Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

The second round of the Plumbmaster Rayner Shield & the first round of the Rayner Plate took place this week, with a mixed bag of weather. Monday was particularly wet with heavy rain throughout the afternoon into the evening, with home advantage lost for all teams who were drawn to play at home.

After their 6-4 away defeat to Marown A in the league last week South Ramsey A hosted the Crosby men five days later. This time out in completely different conditions, as the home team raced into a 3-1 lead at the half-way stage, with Bob Clark beating Neil Withers 21-15, Glynn Hargraves won to the same score against Colin Kelly, while David Bradford beat Tom Kelly 21-13. Hitting back for Marown Paul Dunn finished the game strongly holding off Stefan Kelly 21-19.

In the second half South Ramsey ensured their names went into the draw for the next round as James Teare beat Dean Kipling 21-15 to make the score 4-1 with a 24-chalk lead. Pulling a game back for Marown Glenn Boland overturned a 16-20 deficit against Jordan Cain to win 21-20. Dido Kelly picked up win number five for the home team as he beat Paul Kelly 21-14, then Peter Jones ensured it wasn’t a heavier defeat as he won 21-17 against Peter Collister. The match ended 5-3 to South Ramsey with 26 chalks separating the teams (161-135), with the home team dropping just seven chalks.

The closest game of the night was between Onchan C and Port Erin A at the Park, with the game ending 4-4, this was decided on chalks which went in favour of the Onchan men by four chalks (140-136).

North Ramsey A hosted Ballaugh A at Mooragh Park, with the home side seeing off their opponents 6-2, helped by three single figures wins from Paul Allison, Rob Monk, and Jimmy Moffatt. Winning for the visitors were Richard Hainge, who beat Steven Waters 21-13, whilst Mike Spooner won 21-10 against Gary Merrill.

Castletown A didn’t have it all their own way with their 5-3 victory, as they faced Division Two side Noble’s B at the Crofts. For the home team Nathan Cooil and Dean Kinley won 21-8 against Grahem Moore and Alex Hampson respectively.

Marown B played Noble’s C at Crosby, with the Division One side progressing thanks to a 6-2 win. The Noble’s men did put up a good fight, with Kevin Moore beating Matthew Keggen 21-19, Sam Colquitt beat Karl Parker 21-20. Alex Colquitt just lost out 20-21 to Harry Barton, whilst Roy Moore got to 17 against Brian Kelly.

Onchan A are now the second highest ranked team left in the competition, they took a convincing 1-7 away victory over Castletown B on a much nicer evening (Tuesday), with the home team scoring just 78 chalks as the Onchan men won five games to single figures. The lone winner for Town was Peter Oates who beat Jamie Clague 21-13.

Bottom of Division One Team – Marown C will be hoping for another good run in the Shield, they took on the team that sit top of Division Two – Peel B at Crosby, with the home team running out convincing 7-1 winners.

Peel C reached the quarter finals with a 2-6 away win over North Ramsey C.

In the Rayner Plate handicaps were awarded based on league position, along with whether teams were drawn at home or away.

South Ramsey C (+60) visited Ballaugh C (+55) with the away team coming away win a win by 14 chalks (182-196). Marown D (+70) came away from Peel D (+65) with a convincing win by 36 chalks.

Port St Mary B (+55) upset their higher ranked A Team (+15) as the match ended 4-4 on games which gave little prospect for the A Team to recover 40 chalks as they lost by 28 chalks on the night (187-159).

Onchan B (+35) overturned a 35 chalk deficit against South Ramsey D (+70) to win by 36 chalks (198-162) at the Park.

Second Division side South Ramsey B (+30) had just a 15 chalk start on Peel A (+15) to hold onto, however the men from the Sunset City managed to win by six chalks in a high scoring match (171-177).

Douglas B (+30) couldn’t use home advantage to overturn a 35 deficit on Ballaugh B (+65) as they lost by 22 chalks (168-190) despite winning 5-3 on games,

Finch Hill A (+30) comfortably turned over a 45-chalk handicap at home to Douglas C (+75) winning 8-0 on games to win by 27 chalks (198-171).

North Ramsey B (+40) hosted Noble’s A (+55) at Mooragh Park with the match finishing 4-4 on chalks, with the visitors holding on to progress, with the handicap coming into play as they won by seven chalks (174-181).