Marown A See Off South Ramsey A to Extend Lead

In Canada Life International Division One, it was the highly anticipated clash of the top two teams as South Ramsey A hosted Marown A on Monday evening in fine conditions.

The home team got off to a flier with David Bradford seeing off Peter Jones 21-2 to establish a first point and a 19 chalk lead towards the all-important handicap. Marown hit back with Colin Kelly scoring 15 consecutive chalks having trailed 6-12 to Bob Clark, with the Crosby man going on to win 21-12 in the corners. Things got worse for the home team as John Kennish, who had only lost two games for South Ramsey on home turf since the late 1990’s lost 17-21 to Tom Kelly. The final game of the first half was between Neil Withers and South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, with the latter staring down the barrel with a five chalk deficit at 13-18, only for a strong finish with eight consecutive chalks scored over six ends to seal a 21-18 win.

The second half saw the match finely poised at 2-2 on games, with the home team holding a nine chalk lead. This lead was soon wiped as Paul Kelly won 21-10 against James Teare. The Marown men sensing a huge upset fed off this, with Marown captain Paul Dunn who led 18-5 against Jordan Cain getting over line 21-14. The following game was well battled throughout between Stefan Kelly and Dean Kipling, with the former getting himself close to victory at 20-17, only to concede a double, then missing out on an opportunity to make game in the corner the following end. With the score at 20-20 two good bowls from Kipling on the deciding end were unbeaten to give the Marown the win and put his team 4-3 ahead on games with a 10 chalk advantage. The final game was between Glenn Boland and Dido Kelly, with the former leading 18-7 the chalks were assured for the visitors. Boland performed well throughout the game, having played out his opponent to count for two on several ends. The South Ramsey man fought back to 15-20, however Boland secured the one chalk needed to seal a 2-8 win for the Marown men (130-146), who are now in a commanding position with just five games left to play, as they hold a seven point lead over South Ramsey.

Marown B recorded the biggest win in the top flight, as they beat Rayner Shield finalists Castletown A 9-1 at Crosby. Four single figure wins kept Town down to just 88 chalks, with Nathan Hamilton the only winner as he beat Kevin Kelly 21-11. Dean Kinley and Ian Watson came closest to picking up wins for the visitors as they lost to 17 and 18 to Phil Kelly and Sam Clague respectively.

Onchan A were just three chalks off recording a 0-10 away win over Port St Mary A at Breagle Glen following their 2-8 away win, as Jamie Clague lost 19-21 to Wayne Roberts, whilst Trevor Quayle edged home 21-20 against Will Penhallurick.

North Ramsey A were back to winning ways at home as they turned over Peel A 7-3 at Mooragh Park, with Paul Allison and Steven Waters both winning to single figures, however the most impressive result was from Steve Walmsley who beat Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-14.

Marown C had a better week, however they are still nine points adrift of Port St Mary A following their 7-3 home win over Douglas A on Tuesday evening, with just 14 chalks separating the teams (142-128).

In Division Two Peel B had a good week as they beat Ballaugh A 8-2 at home to go one point ahead of their opponents on the night to go joint top with South Ramsey B, who suffered a 7-3 defeat away to Onchan B, with just four chalks between the two sides, this went in favour of Onchan (147-143).

Castletown B closed the gap on the teams above them them with a 6-4 home win over local rivals Port Erin A at the Crofts, whilst North Ramsey B slipped to a 6-4 defeat away to Finch Hill A.

Douglas B are firmly mid table after their 8-2 home win over Noble’s A, whilst the victory looks convincing only six chalks separated the two sides as the Villa men edged it (155-149) in a high scoring match as they had three wins to 17, two wins to 18 and one to 20. For the visitors Martyn Hobson held off David Pease 21-19 in another close game, whilst Dave Naughton won the kitty for the visitors as he beat Andy Foster 21-10.

In Division Three Noble’s B are joint top with their lower ranked C Team on 82 points as the two sides face off the B team suffered a huge upset with an 8-2 defeat. The two wins for the B were to single figures from Ciaran Broad and Rob Bell, whilst Alex Colquitt returned the favour for the C Team with a 21-6 win over fellow Junior bowler Alex Hampson.

South Ramsey C are still in the mix, just four points off the top two following their 7-3 home win over Marown D, with 11-year-old Arran Dunn finishing the game strongly, staring defeat in the face to turn it around and win 21-19 against Billy Blair.

Noble’s D are still in with a shout of promotion, following their 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D, as they are five points away from the top two, they currently occupy fourth place.

Onchan C and Ballaugh B played out a true draw 5-5, with both teams winning four games each and sharing the aggregate (143-143) in a result that pops up now and again. Port St Mary B welcomed Peel C to Breagle Glen, it was the home team who took the spoils 8-2 on the night.

In Division Four Ballaugh C still have a healthy lead at the top thanks to their 9-1 home win over Noble’s E, they missed out on a 10-0 whitewash as Dan Kelly just lost out 19-21 to Paul Cain.

North Ramsey B occupy second spot, they did manage to close the gap by a point following their 10-0 home win over Douglas C, who were kept to under 100 chalks (168-98).

With two big wins in the other fixtures Castletown C and Finch Hill B played out a 4-4 draw, with the visitors cause not helped by being a man short this ensured the aggregate went in favour of the Town men to seal a 6-4 home win.

Ballaugh C prior to their match with Noble’s E on Tuesday Evening