Trio at the top.
On Thursday 4th May Castletown A welcomed Ballaugh B to the Islands former Capital and the Southerners soon showed their intention of hanging on to their lead as they beat the men from Ballaugh 8-0.
Castletown’s B Team travelled in the other direction to play Ballaugh A and this time it was Ballaugh A who won 6-2 in a match which saw a close game between Bob Unsworth and Juan Kermode which Bob eventually won 21-19.
At the Villa Marina Douglas A played Douglas B with the A Team emerging as 6-2 winners with Arthur Ashcroft and Malcolm Black being the two winners for the B Team.
Nobles B travelled along the T.T Course to Marown where the Crosby men beat them 7-1 with Geoff Crellin being the only winner for Nobles by beating Steve Bridson 21-15.
The Nobles A side hosted Finch Hill and the home side took a 5-3 win in a match which could easily have gone either way as there were some very close games.
North Ramsey A beat Port St Mary B 6-2 while the North Ramsey B Team travelled to the South to play Port St Mary A and again the Southerners took the points with a 5-3 win while the other Northern Team South Ramsey hosted Port Erin and this time it was the Northerners who took the points with a 6-2 win.
Onchan B took on Peel Sunset A at Onchan Park and this ended in a hard fought 4-4 draw whilst the Onchan A side went to the Sunset City to take a 5-3 win from Peel Sunset B.
Game 11.
With League Leaders Castletown A having a bye for this game there was a chance for the chasing Teams to close the gap and by the end of the afternoon two of the top teams had done exactly that.
Onchan A were hosting Douglas B and the former men showed that they were determined to chase hard for the title this year as they beat the Douglas side 7-1 with Bob Banning being the only winner with a 21-20 victory over Colin Hinds. Vic Sewell of the Douglas B side needs credit for pushing Mike Thomas in their game with Vic who has just returned from illness played well to eventually lose 21-19.
Onchan B travelled the short journey to the Villa to play Douglas A and they brought ‘double trouble’ to the Douglas Club as they went back up the hill to Onchan with a 5-3 victory despite a spirited comeback in the second half by the men from the Villa.
Another ‘tip for the top’ this year are Nobles A and they travelled to Port Erin to take part in a match with some very close games but the Nobles A Team held their nerves despite pressure from Port Erin to eventually run out 6-2 winners with a score line that doesn’t appear to do justice to the Southerners.
Peel Sunset A hosted North Ramsey A and the home side put on a strong performance to win 6-2 while the Peel Sunset B side were visitors to the Mooragh Park where they beat North Ramsey B 5-3. The Westerners C Team visited Nobles Park B where they lost 6-2 with their two wins coming from Clyde Quine and Bert (the bowler) Quayle.
Elsewhere Ballaugh B put on a good show to get a draw at home to a strong Port St Mary A side while the Ballaugh A Team got the same result against Port St Mary B at Port St Mary.
A strong performance at home from Marown saw them take an 8-0 victory over Finch Hill and Castletown B beat South Ramsey 5-3.
So after a sunny afternoons bowls there were three teams equal on points at the top of the League with eighteen points, these being Castletown A, Nobles A and Onchan A who are then followed by Marown and Port St Mary A both on 16 points.
Ismay Cup
Wednesday the 3rd May saw the Round one of the Ismay Cup taking place and saw South Ramsey lose 4-5 to Port St Mary A while Nobles A defeated Marown 7-2. In the South Castletown B beat Peel Sunset B 7-2 whilst in Douglas the Douglas A side lost 7-2 to North Ramsey A.
Mini Cup
In the Quarter Finals of the Mini Cup Peel Sunset C lost 3-6 to Finch Hill and Port Erin beat Port St Mary B 5-4 whilst North Ramsey B beat Douglas B 7-2 and Onchan B beat Nobles B 6-3.