Defeat for merit leader

The Outdoor Winter Bowling Club, sponsored by Manx Petroleum, swung back into action last weekend after a brief Christmas break and saw defeat for the leader in the chase for the individual merit title.

Proceedings opened on Saturday when bottom side Bits n Bobs took on Erin Porters, a side looking to move into the top six and things went pretty much to form with the southerners dropping just eight points.

Also kicking off with a win were Louie’s Angels, who improved their average slightly with a four games to two victory over Bowl Rollers.

The two successful sides then doubled up when they swapped opponents – Porters getting the better of Rollers and Angels notching up the campaign’s 16thmaximum against a Bits side with only nine individual wins to their name.

Results for Saturday, January 5: Bits n Bobs 85 (2), Erin Porters 118 (4); Bowl Rollers 102 (2), Louie’s Angels 116 (4); Erin Porters 116 (3), Bowl Rollers 106 (3); Louie’s Angels 126 (6), Bits n Bobs 71 (0).

Sunday’s games had the top three competing, however next to bottom Castletown Corkers were not there just to make the numbers up and had a huge impact on events.

This was a repeat set of fixtures from October last year when both Corkers and third-placed Seven-Up had to take on the top two outfits and consequently left with two defeats apiece.

The overall outcomes were the same this time round, but the ‘big three’ left with less points, whilst Corkers improved their tally by 20, which helped them move closer to their stablemates.

Leaders Outsiders scored five less than in October, whereas Mooragh Lakers (second) were down 16 and Seven-Up minus 11, which ultimately saw them drop a position in the standings behind A-Team.

The afternoon also saw six of the leading 18 players in the individual merit lose a game each, with the biggest casualty of the session being overall leader Rob Monk (Lakers) who scored just nine points in a loss to Nathan Hamilton (Corkers).

This all leaves Helen Martin (Lakers) top of the merit contenders, just ahead of Mike Alexander (Outsiders) and Rebecca Teare (Angels).

In the league, Outsiders now have a 21 point margin over Lakers, with A-Team in third on average above Seven-Up, who themselves now have Louie’s Angels close behind in fifth.

Results for Sunday, January 6: Seven-Up 107 (2), Outsiders 122 (4); Castletown Corkers 88 (2), Mooragh Lakers 107 (4); Outsiders 115 (4), Castletown Corkers 94 (2); Mooragh Lakers 121 (5), Seven-Up 95 (1).

A gang of 38 welcomed in the new year at the first round robin of 2019 and had to be split into three groups, making for a very busy afternoon on the green.

The black jack triples winners were Steve Crampton, Jeff Wilson and Derek Clarke, with second going to Sefton Dent, Alan Moore and Tricia Bull.

Topping the red triples were Kevin Firth, Peter Karran and Ken Karran, ahead of Alec Taylor, Marg Tasker and Mark Kelly.

The pairing of Stefan Kelly and Sue Gawne won their section and beat Elaine Moore and Rita Callister into second spot.