Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

In Canada Life International Division One this week Marown A hosted long time league leaders South Ramsey A at Crosby as they looked to avenge their 8-2 away defeat earlier in the season and a 5-3 defeat in the Rayner Shield Final on Friday evening. The northern team started the match four points ahead of their opponents.

South Ramsey struck the first blow of the night with visiting captain Glynn Hargraves winning 21-7 against Phil Kelly. Neil Withers hit back with a solid 21-15 win over Dido Kelly, while team mate Colin Kelly performed well to see off Bob Clark 21-9, with the score at 11-9 to Kelly a 10-chalk streak got him over the line, whilst Marown captain Paul Dunn had a convincing 21-12 victory over Stefan Kelly as he gained immediate revenge for Friday’s Rayner Shield result.

In the second half of the match Paul Kelly trailed 15-16 against James Teare, with the former running out with a 21-16 win. Another matchup from Friday saw Peter Jones claim a 21-19 win over David Bradford with Jones performing well to reverse Friday’s result. South Ramsey did pick up their second win of the night with Peter Collister recording a good 21-13 victory over Dean Kipling, while Harry Barton ensured it was an unhappy trip home for the visitors as he sealed an 8-2 victory for his team with a nail-biting 21-20 win over Jordan Cain. Just 13 chalks separated the teams (146-133) on the night. Marown now sit top, two points ahead of South Ramsey with just four games left to play the title is now within their grasp.

Perhaps the surprise result of the night was Port St Mary A with their visit to take on Onchan A, as they recorded a 4-6 away victory over the Onchan men. Two single figure wins to 21-8 from Paul Skelly and Tim Williams over Sid McKnight and Neil Dunwell respectively was enough to seal the aggregate by seven chalks (132-139), along with a good performance from Nathan Hamilton who beat Andy Kennish 21-13. Dan McCabe picked up their fourth win as he held off Mike Thomas 21-19. For Onchan Reginald Temporaza performed well as he beat Trevor Quayle 21-14, with Kevin Quirk seeing off Wayne Roberts 21-12.

Not far behind in causing an upset on Monday were Castletown A who beat Marown B 5-3 on games but lost the aggregate by five chalks (138-143) to ensure the Crosby men didn’t go away with a defeat to leave the result 5-5 on the night. The chalks for Marown were helped massively by John Gelling with his 21-5 win over Chris Lever doing the damage to the Town men. Glenn Boland impressed with a 21-12 victory over Mark Moorley, while captain Darren Kerruish beat Juan Kermode 21-16. Winning for Town were Peter Oates as he beat Brian Kelly 21-13, with Nathan Cooil seeing off Jerome Surridge 21-18, while Ron Williams got home 21-19 against Karl Parker.

Peel A were just five chalks off recording a 10-0 win at home to North Ramsey A, with Gary Merrill beating Geoff Rice 21-18 for the visitors, with team mate Rob Monk winning 21-19 against George Gadsby. For Peel two 21-6 wins from Dean Kinley and Tommy McMeiken helped their cause, while Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly was pushed the hardest with his 21-17 win over John Cannan.

Douglas A hosted Peel B at the Villa, with the home advantage being used to good effect with a 9-1 win. Gordon Corrin was the lone winner for the visitors as he beat Alistair Lothian 21-3. For the Villa men Kevin Firth beat Michael Kavanagh 21-6, while Keith Rise won 21-9 against Dougie Allan.

The bottom two teams faced off at Breagle Glen on Monday night with the home team Port Erin A getting the better of Onchan B 6-4, however the result did neither team any favours in their bid to get out of trouble. David Cain trounced Bernie McPhee 21-1, with Bernie Durcan winning 21-6 against Colin Spence. For the visitors Mark Kelly was their best winner as he beat Derek Allen 21-9.

In Division Two South Ramsey B now have a 17-point advantage over second placed Ballaugh A, following their 10-0 home win over Onchan C on a tricky home green. Three of their players are in a battle for the individual merit with Tony Dugdale, Alan Moore and Bryan Corner occupying the top three spots. 

It is a two-way fight for second place after third placed Marown C closed the gap to second by a point following their8-2 home win over Castletown B, while Ballaugh A came away from Breagle Glen with a 3-7 win over Port St Mary B.

Elsewhere Peel C slipped to a 4-6 home defeat to South Ramsey C, losing the aggregate by 4 chalks (140-144), Finch Hill A came away from Noble’s Park with a 3-7 win over Noble’s A, while Ballaugh B won 7-3 at home as they edged the chalks (141-137) to take the aggregate.

In Division Three the top two clashed at Mooragh Park, with North Ramsey B seeing off Noble’s B 9-1 to all but end the visitors hopes of winning the league. Phil Salmon prevented the whitewash with a 21-17 win over Geoff Porter. 

Marown D couldn’t fully capitalise on the heavy defeat inflicted on Noble’s B, however they did win 4-6 away to Finch Hill B to close the gap by five points to sit just three points off second spot. Jay Waters stayed firmly in the hunt for the individual merit with a 21-17 win over Peter Woods.

Elsewhere South Ramsey D returned to winning ways with a good 8-2 home win over Peel D, while Castletown C took five games off Douglas C at the Crofts with young bowlers Junior Keggen and Sam Quayle both impressing with 21-13 wins over David Beynon and Ashley Halsall respectively. The Villa men won the aggregate by 10 chalks (129-139) to secure a 5-5 draw on the night.

Mixed Team Championship

South Ramsey A topped Group A to make it six wins out of six, as they beat Onchan A 8-1 at home by 80 chalks (181-101).

North Ramsey A signed off their campaign with a 7-2 home win over Castletown A, as they won by 43 chalks (181-138).

In Group B Marown A also kept up their 100% win record, as they won 2-7 in their away fixture with Douglas A, winning by 27 chalks on the night (138-175).

Port St Mary A and Port Erin A clashed at Breagle Glen, with the PSM team taking six individual victories and winning by 29 chalks (177-148).

Mixed Team Plate

In Group A Noble’s dodged a heavy defeat away to Peel to top the group in their 5-4 defeat as they lost out by just six chalks. With both teams finishing on 10 points a superior chalks for and against for Noble’s was enough to reach the final.

Castletown B signed off with a 6-3 win over North Ramsey B, taking the chalks by 38 (158.120).

In Group B Ballaugh marched on to top the Group with 12 points following their 9-0 win away to Marown B, although the Crosby Team did score well (126-189).

South Ramsey B also finished the group with a win by the smallest of margins (152-153) as they beat Douglas B at the Villa. The home team could take some consolation as they won 5-4 on games.

South Ramsey A now face Marown A in the final of the Championship, while Noble’s take on Ballaugh in the Plate final on Wednesday 24^th August with the venue to be confirmed.