Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

Sunday saw a quality field of 29 pairs of all ages entered for the R.H. Green Trophy at Finch Hill and they were blessed with a sunny albeit windy day and a very good green.

A number of Island players were entered including last year’s winning pairing of Paul Dunn and Neil Withers who dominated their first round opponents Karl Parker and Dan Smith. John Kennish who has previously won the competition on more than one occasion has been coaching Zain Abideen from Finch Hill at both bowls and snooker recently and paired with him for this competition they would eventually have a run all the way to the quarter finals.  

Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe had a good 21-10 win over Kevin Firth and Dave Pease as did Harry Barton and Steve Gregg as they cruised to a 21-8 win over Mark Kneen and Ian Moore. Glynn Hargraves and Jordan Cain looked to be heading for an easy win after winning eight of the first nine ends but it took another seven ends before they got over the line with a 21-15 win over Tony Hart and Lee Dawson. The home grudge match of John Harris and Frank Christian against Paddy Murphy and Dave McCabe proved to be a “no match” as Murphy and McCabe whitewashed their opponents and would eventually make it all the way to the quarter finals. Andy Kennish and Frank Watson were made to work hard as they overcame Jimmy Sansom and Paul Cowley but better things were to come for the winning pair. Steven Waters and Stefan Kelly completed the first round with a 21-14 win against Cliff Clague and Alan Phair.

Paul Dunn and Neil Withers got the second round underway and with some steady scoring overcame Jordan Cain and Glynn Hargraves 21-16. Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe ran out 21-17 winners over Peter Greenlees and Brian Lindsay. One of the closest matches of the day saw Eddie Carlyle and James Teare just edge out Dave Naughton and Steve Hampson 21-20. After a slow start John Kennish and Zain Abideen came back to win against Nathan Hamilton and Tom Kelly while Austin Hart and Alan Moore had a much easier match against George Brew and Brian Corner. Home team of Paddy Murphy and Dave McCabe continued their good form with a 21-14 win over Steve Rundle and Walter McCarthy. Andy Kennish and Frank Watson eased past Harry Barton and Steve Gregg 21-13 while home favourites Peter Hughes and Toni Epifani had no answer to the relentless scoring of Steven Waters and Stefan Kelly going down 21-11.

Amazingly, there were no really close matches in the quarter finals as Paul Dunn and Neil Withers beat Austin Hart and Alan Moore 21-14 and Steven Waters and Stefan Kelly got the better of John Kennish and Zain Abideen with a 21-11 win to complete the top half of the draw. The Finch Hill pairing of Paddy Murphy and Dave McCabe could not match the steady scoring of Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe as the latter won 21-14. The last quarter final saw Andy Kennish and Frank Watson come from 6-9 down to win 21-9 in just 6 ends, including a four pointer.

The semi-finals started with Paul Dunn and Neil Withers taking on Steven Waters and Stefan Kelly and this proved to be one of the closest matches of the day. Dunn and Withers went into a 12-6 lead but Waters and Kelly came back to win the next five ends and with the help of two four pointers  were leading 19-12 but the opposition fought back to level at 20-20 only to see Waters and Kelly edge the match with a single point on the final end. Andy Kennish and Frank Watson had a slightly easier match, thanks to a couple of four pointers, as they ran out winners 21-15 against Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe.

The final was the second longest match of the day running to 20 ends and kept everyone enthralled to the very end. Steven Waters and Stefan Kelly just edged the first 10 ends to lead 13-11 and after 14 ends were leading 19-13 but Andy Kennish and Frank Watson fought back and with the help of a four pointer levelled the match at 20-20 after 19 ends. The last few ends produced some of the best bowls of the day particularly over the longer lengths being played and the match could have gone either way but in that final end it was Steven Waters and Stefan Kelly who got the final single point they needed to take the win 21-20.

The prize presentation was made by Ken Kinrade, Competition Secretary for Finch Hill with the losing semi-finalists receiving £20 Newsbeat vouchers, the Runners Up receiving £50 Newsbeat vouchers and the winners £100 Newsbeat vouchers and the R.H. Green Cup.

Special thanks go to our generous sponsors Newsbeat, to our wonderful ladies for keeping everyone fed and watered throughout the afternoon and to all those stewards, measurers and markers who helped make this a very successful competition.