The Islands premier doubles competition the Plumbmaster Doubles Championship was held at Finch Hill Bowling Club on Sunday. The competition was played 21up off a handicap of +3 for all competitors. The event was well supported with 31 pairs entering in a bid to win the coveted title, an increase of two pairs on the 2024 entry.

At the quarter final stage John Kennish and David Bradford (South Ramsey) were too good for Dean Kinley and Stefan Kelly (Castletown/South Ramsey), with the latter only scoring two points, the game was over in just 10 ends. An all-Marown clash took place as Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly led 16-7 against Phil Kelly and John Gelling, were counting for four, however a single scored by Kelly and Gelling saw them eventually close the deficit to 18-20, with Keggen and Kelly getting over the line 21-18.

In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves and Jamie Box (South Ramsey/Marown) quickly went into a 12-5 lead after five ends over Peter Greenlees and Pip Pemberton (Marown/Peel), scoring heavily early on. Incredibly this was the last end of anything more than a one, as the next 11 ends were all singles, with Hargraves and Box winning nine ends to see the game out comfortably 21-7. The Hart Brothers – Austin and Toby (South Ramsey) battled well against the Breagle Pair Wayne Roberts and Trevor Quayle, who had earlier knocked out the winners from the past five years, Neil Withers and Paul Dunn (Marown), with the Breagle men level at 18-18, a three got them over line 21-18 to book their spot in the semi-final.

In the semi-finals Kennish and Bradford made light work of Keggen and Kelly , with the latter pair winning just four ends, scoring four singles, while the South Ramsey pair won 11 ends, as a longer length mark paid dividends just as it did in the semi-finals.

The other semi-final was a comfortable 21-12 win for Hargraves and Box, who had preferred a straight peg over a fair distance falling off the edge of the crown, as Roberts and Quayle struggled to get a foothold in the game.

The final got underway with Kennish and Bradford having won the title for the first four years looking to get their fifth win to match Withers and Dunn, they would undoubtedly have started as favourites to win. On the first end Kennish planted a great lead, which was immediately beaten by Hargraves, however Bradford ensured that a positive start was made on the first end with a double. As Kennish headed for the corner Hargraves and Box scored a three, which they repeated on the following end. A double from the South Ramsey pair closed the deficit to two chalks at 7-9.

Hargraves and Box picked up two doubles of their own in between conceding a single to lead 13-8 after seven ends. The match got turned on its head over the next six ends as Kennish and Bradford made their move with a change of tactics from Kennish, as he opted for a short round peg mark which almost paid off with the pair counting for four a great last bowl from Box saved three chalks. A two on the next end took the score to 12-13. Hargraves played two good bowls on the next end as he dialled back in to the match, however Bradford saved one. A single in the corner saw Kennish and Bradford head for distance once more, as they picked up a good three to lead 17-15.

Kennish went short once more, with Hargraves playing a toucher with his second bowl. Disaster struck as Box played up trying to sit out Kennish’s nearest bowl and the block was sprung to leave them lying three down. Box immediately redeemed himself, just getting in with a glance off the nearest counting bowl to leave the game finely poised at 16-17. Two good bowls from Hargraves and one from Box on the following end saw Bradford save one with his last bowl as the score went 18-17 to the South/Marown pair. On the following end, a change of peg from Hargraves on the round peg with his second bowl left the pair counting for one, as Box trailed the jack to make the route in to the jack tough as his bowl followed through with it. A good second bowl from Box made a counting second. Bradford played a reaching bowl, just getting on the high side as he was unlucky to tip in Hargraves’ bowl for game, with a 21-17 win. Hargraves and Box were just the third different winners of this trophy, with Kennish and Bradford winning it for the first four years, with Withers and Dunn winning it for the past five years.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee member Steve Moore, who thanked Finch Hill Bowling Club for providing refreshments throughout the day, everyone who had helped with the smooth running of the competition and those who had entered.

Storm Floris featured in Canada Life International League Division One on Monday evening resulting in difficult bowling conditions across the Island. Second placed Marown A bounced back from the previous week’s disaster, as they were at home to Breagle Glen A, winning 9-1 with the visitors managing to pick up a point as Ewan Cooil’s 21-4 win over Phil Kelly was never in doubt. The Breagle men would have been hoping for another game or two more to ease their relegation worries with the blustery lottery like conditions, with Trevor Quayle losing out 19-21 to Paul Dunn, while Mark Moorley and Tim Williams lost 17-21 to Glenn Boland and Paul Kelly respectively. The Crosby men secured two single figure wins from Peter Jones (21-4) against Chris Lever, while Tom Kelly beat Steve Durcan 21-7.

South Ramsey A continue to press ahead with their unexpected lead, which was extended to four points thanks to a third consecutive 10-0 win, as they come into form at the business end of the season. Castletown A were the visitors, despite the result the Rayner Plate winners put in a good effort, with all games reaching double figures the Town men could have snatched two games with two 18-21 losses. South captain Glynn Hargraves recovered from an 8-12 deficit against Ian Watson to see the game out. Bob Clark won to the same score against Dean Kinley, with the latter having led 18-13, four consecutive doubles for Clark sealed the comeback, kept the Ramsey man at the top of individual merit with John Kennish hot on his heels.

Peel A won 8-2 at home to bottom side South Ramsey B who did manage to close the deficit on Breagle to a point, with Stefan Kelly beating Gary Smith 21-4, while Alan Moore won 21-9 against Andy Mackie. Losing out in close games were Austin Hart 17-21 to Tommy McMeiken, while Tony Dugdale was pipped at the post 19-21 by Pip Pemberton.

Onchan A were two chalks shy of a 10-0 victory at home to North Ramsey A, with Tom Collins preventing the whitewash with a 21-19 win over Mike Alexander. Next closest to picking up a win was Mooragh captain Rob Monk, who lost out 19-21 to Kevin Quirk. Neil Dunwell was the best winner as he beat Joe Kneale 21-7, while Peter Slinger won 21-9 against John Cannan.

Douglas A matched the previous week’s 8-2 home win, this time over Marown B. Karl Parker won 21-20 against Shaun Seal for the visitors, while Jamie Box beat Nick Firth 21-12. Losing out in close games for the Crosby men were Peter Greenlees 17-21 to Ian Moore, while Kevin Kelly lost out 18-21 to Villa captain Merv Sayle. Two 21-9 wins for the home team arrived from Andy Cannell and Gordy Wynne-Smythe against Juan Killip and Jamie Joughin.

In Division Two Ballaugh A struggled on their travels with a heavy 8-2 defeat to Castletown B, which could well consign them to another season of second division bowls. Just 10 chalks separated the teams (153-143) with the home team holding their nerve in the close games. Ross Moore beat Mike Spooner 21-20, Juan Drinkwater held off Steve Grant 21-19, while David Quayle beat Ed Trustham 21-18. Mark Saunders won 21-16 against Phil Quayle, while Junior bowler Sam Quayle had a more comfortable 21-16 victory against Chris Pedley. Winning for the visitors were Patrick Grant 21-12 against namesake Patrick Cooper, while Tony Quine beat Dave Evans 21-15.

Marown C played their fixture on Tuesday evening in fairer conditions knowing a good win at home to Peel B would give them a healthy advantage to take into the final two games of the season. Crosby captain Walter McCarthy kept himself in the hunt for the Division Two individual merit with his 21-15 win as the home team won 7-3 to establish a five-point lead with just two fixtures left to play. Darren Kerruish was the only single figure winner on the night 21-7 against Colin Moore. Winning for the visitors were Andrew Cover 21-15 against Peter Kelly, while Denzil Smith beat Steve Rough 21-11.

Third placed Noble’s A managed to sneak home with a 3-7 away win over Breagle Glen B, taking the aggregate by just two chalks (131-133) despite winning 5-3 on games with visiting captain Alex Yates continuing his quest for the individual merit with a 21-15 win over Ben Mowle. Mark Bradshaw’s 21-20 win over Derek Cain proved pivotal to the result as a win to the Breagle man would have changed the result from a 7-3 win into a true draw – 4-4 on games and the aggregate shared between the teams for a 5-5, which shows the fine margins.

Noble’s B won 7-3 at home to Douglas B, winning the aggregate by seven chalks (149-142). Five games finished to 17 or over as evidence of a keenly contested match. Andy Greggor beat Bob Callow 21-20, as the teams shared a 21-17 victory each, also sharing a 21-18 win each. Steve Cook was the only single figure winner as he beat Steve Cain 21-9.

Finch Hill A suffered a rare home defeat, losing out 2-8 at home to Onchan B. Winning for the home team were Pat Maher 21-13 against Neil Taylor, while Shay Waterworth beat Derek Allen 21-19. Losing three close games for the home team were Mark Taylor, Kevin Stannard, and Kevin Anderson to 17, 18, and 20.

Division Three looks to be going to the wire. North Ramsey B are still top after taking their turn to sit out the latest round of fixtures which gave Peel C the opportunity to close the gap to a point following their 8-2 home win over third placed Ballaugh B to give them an 11-point lead over their opponents, with the gap five points at the start of play.

Ballaugh C put the final nail in the coffin for Breagle Glen C, with the visitors 17 points behind with one game left to play, the Breagle men will ply their trade in Division Four next season assuming there is no major league restructure over the winter. The Ballaugh men won 8-2, keeping the visitors to an average of 11 chalks each. Four single figures winners for the home team arrived from Stephen Swift, Dicky Watson, Peter Corlett, and Gary Griffiths.

South Ramsey C won 7-3 at home to Noble’s C in a keenly contested game with all matches reaching double figures, however there were no games that anyone could argue could have gone the other way as the winning scores ranged from 11-16 for both teams. 16 chalks separated the teams with South Ramsey taking the aggregate (145-129).

Noble’s D won 7-3 at home to Marown D, with Stephen Hampson beating Eddie Rough 21-1, while three other home wins were close as Terry Bates and Grahem Moore won 21-17 against Andy Sykes and Brian Cain respectively, while Mark Quinn beat Steve Wilson 21-18. For the visitors Ken Bawden’s 21-19 win against Rob Bell was the closest match of the night.

Division Four saw Onchan C stroll to a 9-1 win at home to Castletown C, with Junior Freddie Palmer once again the hero for Town as he beat Peter Johnstone 21-13.

South Ramsey D (pictured) were away to Noble’s E on the number two green, it was a tough night for the visitors as they lost 8-2. Paul Cain and Bryan Kennaugh were single figures winners for the home team, while Andy Cain damaged South captain Frank Feeney’s individual merit hopes with a 21-18 win. Winning for the visitors were Steve Kelly 21-12 against David Karran, and Geoff Collier 21-19 against Matthew McKeoun.

Elsewhere Douglas D won 8-2 at home to Peel D, despite the Villa men being a player short, they lost one other game as James Teare (Senior) just lost out 20-21 to Ash Leece. North Ramsey C won 8-2 at home to Finch Hill B, however just eight chalks separated the teams (148-140). Tony Epifani kept his individual merit hopes in place with a 21-5 win over Euan Christian.

The final of the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate took place on Friday evening at Noble’s Park in ideal bowling conditions between first division side Castletown A (+30) and second Division side Marown C (+40), who have won the title on three occasions in 2017, 2019, and 2021. The Town men’s one and only success in this competition was in 1998, when they beat Port St Mary B on their home green by 19 chalks, when the final used to be played on the teams green that was drawn out first. Interestingly this was the last occasion that the final was contested this way, as from 1999 the final of the Plate competition has been played on a neutral green.

Castletown started as favourites as they ply their trade one division above Marown, with the latter team having a 10 chalk start on the night, they are currently occupying top spot in Division Two, as they look to make an immediate return to Division One.

The evening started positively for Town as Dean Kinley had the Crosby men’s most experienced player Peter Kelly, with the former impressed as he kept his opponent to nine singles, as Kinley scored seven doubles on his way to a 21-9 win. The next game off saw Jordan Drewett finish the game strongly to run out with a 21-14 win over Jamie Joughin. John Kelly picked up Marown’s first win and clawed some chalks back as he beat Ian Watson 21-14. The last game off in the first half of the match saw the most inexperienced player Kieran Krypner once again prove he is the man for the big occasion, as he displayed a great attitude, matched by his performance to seal a 21-15 win over Darren Kerruish.

At the half way point Castletown had won three of the four games and turned a 10-chalk deficit on the handicap into an eight chalk lead (107-99). This left all to play for in the second half of the match.

First game off in the second half saw Aaron Richardson put in a solid performance in the second half of the game to beat Dan Smith 21-13, with the latter having led 12-8, the Town man only conceded one more chalk. The 16-chalk lead held by Town was swiftly reduced to just two chalks as Walter McCarthy put in a captains innings to beat Andy Clark 21-7. Just as things had got interesting with just two games left on the green Town captain Nathan Hamilton ‘brought home the bacon’ as he got over the line 21-17 against Brian Kelly. Despite the win being sealed for Town this did not deter Marown’s Steve Rough from recovering from a 16-19 deficit against David Quayle, as the Town man had already scored enough chalks to play his part in the win. Rough hit a great strike to score a single to, then scored a double to get over the line 21-20.

The win was secured for Castletown by five chalks (176-171) as the Town men etched their name onto the trophy for the second time, in a final that was well contested throughout the Town men deservedly edged it.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee Secretary Matthew Keggen who thanked Noble’s for hosting the final, along with providing measurers and the refreshments. Town Captain Nathan Hamilton was then presented with the trophy, he congratulated his team on their performance and offered his commiserations to Marown.