Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

The final of the Jean Kelly was held at Onchan Bowling Club on Friday evening with the rain holding off for the evening, it was a much slower green than expected by the teams. There was a good crowd in attendance with fantastic support for both teams, which resulted in a great atmosphere around the green. With a neutral venue the handicaps were Castletown A (+17) and South Ramsey (+23) with South having just a six chalk start on their opponents not being a lot considering the huge gap between the teams in the league with Town starting the match as clear favourites to retain the title.

The first five games got underway with South Ramsey’s Gill Dixon undoubtedly a big game player storming home with a 21-9 win over Alison Kearsley, with the game finely balanced at 8-6 Dixon took 10 of the last 12 ends. Next off for South was Elaine Moore who similar to the first game, this was close as Moore led 10-9 against Sue Peach, to then run out with a 21-9 victory on a longer length. The third game off on the night was Jenny Moore who recovered from a slow start to beat Anne Oates 21-14.

Next off for South was captain Kim Hargraves who got off to a flier to lead 10-1 against Amanda Lawler, before the latter fought back to trail by one at 10-11. Hargraves kicked back into gear to go on another good run to win six of the last seven ends scoring four doubles on the way to claim a solid 21-11 win over Lawler.

The last game off from the first five games was Gill Morgan who played brilliantly, taking some good bowls off her opponent Hilary Kermode. With the game at 13-18 Morgan was counting with two good bowls only for Kermode to play a fantastic bowl to count. The game finished on the following end with Kermode taking a double to secure Town’s first win of the night and in doing so reduced the deficit to 39 chalks.

With the second half of the match underway South Ramsey had built a good lead, but were by no means home and dry, however South knew that 12 or more points from each player would be enough to seal the win with only four games left on the green.

Tracy Moore responded for Town with the biggest win of the night as she beat Fiona Kennish 21-6 to make things interesting, as this reduced the deficit to 24 chalks. The wins kept coming for Town with the next victory coming from captain Hannah Drewett who beat Lauren Groen 21-18, with Groen battling well to put her team one step closer to victory. The ever reliable Kath Kinley was next off with a 21-10 win over Jill Quayle, with Quayle performing well against a tough opponent.

The last game off for Town was Kim Foy with a 21-15 win over Sue Collier with the latter scoring five doubles on the night, this helped ensure that South Ramsey had scored enough points to seal the win by just four chalks (169-165). All of South Ramsey’s team contributed to their victory on the night and their third Jean Kelly title overall due to the match being played for on chalks. Huge credit must go to both teams who played their part for what was a thrilling final.

The presentation was made by Association President Sue Gawne, who introduced the Kelly Family who continue to support this competition and provided an excellent selection of refreshments to the players and supporters on the night. South Ramsey captain Kim Hargraves was then presented with the Shield. Hargraves thanked the Kelly family for the prizes and the refreshments, Onchan Bowling Club for hosting and congratulated her team on their performance whilst offering her commiserations to Castletown who had played their part in making it a fantastic final.