Final weekend of league action
Positional battles were a big feature over the last weekend of league action in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club, along with the destination of the ladies merit trophy.
But could the weather put a spanner in the works for those participating on Saturday with gale force winds in which it was difficult enough to stand never mind play bowls.
Three teams occupying places in the top half of the table had to battle the elements, the first clash being between Mooragh Lakers and Castletown Corkers which ended in a draw on 108 points apiece.
This left Lakers with a target of 88 in their final fixture to move above Louie’s Angels into fourth, but at the same time denied Corkers the same opportunity as they needed maximum points to finish above their southern neighbours.
Seven-Up then joined in and eased to victory over Corkers to place one hand on the runners-up spot, before completing the job with an equally comfortable success against Lakers, who themselves did just enough to climb above Angels by a margin of just five points.
The winner of the Geoff Osborn trophy awarded to the leading lady in the overall merit was decided in this fixture with Jenny Moore (Lakers) finishing just ahead of Margaret Tasker (Angels), Lyn Bolton (Corkers) took third. More details on this in next week’s report.
Corkers meanwhile would have to wait 24 hours to see if a 228 point gap would be enough to see them hang on in sixth with Parkers involved in a rearranged session the following afternoon.
Results for Saturday, March 7: Mooragh Lakers 108 (2) Jenny Moore and James Teare, Castletown Corkers 108 (4) Dave Hollingworth; Castletown Corkers 99 (2) Dave Faragher, Seven Up 119 (4) Jordan Cain; Seven Up 115 (4) Kevin Quirk, Mooragh Lakers 92 (2) James Teare.
A much better day welcomed the Sunday gang and once again there was a number of battles for places, the first of which saw Parkers record their second maximum and 18th of the campaign when they made a big hole in the deficit they had over Corkers whilst defeating Bits n Bobs.
With a six point margin in favour of Erin Porters it was all to play for in the next encounter when they took on Roller Bowlers, however it was the Bowlers who won, to close the gap down to just one.
Bowlers then racked up their highest total of the season, dropping just three points as they reversed the result from earlier in the season and in the process left Parkers two points short in their quest to overtake Corkers.
Erin Porters in action at the same time needed a near perfect outing to hold on to eighth position, but opponents Bits n Bobs had an agenda of their own as they were without a victory from their 21 fixtures played.
But there is nothing like leaving it to the last minutes as Bits n Bobs sneaked home by four games to two and a 110 to 108 triumph.
Results for Sunday, March 8: Bits n Bobs 85 (0) Alan Kennaugh, Parkers 126 (6) Mike Thomas; Rollers Bowlers 101 (3) Gordon and Shirley Corrin, Erin Porters 96 (3) Chris Dent and Bernard Thackrah; Parkers 100 (1) Mike Thomas, Rollers Bowlers 123 (5) Gordon Corrin; Erin Porters 108 (2) Lynda Cadamy, Bits n Bobs 110 (4) Kim Hargraves.
The final eight team merit winners who are eligible to play in the Best versus Rest contest on Sunday, March 22 are: Kim Hargraves (BnB), Nigel Thomas (B4S), Sid Bolton (Corkers), Bernie Thackrah (Porters), Jenny Moore (Lakers), Lil Smith (Bowlers), Jordan Cain (Seven Up) and Mike Thomas (Parkers).