Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

The second half of the men’s night league season commenced this week in Canada Life International Division One with games on Monday evening being blessed with some much-needed sun.

Marown A returned to top spot following their 8-2 away win over North Ramsey A at Mooragh Park, with five single figure winners ensuring the chalks were never in doubt. The two winners for the home team were Paul Allison 21-11 over Peter Jones, whilst Steven Waters beat Sam Clague 21-14. Just missing out on a third win for the team was John Cannan who lost 20-21 to Glenn Boland, in what could prove to be a vital point for the Crosby men.

Game of the week was undoubtedly Peel A who hosted South Ramsey A. The home team led 3-1 after the first four games as Stevie Kelly beat James Teare 21-8, Pip Pemberton led 15-5 against Peter Collister, going on to win 21-17, whilst George Gadsby trailed 15-19 to Glynn Hargraves, with the former running out with a 21-19 win. Winning in the first half for the visitors David Bradford won 21-9 against the previously unbeaten Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.

The second half of the match flipped the other way, as Jordan Cain beat David Proctor 21-13, Dido Kelly won 21-4 against Peter Greenlees, whilst Bob Clark won 21-8 against Tommy McMeiken. Winning for the home team in the second half Gary Smith beat Stefan Kelly 21-14. South Ramsey did manage to secure the chalks comfortably (118-142) to secure a 4-6 away win.

Douglas A took on Port St Mary A at the Villa, with the home team winning 8-2. Andy Cannell won 21-3 against Chris Lever, with Dave McCabe winning 21-8 against Tim Williams, whilst Mark Kneen got over the line 21-20 against Dan McCabe. For the Port men Trevor Quayle beat Gordon Wynne-Smythe 21-19, whilst Wayne Roberts won 21-15 against Andy Foster.

Marown C took on their higher ranked B Team on Tuesday evening in poor conditions, in complete contrast to the night before. The C team did manage to take three games off their club mates, with wins from Jamie Joughin, James Kelly, and Steve Rough, with the latter winning 21-6 against Karl Parker. For the B Team Walter McCarthy and Matthew Keggen won to single figures, which helped secured the aggregate on chalks (128-145).

In Division Two Peel B surrendered top spot for the first time this season, as they lost 8-2 away to South Ramsey B, with both teams tied on 67 points. Captain Ben Dugdale led the way for his team with a 21-7 win over Gordon Corrin, with Dougie Allan matching this for the visitors as he beat Christian Caley.

Third placed Ballaugh A (61 points) kept in touch with the top two following their 3-7 away win over North Ramsey B, as both teams won games 21-6 and 21-9 to cancel each other out.

Finch Hill A continue to be something of a Jekyll and Hyde side, as they lost 9-1 away to Onchan B, with Les Brookes the lone winner for the Finch men as he beat Mike Kelly 21-16.

Noble’s A won 5-3 on games at home to Castletown B, however they lost out on the aggregate by three chalks (151-154) to draw 5-5 in a high scoring contest, as four of their five wins were keenly contested with wins to 20, 19, 19, and 18. Two of the three wins for the visitors ultimately made the difference on chalks.

Douglas B managed to win 7-3 at home to Port Erin A, despite having to give a game away to the visitors, with three of their players winning big to ensure they took the aggregate comfortably by 16 chalks (128-112).

In Division Three Noble’s B are five points clear at the top following their 3-7 away win against Port St Mary B at Breagle Glen, as they missed out on a bigger win as they lost two games to 18-21 and 19-21.

South Ramsey C sit in third place following an impressive 2-8 win away to Peel C, with Colin Moore and Andrew Cover the two winners for the home team.

Noble’s D lost ground on their B Team following a 6-4 defeat away to Ballaugh B, with two single figure defeats for the visitors sealing their fate on the aggregate.

South Ramsey D picked up their second successive win, as they beat Onchan C 6-4 at home, taking the aggregate by just two chalks (126-124). Single figure wins from Austin Hart and Alan Moore, along with good wins from Geoff Collier and Steve Kelly helped secure the win.

In Division Four Castletown C hosted Ballaugh C at the Crofts, with young Freddie Palmer continuing to progress as he sealed his third league win of the season, with a 21-18 victory over Paul Cubbon, whilst Kieran Krypner who only took up the game last season beat Dan Kelly 21-17.

Finch Hill B hosted Douglas D on Tuesday evening, with the Finch men conceding a game 0-21 due to being a player short, this didn’t stop them from securing a 7-3 home win, as single figure wins from Tony Epifani and Peter Smith helped them win by six chalks on the aggregate (129-123)

Plumbmaster Rayner Shield

The first semi-final of the Rayner Shield took place on Wednesday evening with players from both sides agreeing an earlier start time to ensure they could watch England take on the Netherlands. The home team were huge favourites going into the match, so it proved with five single wins, conceding just 22 chalks, whilst James Teare, Dido Kelly, Stefan Kelly had to work a bit harder for their wins over Sam Clague, John Gelling and Karl Parker respectively.

The remaining fixture is on Tuesday (16th July) with Castletown A hosting Marown C, as South Ramsey A await their opponents, with the final to be played on Friday 9th August. Town are also huge favourites, having won their home league fixture 10-0 earlier in the season.

Plumbmaster Rayner Plate

First division side Peel A hosted second division side Finch Hill A on Wednesday evening, despite having to give the visitors a 45 chalk start on the night, they managed to win by 11 chalks (154-143). Sam Stannard-Duke was the lone winner for Finch, as he beat Mike Ashmole 21-7.

Ballaugh B (+50) hosted South Ramsey C (+60), with both sides in the third division a close match was expected, so it proved as the home team won 5-3, however the Ballaugh men were unable to recover the 10 chalk start they had to give their opponents, as they lost by just two chalks (182-184).

South Ramsey C will face Peel A on Friday 2nd August, with the venue to be confirmed at a later date.