South Ramsey man – the current Manx Champion David Bradford performed brilliantly in one of the top events on the bowls calendar on Saturday in the British Crown Green Bowling Association’s Senior Merit, winning four games to reach the semi-finals against a top quality field.

In his first outing Bradford was up against Jonathan Lacey (North Lancs & Fylde) as he battled to a 21-17 win.

In the second round Bradford took a comfortable 21-12 win over Lee Kington (Warwick & Worcester), having led 10-1 he matched his opponent point for point from there.

Playing his third game of the day, the South Ramsey performed brilliantly to out-perform top bowler Paul Dudley (Greater Manchester) 21-14.

Reaching the quarter final stage was an achievement in itself, Bradford found himself trailing by five chalks at 7-12, however he wasn’t done there with a strong performance in the second half of the game to reach the semi-finals courtesy of a 21-16 win over Mark Orme (North Midlands).

In the semi-finals Bradford came up against an in form Derbyshire man Dan Petcher, with the latter taking a 21-10 win to book his place in the final. In the other semi-final Gareth Coates (Yorkshire) advanced to the final with a 21-16 over Chamberlain.

Bradford should be proud of his efforts as he joined an elite group with John Kennish reaching the final in 2003, only to lose to Gary Ellis at Rylands in Warrington, while Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, also reached the semi-final back in 2005 in Barrow only to lose out to Shropshire man Peter Farmer.

In the final Coates was too good for Petcher as a 21-13 win secured his first BCGBA Senior Merit title.

Isle of Man representative Colin Kelly (Marown) fell at the first hurdle losing out 16-21 to regular Isle of Man Festival visitor Conor Chamberlain (Derbyshire), as did South Ramsey’s John Kennish 17-21 to Stuart Tipping (North Lancs & Fylde).

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Nobles Cup Men’s Doubles on Saturday afternoon with 31 pairs taking part. The competition was sponsored by Atla Group.

Losing out in the quarter finals were home greeners Jim Callister and Steve Cain to Marown pair Paul Kelly and Matthew Keggen 13-21. Les Brookes and Brian Lindsay (Finch Hill/Marown) lost 12-21 to Peter Jones and Glenn Boland (Marown). In the bottom half of the draw Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (Marown) beat Peel pair Ross Menton and Mikey Cawte 21-10, while Noble’s pair Dean Sowerby and Steve Brennan beat club mates Steve Hampson and John Andrew 21-20.

An all Marown tussle was won by Jones and Boland 21-18 against Kelly and Keggen, while Dunn and Withers ended the home hopes of Sowerby and Brennan 21-9.

The final was over in 18 ends as Dunn and Withers led 15-9 after eight ends. Five chalks picked up by Jones and Boland saw the deficit close to one chalks picked at 14-15. Dunn and Withers were made to work for every point as six singles secured a 21-16 victory.

The presentation was made by Lisa Bradshaw on behalf of sponsors Atla Group, with prizes paid down to the quarter finals.

In Canada Life International League Division One Breagle Glen A hosted North Ramsey A on Monday evening with games running out for the Southern team to claw their way out of danger, they crushed the visitors 9-1 to lift themselves off the bottom of the table to hit the 50-point mark. This was only the home sides second win of the season, was quite timely with just four games left to play. Wayne Roberts picked up his 10^th win of the season with a solid 21-10 win against Mooragh captain Rob Monk. Despite playing just half of the season Ewan Cooil sits third in the Breagle merit after picking up his fifth win from seven games as he beat former home greener Tom Collins 21-17, a result matched by Steve Durcan against David Kinrade. The lone winner for the visitors was Steve Walmsley whose 21-11 win over Breagle captain Chris Lever was never in doubt.

South Ramsey B had a tough fixture away to league champions Marown A, the visitors managed to pick up just one win as Lee Dawson beat Tom Kelly 21-12. Helping the home team to a 9-1 win, four games finished to single figures with Paul Dunn, Neil Withers, Peter Jones, and Glenn Boland all winning without breaking sweat.

The closest match of the week was between Onchan A and Marown B at the Park, with the home team winning 6-4 taking the aggregate by 12 chalks (151-139). Matthew Quirk got back to winning ways with a 21-9 win over Stephen Rundle, Reg Temporaza got over the line 21-20 against Karl Parker, while the Crosby men won two games 21-18, as John Gelling beat Peter Slinger, while Jamie Joughin held off Steve Parker.

On a vastly improve Peel green, it will be no coincidence that their home results are improving, following a 7-3 win over Castletown A. That said three games were won to 17, 18, and 19, as Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat Ian Watson, Ste Kelly beat Dean Kinley, and Gary Smith won the closest game against Aaron Richardson. Winning for the visitors were Kieran Krypner, who continues to improve each week, Nathan Cooil, and veteran George Foy who stepped up from the B team.

South Ramsey A beat Douglas A 10-0 at home to pick up their first 10-0 of the 2025 season, with Glynn Hargraves beating Ian Moore 21-1, with the latter winning the first end, as Hargraves went on a 21 break. John Kennish won 21-4 against Keith Rise, while Jordan Cain was pushed to 17 by Dave McCabe, as the visitors scored just 90 chalks.

In Division Two Ballaugh A sacrificed top spot following a disastrous 7-3 away defeat to Noble’s B, who would have enjoyed the opportunity to damage the Ballaugh men’s promotion hopes. Winning big for the home team were Steve Cain, who won 21-3 against Tony Quine, while Steve Brennan beat Mike Spooner 21-4.

Marown C hit top spot by two points on 99 points for the season, as they beat Breagle Glen B 8-2 at home. Peter Kelly led the way for the Crosby men with a 21-8 win over Nicholas Peterson, while Rod Swift and Ed Benson won for Breagle.

Douglas B gave themselves some breathing room at the bottom end of the table, as they won 9-1 at home to Onchan B. Dave Pease was the lone loser 17-21 to Mark Kelly. For the Villa men single figure wins arrived from Steve Cook and William Cowley, Stuart Garrett and Bob Callow were pushed to 17, while Steve Gregg got over the line 21-20 against Neil Richmond.

Finch Hill A won 8-2 at home to Noble’s A, with Stephen Oates and Shay Waterworth winning to single figures, while Kevin Stannard beat Martyn Hobson 21-20. Winning for Noble’s Jim Callister 21-7, while Stephen Corkill won 21-17 against Pat Maher.

Castletown B couldn’t make home advantage count as they lost 2-8 against Peel D, as John Holden and Patrick Cooper were the two winners for the home team.

In Division Three North Ramsey B still lead the way following their 3-7 away win over Breagle Glen C. Noble’s D beat their higher ranked C team 7-3, however just six chalks separated the teams (135-129), as two heavy wins for the C team couldn’t stop the D from picking up the aggregate.

The closest match in the third division was between South Ramsey C and visitors Peel C, who drew 4-4 and managed to edge the aggregate by two chalks (141-143) to take a 4-6 win back to the Sunset City. The closest game on the night was between James Moore and Stuart Morrison with the Ramsey man edging it 21-20.

Ballaugh C drew 4-4 at home to Marown D. The Crosby men went home the happier of the two teams, as they took the aggregate by 10 chalks (127-137) for a 4-6 win, as the teams shared a 21-5 win each.

Runaway leaders Onchan C took their turn to sit out this week, are still 20 points ahead of the chasing pack in Division Four.

Douglas D hosted South Ramsey D, with the home team taking an 8-2 win. Winning for the visitors were Geoff Collier who beat David Manley 21-11, and Junior bowler Kian Bradford who picked up league win number five of the season with a superb 21-11 win against Warren Molesworth. Continuing the Junior trend young Clark Kelly knocked Frank Feeney off the top of the merit board, inflicting a first league defeat of the season on the South Ramsey captain 21-18. A special mention must go to 12-year-old Erik Lumb, who was playing just his third league fixture ever, having faced experienced bowlers in his first two fixtures, Lumb caught the eye of the current Manx Champion and number one ranked bowler, who witnessed a superb display from the left hander who won his first ever game in style with a 21-5 win over Ian Kermode. One to watch for the not-so-distant future. If I could give any advice to our junior bowlers, it would be practice, practice, and practice some more. Get in club competitions, open competitions, as it will stand you in good stead in the future.

Finch Hill B couldn’t fully capitalise on the opportunity to close the gap as they won 4-6 away to Peel D, taking the aggregate by six chalks (134-140), as new merit leader Tony Epifani won 21-5 against Rob Lucas-Kneen.

North Ramsey C slipped to a 2-8 defeat at home to Douglas C, with Juan Readshaw winning 21-3 against Steve Taylor, while Greg Tomlinson beat Euan Christian 21-9. Responding for the Mooragh men Adam Greenwood beat Greg Brew 21-8.

Noble’s E won 7-3 at home to Castletown C, in a match that had three 21-20 results, with the home team winning two as Lee Cain and David Karran beat Chris Palmer and Jacob Robert respectively. For Town Ray Harris was their 21-20 winner against Chris Kirkman.

The eagerly awaited Plumbmaster Limited Rayner Shield final between Marown A and Marown B was held at Onchan Bowling Club on Friday evening. The draw took place ahead of the match, with plenty of potential banana skins for the higher ranked team, who were missing their captain Paul Dunn. There was a healthy crowd in attendance to watch events unfold with good support for both teams. League leaders Marown A were the clear favourites on the night, however the lower ranked team would have been hoping to pull off a huge upset.

First off the green for the A was Tom Kelly, who having faced younger brother Kevin a number of times, it was the younger sibling who had prevailed on each occasion. Tom didn’t give Kevin a sniff in the game, as he built a 14-6 lead, then went on to finish the game 21-11 to put the A team 1-0 up in the match.

Game two off the green made it 2-0 as Dean Kipling did not display any signs of rustiness, as he beat Stephen Rundle 21-12, keeping the latter down to 12 singles, while picking up five doubles himself.

Game three was keenly contested throughout between Paul Kelly and Phil Kelly, it was Paul who prevailed having trailed in the game on several occasions before getting over the line 21-17.

For the B to have any chance of winning they needed a win in the first half of the match, it was Peter Greenlees the 2020 Rayner Shield hero for Peel who came closest to doing so against Neil Withers, with the former having trailed 3-11, Greenlees, got ahead 20-19, only for Withers to hold his nerve to get over the line 21-20 to put the A team 4-0 ahead at the halfway point of the match, with a 23 chalk lead.

In the second half of the match it became a case of who would officially seal the win by getting the fifth game on the board, it was Glenn Boland who picked up a solid 21-11 win against Matthew Keggen, while Boland’s doubles partner Peter Jones swiftly followed with a win to the same score against Karl Parker.

Game seven saw super sub Sam Clague defeat B team captain Juan Killip 21-15, this left one game on the green – Colin Kelly against John Gelling, with the match a dead rubber, there would be no doubting that Kelly would want to win, however Gelling managed to prevent an 8-0 whitewash as held off Kelly 21-19.

The presentation was made by Brian Kelly, who thanked Plumbmaster for sponsoring the competition, Onchan Bowling Club for the use of the green. The Rayner Shield was presented to stand in Marown captain Neil Withers, who congratulated the B team on reaching the final, who had put up a spirited performance. This is Marown’s 17th win in this competition, their first win in the final since 2018.

Plumbmaster Rayner Shield Final Results