Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

Despite the poor weather conditions, gusty winds and occasional heavy downpours, a strong field of 31 mixed pairs battled it out to lift the Lilian Slinger Trophy.

The first round saw the departure of the fancied pairing of Kim and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) narrowly beaten by Glenn Boland (Marown) and home player Madison McMullan 20-21. A tight game in the second round saw home favourites Rob and Janet Monk pipped at the post 20–21 by Sue Gawne (Noble’s) and Andy Kennish (Peel).

In the quarter final Jayne Smith and Walter McCarthy overcame Marown clubmates Neil Withers and Debbie Leece 21-20 whilst the surprise scratch home pairing of Katie Johnson and Joe Kneale finally met their match against Clare Cooper and Sid Bolton losing 13–21.

The first semi-final saw James Teare and Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) take a comfortable win against Clare Cooper and Sid Bolton 21–11 whilst the second semi-final saw Jayne Smith and Walter McCarthy tied at 16 each with Peter Jones and Lyn Bolton (Marown) after 16 ends. However, Peter and Lyn ran out 21–16 winners, winning the last five ends without reply.

The final between James Teare and Jenny Moore versus Peter Jones and Lyn Bolton was expected to be a cracker and did not disappoint. The latter pairing raced into a 17–10 lead after nine ends and the writing seemed to be on the wall for James and Jenny, however a run of 1, 1, 3, 1, and 2 shots on consecutive ends brought them back to lead 18–17 after 14 ends. One shot on the 15^th end for Peter and Lyn brought the score back to 18 across before three shots on the next end for James and Jenny saw them home as worthy winners of the trophy 21-18.

The competition was sponsored by Lilian’s family and the trophy and prizes were presented by Paul Slinger.