Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

There was a fascinating encounter on Monday evening in Ellan Vannin Fuels Division One with 22- time league champions Onchan A visiting Marown A at Crosby, who themselves have 13 league title wins in the bag. Whilst Onchan A have not challenged for the title in recent years, they do still have the players who can damage anyone on their day as they took five points off Marown in a 5-5 draw.

Onchan only had three winners, however they all won convincingly as visiting captain Peter Slinger stormed home 21-3 against Matthew Keggen, while Reg Temporaza won 21-11 against Phil Kelly, with Kevin Quirk also beating Juan Killip to the same score with the game finely balanced at 11-11 Quirk took 10 consecutive points to see the game out.

For the Crosby men they had three 21-18 winners with Neil Withers fighting back from a 11-17 deficit to beat Matthew Quirk. Dean Kipling has returned full time to the team and was in good form as he beat Jordan Cain with the latter battling back from a 0-9 deficit with Paul Kelly the last of the 21-18 wins with his victory over Steve Parker as he was trailing 5-13 before kicking into gear. Captain Paul Dunn won 21-13 against Mark Kelly, while Colin Kelly romped home 21-5 against Frank Watson. 

Onchan secured an impressive draw as they took the two-point aggregate by five chalks (130-135) thanks in part to the high scoring from three of their losers to inflict a potentially damaging result to Marown as they look to retain the league.

Douglas A made the most of an extremely tricky home green as they beat Marown B 9-1 with the whitewash prevented by Bobby Thorne as he fought back from an 8-19 deficit taking 13 consecutive chalks to beat Gordon Wynne-Smythe 21-19. The next closest to picking up an extra point for the Crosby men was Glenn Boland who lost out 17-21 to Mervin Sayle. Kevin Firth stepped in for the home team once again and he was the biggest winner as he beat Darren Kerruish 21-6.

Castletown A had their star man Bob Clark missing from their home game with Noble’s A with Clark extending his trip off island, however this didn’t stop the home team from recording a 9-1 win on the night. Winning to single figures for the Town men were captain Ian Watson who beat Stephen Hampson 21-4, while Nathan Cooil picked up his second successive win as he beat Martyn Hobson 21-7. For Noble’s Steve Cook was the only winner as he beat stand in Jeff Kinley 21-17 with the latter making his first night league appearance of the season.

Ballaugh A closed the gap on nearest rivals Peel B to eight points with a game in hand as they faced off at the Ballaugh green, with the home team taking a 6-4 win thanks to winning the aggregate by six chalks (136-130). Edgar Cowin beat the ‘real’ Paul Quirk 21-9, with team mate Richard Hainge mastering his home green with a 21-5 win over David Proctor. Young Patrick Grant got home with a 21-18 win after a tough battle with Brian Lindsay. Visiting captain Paul ‘Pooky’ Quirk won 21-7 against Tony Quine, while Robert Middleton just edged out Barry McDonald 21-18.

Peel A hit top spot with South Ramsey’s postponed fixture thanks to their 10-0 home win over North Ramsey A. Winning to single figures for the home team were Peter Greenlees, Tommy McMeiken, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly and Gary Smith. The closest visitor to picking up a point was Paul Cannan who lost 18-21 to Tom Kelly.

South Ramsey A had their home fixture with Port St Mary A moved to Tuesday 3rd August.

Ballaugh A and Marown A caught up on a previously postponed fixture with the Ballaugh men losing out 4-6 and the aggregate by just three chalks (136-139). Glenn Boland’s 21-2 win over Barry McDonald was the most damaging to the Ballaugh men for the chalks.

In Division Two Port Erin A were the latest team to hit top spot as they won 2-8 away to Finch Hill B, with Seamus Whelan just missing out on adding an extra point for the Breagle Glen men as he lost 19-21 to Peter Woods, while Frank Christian beat Derek Cadamy 21-11. The biggest winner for the visitors was Bernie Durcan as he beat Chris Thompson 21-9.

The closest match of the night was between rivals Onchan B and Castletown B as the visitors won 4-6 and just claiming the aggregate by a solitary chalk (141-142). For Onchan Neil Dunwell beat Ron Williams 21-19, while Mike Thomas was the biggest winner as he beat Dave Hollingworth 21-11. Paul Clinton just lost 19-21 to George Foy while Will Penhallurick cruelly lost 20-21 to Peter Oates. Collin Holland helped the visitors cause as he beat Mike Kelly 21-8.

South Ramsey B had their hopes of being promoted damaged following their 3-7 away defeat at the hands of Marown C as they had father and son Tony and Ben Dugdale unavailable. For the visitors Steven Waters beat Keith Watterson 21-2, Bryan Corner won 21-5 against Gary Cooper, while Austin Hart beat Carey Dewhirst 21-12. For the Crosby men Walter McCarthy stepped back down to the C team after last week turning out for the B Team as he beat Toby Hart 21-8, while Jamie Joughin beat George Brew 21-7. The winners for Marown were to low double figures to ensure the chalks went in favour of the home team (124-115).

Port St Mary B couldn’t make home advantage count on an extremely tricky green as they lost 3-7 against visitors Douglas B. Visiting captain Andy Foster had his first win on Port St Mary as he beat Andy Sykes 21-18, while Pat O’Donohue was the biggest winner of the night with his 21-9 win over Bernard Thackrah. Home captain Ken Karran just got over the line 21-20 against Bob Callow, while Peter Collins took the kitty home thanks to his 21-11 win over Geoff Mayles. Derek Cain had a tough encounter with Rob Matthews with the former winning 21-17.

Peel C hosted Finch Hill A in the Sunset City, however the home team lost 4-6 on the night with the worst loser for Finch scoring 15, whilst the Finch Hill winners all won comfortably with Paul Dougherty and Peter Hughes both winning 21-11 against Ian Pendlebury and Kevin Mort respectively, while Dave McCabe won 21-14 against Harry Kelly, with Arthur Halsall beating Jeff Wilson 21-14. For Peel Mike Ashmole battled well to win 21-19 against Tony Epifani, while Phillip Clarke beat Paddy Murphy 21-18.

In Division Three South Ramsey D won five games away to Douglas D but just missed out on the aggregate by a solitary chalk (137-136) resulting in a 5-5 draw with Douglas D. Nick Firth continues to impress with a 21-4 win over Jay Moore, with Juan Readshaw beating Ryan Hargraves 21-7, while David Cowley just got the win 21-20 against Matthew Corkill. For the visitors Richard Davies beat John Ferguson 21-9, with Steve Kelly beating Trevor Latus 21-11.

Ballaugh C won 8-2 at home to Douglas C with three single figure wins from the home team from Nigel Tebay, Gordie Moore and Richard Green. For the visitors Junior bowler Clark Kelly won 21-13 against Brian Lace while Michael Knowles won 21-16 against Mark Dimsdale.

Noble’s B picked up their fifth win of the season following their 6-4 home victory over Marown D. For the home team Phil Salmon beat Rob Hammond 21-6 with Stephen Corkill winning 21-3 against Alex Colquitt. For the visitors captain Phil Dunn beat Terry Bates.

Onchan C won 7-3 at home to Peel D with three big wins from Sid McKnight, Lawrence McMullen and Jamie Clague, while Roger Payne inflicted a second league defeat of the season on Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton.

Castletown B and Ballaugh B was another fixture that was postponed with a new date to be set.
The first semi-final of the Rayner Shield took place on Wednesday evening with Peel A sweeping aside Castletown B 7-1 in the Sunset City. The only winner for Town was Peter Oates with a 21-20 victory over Darren Young. All the home wins were comfortable with three 21-12 wins and four 21-15 wins as the holders Peel A took their place in the final for a second successive season.

In the Rayner Plate quarter final Marown C (+27) put Port St Mary B (+54) to the sword with a 38 point victory 194-156 as they won 7-1 on games despite the visitors having a 27 point start.
A round ahead of them Port St Mary A (scr) hosted Marown B (+24) with the home team winning all eight games and securing the win by 45 chalks (168-123) as they secured their second successive appearance in the Plate final.