Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

The Isle of Man Team took part in the 2024 BCGBA Senior Supplementary County Championship which was held on Sunday at Florence BC in Stoke on a tricky green, which has some interesting marks with one particular section of the green known as the roundabout.

Drawn in Group 1, as expected the opposition was tough with North Midlands, Wales and Derbyshire awaiting.

In the first round of matches the eight man team were up against North Midlands, the team lost this match by 28 chalks (156-128) and 6-2 on games, with David Bradford winning 21-11 against Shane Day, whilst Paul Dunn beat Matt Horton 21-19. 

In their second round match Wales were the opposition, the team managed to draw 4-4 on games, however with matches decided on chalks it was Wales who won by 25 chalks (151-126). Neil Withers was the best winner as he won 21-13 against Robin Bennett, whilst Peter Jones, David Bradford, and Paul Dunn won 17, 18, and 19 against Ian Jones, Stefan Williams, and Owen Jackson respectively.

In their final match they faced Derbyshire who had all to play for, as they had won both their group games, they needed to beat the Isle of Man to ensure safe passage to the final. Against the toughest team in the group the Island held their own showing improvement with each game played as they lost by 15 chalks (153-138), which equates to less than two chalks a man. 

Individual wins arrived from Paul Dunn who made it three wins from three games played at number one in the order, as he beat Josh Furniss 21-18, whilst Peter Jones held off Conor Chamberlain to the same score. Picking up his second win was Neil Withers who won comfortably 21-13 against Steve Barber.

In Group 2 playing on Green 2 it was Shropshire who topped the table after games against Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cheshire as they beat all three teams to reach the final. 

The first half of the final took place on the number two green with Derbyshire adjusting well to the heavier of the two greens well as they won 3-1 on games against Shropshire to take a lead of 18 chalks back onto the green they had played all day. Whilst Shropshire did win two games on the much trickier number one green they were only able to claw back seven chalks as Derbyshire took the win by 11 chalks (143-132) whilst also winning 5-3 on games.

After solid performances the past two years, with the team playing on greens similar to those on the Island playing on a tricky green thiproved to be a tough test for the players.

The Isle of Man Team were managed by Phil Kerruish and assisted by Juan Kermode, thanks must go to both for their efforts selecting the squad, and for making all the arrangements for the trip.