Jim Senior

Report by John Kennish

The Jim Senior 4 a side mixed team event was held at South Ramsey Bowling Club on Sunday and attracted what turned out to be a good entry of 13 teams.

The format of the competition meant that matches consisted of each team fielding two singles players and a doubles pairing with the combined aggregate score determining the winners. There was a slight twist this year as every team that progressed was given the option of changing the batting order of their team for the next game.

The team consisting of John Kennish, Elaine Moore, Fiona Kennish and Alan Moore came out on top after an extremely close and exciting final against Tony Dugdale, David Thomas, Nigel Thomas and Ben Dugdale. All three games started at the same time, with John Kennish coming off first with a 21-11 win against Tony Dugdale, putting his team 10 chalks in front. David Thomas reduced the deficit to 7 chalks after securing a 21-18 win against Elaine Moore. This left the doubles game on the green with the score at 19-13 to Ben Dugdale and Nigel Thomas. With Dugdale and Thomas lying the two chalks they needed to win their game and the final, Alan Moore played a great bowl deep in the corner to count one, only to see Dugdale play a superb running bowl to take it out. Under pressure with his last bowl, Moore produced an exact replica of his first to save game. An absolute “wonder wood” by Moore and bowl of the day without question. Fiona Kennish led out the next end trailing 14-19 with the final hanging in the balance. With Kennish and Moore needing to get to 15 to win the match they managed to score a double and therefore gain the chalk they and their team needed. Dugdale and Thomas closed the match out at the next end to win 21-16, which meant that the team from South Ramsey triumphed 55 – 53.

In the semi finals the Kennish and Moore team beat Lyn Bolton, Trevor Quayle, Sid Bolton and Casey Bolton 56-51 in what was another close encounter and in the other semi final, the Dugdale and Thomas team eliminated Jenny Moore, James “Earl” Teare, Shelley Kennish and Lauren Groen by the score of 62-53.

At the conclusion of the event the prizes were presented by Moira Anderson, President of South Ramsey Bowling Club.

It was great to see such a good turnout of players for this event with 52 bowlers competing on the day, which included new bowlers and also some more experienced bowlers playing competition bowls for the first time.