Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

The first round of fixtures for the 2023 Canada Life International season got underway this week. With 36 teams entered there are 12 teams in each division which includes two new teams, both from Noble’s as they come into division three.

In Division One Peel B who finished third from bottom last season got off to a flier as they demolished an under strength South Ramsey B with a 1-9 away win to go top. Andy Mackie now in his second full season beat Tony Dugdale 21-17, whilst Brian Lindsay held off Austin Hart to win 21-18. Preventing the whitewash was Eddie Carlyle with a 21-15 win over Dougie Allan.

Marown A made a solid start to their campaign with a 9-1 home win at Crosby over North Ramsey A, with Neil Withers, Peter Jones and Phil Kelly all winning to single figures. John Gelling had to fight back from a huge deficit before running out to win 21-18 against Rob Monk. Paul Allison continued where he left off last season, as he was the only winner for the Mooragh men with a 21-14 victory over Glenn Boland, who was making his first team debut.

League champions South Ramsey A started at the same green they secured the league title last season, going one better than their previous result at the Crofts with a 1-9 win over Castletown A. All the Castletown players made it into double figures, with five players finishing on 15 or more as the visitors had to fight for every win. Nathan Hamilton got his season off to a great start with a brilliant 21-12 win over South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, as coincidentally he was the lone winner for Port St Mary A when he beat Colin Kelly in the first fixture of the 2022 season.

Peel A started the season on a positive note with a 7-3 home win over Onchan A. For the home team Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly was the only winner to single figures on the night. The three visitors for the winners were Will Penhallurick who beat David Proctor 21-15, Reg Temporaza beat Tommy McMeiken 21-13, whilst Matthew Quirk had to dig deep for his 21-18 victory over Dean Kinley.

The closest match in Division One was between Port St Mary A and newly promoted Marown C. The visitors came away with a 4-6 win taking the chalks and two-point aggregate (134-143). The Crosby men look to have a team well placed to stay up. Steven Rough performed well to beat Wayne Roberts, Tom Kelly won 21-9 against Robbie Cooil, while Tom’s younger brother Kevin not to be outdone beat Paul Skelly to the same score. Peter Kelly caused an upset as he beat Trevor Quayle 21-20. For the home team Dan McCabe held off Dan Smith 21-19, with Tim Williams the best winner as he beat Conor Keenan 21-11.

Marown B kicked off their season with a 7-3 home win over Douglas A, as they claimed the aggregate by 15 chalks (151-136). For the home team Brian Kelly held his nerve to beat Mark Kneen 21-20, with Harry Barton beating Jimmy Sansom 21-18. Winning for the visitors were Ian Moore, Shaun Seal and Gary Conwell who beat Darren Kerruish, John Kelly and Walter McCarthy respectively.

In Division Two Ballaugh A are the early leaders following their 9-1 home win over last season’s Division Three winners North Ramsey B. Steve Grant was the best winner for the home team with a 21-7 win over Andrew Honour, whilst the experienced John Maddrell beat Adam Greenwood 21-8. For the visitors Paul Cannan was the only winner with his 21-13 victory over Mike Spooner.

Newly promoted Noble’s B matched the Ballaugh A result with a 1-9 away win over Onchan C, with the players from last season sticking together with their games clearly improving as they made an excellent start to life in Division Two. Two single figure winners were picked up by Stephen Corkill and Michael Cooper, whilst Junior bowler Alex Hampson made a great start with a solid 21-10 win over Denis Maxwell. For Onchan Brian Aspden recorded a comfortable 21-8 win over Ciaran Broad.

Port Erin A hosted Finch Hill A at Breagle Glen, it was the notoriously poor travellers who Finch who took home a 3-7 win, with Les Brookes and Dave McCabe both winning to single figures. The evergreen Derek Allen responded for the home team with a 21-9 win over Brian Murphy.

Onchan B started well with a solid 8-2 home win over South Ramsey C, with Mike Kelly and Sid McKnight both picking up big wins. For the visitors D Team captain Franz ‘Fonzie’ ten Donkelaar stepped up a division, as he enjoyed his evening with a 21-16 win over Steve Parker, whilst teammate Paul Routledge also beat Paul Callister to the same score.

A new look Castletown B made the trip to Douglas as they took on Noble’s A. It was the Town men who secured a 2-8 away win, with Junior bowler Sam Quayle impressing with a superb 21-6 win over Mark Bradshaw. Winning for the home team were Martyn Hobson and Dave Naughton who beat Ray Harris and Willie Corkill respectively. Mark Quinn lost out 19-21 to John Matheson and Alex Yates got to 17 before succumbing to George Peach.

Douglas B started their campaign with a 7-3 home win over Peel C. For the Villa men Dave Pease was the only single figure winner as he beat David Allwood 21-9, while Willie Cowley and Nick Firth displayed nerves of steel to both edge home 21-20 against Eddie Convery and Paul Baker respectively. For the Peel men Phil Clarke, Jimmy Corlett and Jeff Wilson all had to battle for their wins.

In Division Three the spotlight was on the two new Noble’s teams, with the higher ranked C Team playing their first ever competitive match, they did not disappoint as they easily passed 100 chalks in their 2-8 home defeat to Port St Mary B as they scored 115 chalks to the visitors 153. Leading from the front was captain Steve Cain who beat Nicholas Peterson 21-13, while Lee Greggor a surname all too familiar to those who have been in the game for some time as his Grandad Bobby Greggor used to turn out for Peel. Lee impressed with a 21-14 win over Michael Taylor, while Lee’s father Andy Greggor also turned out for the team who are playing in Leeds shirts (see picture). Also performing well were Paul Moore and Lee Price with both men reaching 19 against their opponents before just losing out.

Another newly formed team Noble’s D hosted Ballaugh C on Thursday evening and they made a great start with a 6-4 home win over Ballaugh C. Steve Colquitt won 21-17 against Peter Corlett, whilst son Alex had a resounding 21-5 win against David Dobbie. Also winning for Noble’s were Roy Moore and Terry Bates.

Marown D who aspire to get promoted following their third place finish last season had a tough night away to Finch Hill B, who despite winning four games, two of which were to single figures, suffered four heavy defeats to lose out on the chalks as they lost 6-4 on the night.

Peel D hosted Douglas D in the Sunset City, on a green which is heading in the right direction following a tough year for Peel, with grass coverage on the Peel green much better than this time last year. The home team took the spoils 7-3, helped by two single figure wins and a walkover. Picking up wins for the visitors were Greg Brew, Bob Banning and David Manley.

Douglas C managed to win four games against Ballaugh B, however the visitors dominated the chalks to take the aggregate and with it a 4-6 away win, which was helped by big wins from Mike Buckeridge, Gary Griffiths and Richard Green.

Elsewhere South Ramsey D and Port Erin B were both a player short in their match with the Northern Team claiming a 6-3 home victory. Frank Feeney performed well to beat Dylan Marsh 21-3, with Alan Crebbin responding for the visitors with a 21-5 win over Chris Brown.