won the first two ends but the Kelly’s recovered to lead 13-11 after eight ends. This only seemed to spur on Kennish and Bradford as they made two on the next end and went on to add another six points in the next four ends using a
variety of lengths and then with a point on each of the last two very short ends they stormed home 21-14 to retain their title.
The prize presentation was made by Ken Kinrade, Competition Secretary for Finch Hill with the losing finalists receiving £50 Newsbeat vouchers and the winner’s £100 Newsbeat vouchers and the R H Green Cup.
Special thanks go to our generous sponsors Newsbeat, to all who helped in the kitchen throughout the afternoon, to Kevin Skillicorn for stewarding and Malcolm Black for measuring and to all those who helped make this a very successful competition.