PlumbMaster Rayner Shield

The first semi-final on Wednesday evening was a blockbuster between hosts South Ramsey A and Marown A on a tricky green, which proved a challenge for the players. The first game off saw David Bradford stroll to a 21-2 win over Sam Clague. Neil Withers got Marown’s first victory on the board with a 21-17 win over Glynn Hargraves, with the former having led 11-5 and 16-12. Stefan Kelly made his second appearance of the season for the A team after his travels to earn a 21-19 win over Peter Jones, finishing the game strongly with two doubles having trailed 17-19. The last game of the first half saw Peter Collister build a 11-1 lead over Colin Kelly, with the Crosby man reducing the deficit to one chalk at 12-11, Collister managed to get another run of the jack to lead 18-12. The expected fightback from Kelly arrived, as he managed to set the game out with a 21-19 win to level the match 2-2 on games, however South Ramsey crucially held a 15-chalk lead.

The second half of the match saw Tom Kelly put Marown into a 3-2 lead with a win over Bob Clark, with the game finely poised at 7-7, a strong second half of the game saw Tom win 21-11. Dido Kelly came off with a second single figure victory of the night for the home team with a 21-9 win over Paul Kelly to level the match once more 3-3.

This left two games on the green with South holding a commanding 17-chalk lead, one more win would seal it for the hosts. Two fine performances from the Crosby men saw captain Paul Dunn overturn a 11-14 deficit to run out with a 21-16 win over John Kennish, leaving the match going to the wire as is often the case when these teams clash. Glenn Boland was in control of the game with Jordan Cain, leading 16-11, only for the latter to take the lead 17-16. A loose end was punished to the maximum by Boland picking up a two, with Cain levelling the game at 18-18. The South Ramsey man then forfeited the jack after failing to send the jack the minimum distance of 19 metres, with the Crosby man picking up a double and a single to secure a 21-18 win, and a 5-3 victory making the chalks irrelevant (144-135).

The second semi-final was played on Thursday between hosts Breagle Glen A and Marown B, in front of another good crowd with nervous spectators on the sidelines in another fascinating encounter.

Ewan Cooil rolled back the years to get win number one on the board for the home team beating Matthew Keggen 21-5, with John Gelling hitting back with a 21-7 win over Steve Durcan. Trevor Quayle took a comfortable 21-14 win over Stephen Rundle, with Marown captain Juan Killip swiftly squaring the match up on games with a 21-13 win over Tim Williams. At the halfway point just one chalk separated the sides with Breagle edging it (62-61).

In the second half of the match Breagle captain Chris Lever held a 11-8 lead over Phil Kelly, with the latter going on to finish strongly with a 21-12 win. Karl Parker got win number four for the Crosby men, similar to Kelly a strong finish to the game resulted in a 21-16 win over Mark Moorley.

With just two games left on the green, Breagle had to win the last two games to stand any chance of reaching the final, would also have to overturn a 13-chalk deficit, while Marown needed both players to score 30-chalks between them. Wayne Roberts got over the line 21-14 against Peter Greenlees, leaving Dan McCabe and Kevin Kelly on the green. A good run of ends with the jack had McCabe take a 15-10 lead along the edge of the green, the Breagle man was counting for one only for Kelly to trail the jack to count for two and start the fightback. Towards the end of the game, it became known the chalks were safe for Marown, with Kelly continuing to battle as he edged home 21-20 to seal an outright 3-5 victory for the visitors.

Marown A and Marown B will play each other in the final of the Rayner Shield on Friday 18^th July, with the venue to be decided.

PlumbMaster Rayner Plate

While the first Shield semi-final took place Castletown A (+15) took on their B Team (+35) in the Plate semi-final, with the A Team drawn away they had the advantage of sending the jack on the first end. In truth it was a comfortable win for the A Team as they overturned a 20-chalk deficit to win by 37-chalks to ensure safe passage to the Final of the Rayner Plate. Three single figure wins from Town captain Nathan Hamilton, Dean Kinley, and quarter final hero Kieran Krypner saw the higher ranked team progress. Winning for the B Team were Alan Phair, as he beat Nathan Cooil 21-18, with Ross Moore holding off Ian Watson 21-19.

On Thursday evening, it was another uneventful semi-final as Marown C (+25) were drawn at home to Peel C (+60), with the Crosby men losing just one game on the night as Jamie Joughin lost out 15-21 to James Lee. Two single figure wins from Peter Kelly and Walter McCarthy saw 30-chalks clawed back in these two games alone. Marown won by 25-chalks (187-162) to become the third Marown men’s night league team to reach a final this season.

Castletown A will play Marown C in the final on Friday 1^st August, with the venue to be confirmed, with the higher ranked Town men favourites to lift some silverware.

Canada Life International – League Action

With Marown A rearranging their match with Onchan A, South Ramsey A hit top spot by default in Canada Life International League Division One following their 8-2 home win over Peel A on a tricky green. Winning for Peel Gary Smith beat Peter Collister 21-14, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly held on to win 21-18 against Glynn Hargraves, having led 15-5. The next closest to picking up a win for Peel was Stevie Kelly who lost out 17-21 to Dido Kelly. For the home team Manx Champion David Bradford beat Pip Pemberton 21-5, whilst Jordan Cain won 21-7 against Andy Mackie.

Castletown A came away from Mooragh Park with a 4-6 win over North Ramsey A, edging the aggregate by two chalks (133-135). All four wins for the visitors were comfortable, whilst Allan Callow beat Jordan Drewett 21-18, the chalks scored by the latter helped his team get over the line.

Douglas A won 6-4 at home to Breagle Glen A, with the home team losing out in two close games, as Merv Sayle lost 19-21 to Dan McCabe, with Keith Rise defeated 17-21 by Wayne Roberts. Given the Breagle sides league position the four points would have been most welcome.

Marown B won 6-4 at home to South Ramsey B, with all four home wins being comfortable. John Gelling was the best winner for the Crosby men beating Christian Caley 21-5. For the visitors Tony Dugdale won 21-10 against Karl Parker, whilst Lee Dawson beat Marown captain Juan Killip 21-17.

In Division Two league leaders Ballaugh A suffered their first defeat of the season as they lost 6-4 away to Noble’s A in an unusual manner, as they won three games, but shared the chalks (147-147). Making the defeat even harder to take they lost three games 20-21, with Chris Pedley, Mark Dimsdale, and Edward Trustham losing to Dave Naughton, Martyn Hobson, and Jim Callister respectively.

Marown C took the opportunity to close the gap on the leaders as they beat Castletown B 8-2 at home, winning three games to single figures, and two close games 21-18 as Sid Bolton, and Darren Kerruish held off their opponents.

Finch Hill A bounced back from last week’s heavy defeat to beat Noble’s B 8-2, whilst Onchan B did enough to beat Peel B 4-6 in the Sunset City, taking the aggregate by seven chalks (139-146).

Breagle Glen B will be in better spirits as their 7-3 home win over closest rivals Douglas B consigned the Villa men to bottom place by four points.

In Division Three sitting in top spot are North Ramsey B who missed out on a maximum by just three chalks at home to Noble’s C following their 8-2 win, as Ray Skelly was pipped at the post 20-21 by Steve Colquitt, whilst Lee Christian fell short 19-21 to Jay Elliott.

Peel C kept in touch with the Mooragh men with a 7-3 home win over Breagle Glen C, with the home team featuring several improving players. Ballaugh B won 7-3 at home to Marown D, with both teams sharing a 21-20 victory.

South Ramsey C suffered a 3-5 home defeat, however two single figure wins from David Corkill and Jay Moore helped salvage a 5-5 draw to take the aggregate by seven chalks (146-139).

In Division Four Onchan C look uncatchable with a 23-point lead at the top following their 8-2 home win over Noble’s E.

Finch Hill B occupy second place, they lost ground on the leaders following their 7-3 away defeat to Castletown C, with the Town men winning three games to single figures.

Douglas C hosted South Ramsey D at the Villa, with the home team winning 7-3. Three of the home wins were to a 21-6 score line, whilst the visitors won two games to singles figures.

The final stages of the Canada Life International Manx Championship were played at Breagle Glen Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon, with the qualifying rounds having taken place the previous day, there was a healthy 64 entries. The last time the Championship was held in Port Erin in 2006 the final was contested between Paul Dunn and John Kennish, with the latter prevailing to win title number seven. Kennish is the current holder and has since gone on to win another five Championship titles.

As is always the case there were some casualties on the Saturday, with the draw being played down to the last 16, the target being to navigate safely through the early rounds to reach finals day.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Paul Dunn who lost out 19-21 to Marown teammate Tom Kelly, with the latter having led 12-3, Dunn turned the game around to lead 17-14. Kelly stepped up a gear to win four ends on the bounce scoring six chalks to lead 20-17, only to concede a double. With the game finely poised at 20-19 Tom capitalised on a bit of room to get the single chalk needed to secure a semi-final spot with a 21-19 win. The second quarter final saw John Kennish (South Ramsey) having to mix things up a little, with a determined Mark Moorley (Breagle Glen) going into the lead once again with the score at 12-11 after 19 ends. A solid finish to the game saw Kennish prevail 21-14.

In the bottom half of the draw, the two matches were more straightforward for both winners, as Colin Kelly (Marown) took a decisive 21-5 win over Andy Kennish (Peel), with the latter scoring five singles, whilst Kelly scored seven doubles. David Bradford (South Ramsey) also secured safe passage to the semi-final with a 21-6 win over Peter Slinger (Onchan), with the Ramsey man keeping his opponent down to six singles throughout the game.

The semi-finals saw three previous winners looking to add to their tally, with Tom Kelly hoping to secure his maiden Manx Championship title, as he faced 12-time winner and current holder Kennish, with the latter never going behind in the game, with the score at 13-9 to Kennish, he went on to win seven of the last eight ends to runout with a comfortable 21-10 win.

The other semi-final had the potential to go to the wire, it was seven-time champion Colin Kelly with a five-chalk lead (9-4) after 10 ends. From there two-time champion Bradford took the game by the scruff of the neck, whilst it took another 21 ends to finish the game Bradford got on a mark that had served him well in his previous two rounds, whilst only scoring one double, it was 15 singles that got the Ramsey man over the line with a comfortable 21-14 win to take his spot in the final.

The final got underway with approximately 100 spectators in attendance, for an all-South Ramsey final, it was Bradford who made a positive start scoring a two on the first end. John responded to win the next three ends as he moved around the green on a shorter mark. Scoring two singles and a double to lead 4-2. On the next end two good bowls and not much of a target left Bradford with no other option other than to try to break the end up, which he did to count for one. John scored a single on the next end, however Bradford got back in immediately, went on a six-end scoring run on a longer length to lead 11-5 after 12 ends.

The following end saw a good two from Kennish close the deficit to four chalks. On the next end Kennish opted for a longer mark in the same direction that he had favoured, putting up a good first bowl. Bradford was fast with his first bowl and with a bit of good fortune punched out John’s bowl, then played a good second bowl to count for two. Two singles from Kennish saw the deficit cut to four chalks once more at 9-13.

On the following end a good second bowl from Kennish, saw a reaching bowl from Bradford almost result in a double for the latter. Bradford went on to send the jack off the green, however this didn’t knock Bradford out of his stride, as his second bowl promoted his first bowl to count for one. Another two was secured on the 19^th end, with John just hitting the wrong side of the second counting bowl to give Bradford a commanding 17-9 lead.

A good lead from Bradford saw Kennish punch out Bradford’s bowl, going on to make two. Another single from Bradford was secured with a return of the favour as he punched out John’s lead with his first bowl, then John somewhat unluckily hit the gap between the jack and counting bowl. A loose end from Bradford saw the deficit close to five chalks at 13-18.

Two singles, both scored from a good first bowl saw Bradford go 20-13 ahead, the second end saw John hit another gap between the jack and counting bowl to runout.

Bradford headed for the mark that he had scored most of his points on throughout the day, with John picking up a good two, this put the score at 15-20. In the last chance saloon a bit of distance was required as John headed for the corners. A two picked up on the next end, was followed up with a single with a great second bowl from John saving the game.

The tension was starting to build with the score at 18-20, with Kennish heading back into the corner. A short first bowl from Kennish wasn’t beaten by Bradford, with Kennish just needing to correct his length, he looked to have a perfect second bowl coming in, however the pace just prevented the bias from coming into play as he went into Bradford’s short bowl to knock it in to count for game 21-18. This win was Bradford’s third Manx Championship title following successes in 2015 (Douglas), and 2022 (Ballaugh).

The presentation was made by Association competition secretary Matthew Keggen, who introduced IOMCCGBA President Hilary Kermode to present the prizes. In his speech Bradford thanked the Association for running the competition, went on to mention that he had only played in the competition as his son Kian had entered, and after a tough few weeks with his health, he had somehow got through two games on Saturday, and four games on Sunday afternoon. Without doubt this must go down as one of Bradford’s best achievements, following a tough run of games throughout the competition. The win also marked a first ever defeat in the final of the Manx Championship for Kennish having won all 12 finals that he had played in previously.

David and John will both compete in the Senior Individual merit at Dodworth BC, South Yorkshire on Saturday 26th July, with David also competing in the Champion of Champions at Owley Wood Recreation Club, Cheshire on Saturday 27th September.

After a week of Festival action league bowls returned this week, as the second half of the season got underway. Five of the six first division games saw 10 chalks or less settle the two points up for grabs on the aggregate.

 In Canada Life International Division One Marown A put clear daylight between themselves to lead by three points following the Crosby men’s 9-1 home win over Castletown A. Nathan Cooil prevented the whitewash as he performed well to beat Peter Jones 21-13. All seven of the home wins were comfortable for Marown, with Tom Kelly, Glenn Boland, and Phil Kelly taking 21-5 wins over Dean Kinley, Aaron Richardson, and Andy Clark respectively.

If there is such a thing as a disastrous win, then a 4-6 away win for South Ramsey A over bottom side Breagle Glen A sums it up. Winning for the home team were Trevor Quayle, who beat Peter Collister 21-6, Ewan Cooil got over the line 21-18 against Dido Kelly, with the latter having trailed 2-16. Steve Durcan won to the same score (21-18) against James Teare, with the former having led 12-4 before securing the win. The lone winner in the first half for the visitors was John Kennish who beat Dan McCabe 21-11.

The second half of the match saw South fightback, with Jordan Cain beating Tim Williams 21-12, Bob Clark held off Chris Lever 21-18, Mark Moorley got a fourth win for Breagle, as he beat David Bradford 21-16, whilst Glynn Hargraves just got home 21-17 against Wayne Roberts, with South Ramsey managing to edge the aggregate by a solitary chalk (141-142) with every point counting. Breagle can take heart from this performance, following the addition of two players at the halfway point to strengthen the ranks, this should see the home team climb the table in the second half of the season.

Peel A hosted Onchan A on Monday evening in the Sunset City, with another tussle between the teams going to the wire, as the visitors edged the aggregate by a chalk (135-136) to take home a 4-6 win. For the home team Stevie Kelly beat Steve Parker 21-8, with Will Penhallurick responding with a 21-9 win over Gary Smith. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat Reg Temporaza 21-15, whilst Andy Mackie beat Jamie Clague 21-18. For the visitors June Festival finalist Matthew Quirk had his first outing using two different bowls – this is permitted under the rules, provided both bowls are within a certain weight range. The Onchan man was up against opposing captain George Gadsby, with the Peel man putting up a good fight only for Quirk to prevail 21-18.

North Ramsey A hosted Marown B, it was the visitors who went home the happier of the two teams with a 3-7 victory, with the Crosby men winning the aggregate by 10 chalks (137-147). Jamie Box made his debut for Marown, on a green he would never have previously played on, losing out 18-21 to Allan Callow, whilst John Gelling held off David Callow. All players on the night reached double figures.

South Ramsey B slipped to a 3-7 home defeat against Douglas A, despite Tony Dugdale being the only single figure winner 21-7 against Ian Moore. Winning close games were Toby Hart 21-20 against Merv Sayle, Nick Firth responded for the Villa men to beat Christian Caley to the same score, whilst Keith Rise got over the line 21-19 against Lee Dawson.

In Division Two the closest game of the week was between hosts Onchan B and Noble’s A, it was the home team that edged home 6-4, thanks to winning the aggregate by just three chalks, as three games finished to 19, and a further two games went to 20.

Marown C clawed a point back on leaders Ballaugh A following their 1-9 away win over Douglas B. Ballaugh A are top by five points following their 8-2 home win over Breagle Glen B, as Nigel Tebay missed out on making it a 9-1 win for Ballaugh cruelly losing out 20-21 to Peter Hulley.

Castletown B may just have found some form, as they beat Finch Hill A 9-1 at the Crofts, with Stephen Oates once again winning for the visitors. Noble’s B just missed out on a whitewash at home to Peel B as Dean Sowerby lost 20-21 to Andrew Cover, however they won three games to 18, 19, and 19.

Division Three is starting to look like a three-horse race between South Ramsey C, Peel C, and North Ramsey B, with the latter slipping to a disastrous 3-7 home defeat to Ballaugh B.

Peel C missed the opportunity to hit top spot, as they occupy second place, just one point back on North Ramsey B following their hard fought 4-6 away win over Marown D, taking the aggregate by 12 chalks (130-142).

South Ramsey C were the biggest winners of the week with a timely 0-10 away win over Breagle Glen C, however they had to battle for four of the wins to 17, 17, 18, and 20, with the 21-20 win going to Paul Routledge over Terry Collister.

In Division Four league leaders Onchan C picked up 14 points this week, as they played a rearranged fixture beating nearest rivals Finch Hill B 6-4 at home, having won 2-8 away to Peel D earlier in the week.

Finch Hill B just missed out on a full house, with a 9-1 home win over Douglas C. Rob Tomlinson prevented the whitewash with a 21-19 win over David Holmes.

Douglas D had a good week thanks to their 7-3 home win over Castletown C, taking the aggregate by 17 chalks (138-121), whilst Noble’s E came away with an identical 3-7 win, also by 17 chalks (132-149) over North Ramsey C.

The ever-popular pre-festival Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday attracting an entry of 84 bowlers, matching the 2023 entry, made up of locals and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in good condition, with the pace of the green picking up throughout the day following the recent downpours. The competition had a new sponsor on board with JRH Plumbing and Heating supporting the event.

At the quarter final stage Ricky Cochrane (Kirkham) held on to beat former winner Charlie Roberts (Dukinfield Central) 21-19, whilst Colin Price (Dukinfield Central) beat Josh Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood) 21-16. 

In the other half of the draw Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) led 19-11 against Neil Wright (Kirkham), with the latter fighting back to 17-19, however Kelly managed to see the game out with two singles to win 21-17. Chris Heyes (Dukinfield Central) took on home greener Nathan Hamilton, with the latter having played a great bowl on the deciding end against Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to take his place in the quarter finals 21-20. Heyes took a 14-7 lead, eventually went on to win 21-15 against the last home greener.

At the semi-final stage, it was the end of the road for Cochrane, with Price never trailing in the game, as the latter won 21-17 to book his spot in the final. The other semi-final was even closer as Kelly had to dig deep to get over the line 21-19 against Heyes.

The final saw two players with different game plans, as Kelly preferred to play up to the crown, whilst Price opted for the longer length in the corners. With neither player able put up a good lead bowl in the early part of the game, it was Price who made the first move to lead 17-12 after 11 ends.

A change in game plan arrived when Kelly got in on the 12^th end, as he won four consecutive ends in the corners to close the deficit to one chalk at 16-17. A timely two, followed by a single for Price put the visiting bowler within touching distance of the trophy, however Kelly got back in to pick up a single. On the next end Price was confident he had bowled the winner, singled for one shortly after sending his bowl with this coming back to haunt him, as his bowl just hung out wide. When given some gentle banter from some of his mates Price replied that he was thinking about the next end, so it proved, as a great last bowl from Price, saw him get over the line 21-18, as Price took home the famous trophy for the first time and the first prize of £400, whilst the South Ramsey man could console himself with £200 for his efforts on the day.

The presentation was made by Competition Secretary Nathan Hamilton who thanked the sponsors JRH Plumbing and Heating for sponsoring the competition, the ladies for the refreshments and Kath Kinley for the great work in the competition hut. Castletown Bowling Club President Hilary Kermode then introduced the sponsor James Hinchliffe to present the prizes. Upon accepting the trophy Colin commented that he had been coming to the Island for 49 years, since 1976, and that it was the first competition that he had won on the Isle of Man, also stated that this competition was his favourite day of the week.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday afternoon, in what is traditionally the first of the pre-festival opens with a healthy entry of 62 matching the 2024 entry. With heavy thunderstorms and lightning in the morning, the green was deemed playable with bursts of rain throughout the afternoon, however all 62 entrants turned up to play. The competition was sponsored by George Brew and CEF also on board this year.

At the quarter final stage Matthew Quirk (Onchan) beat Steve Barber (Grapes) after finishing the game strongly scoring six doubles on his way to a 21-15 win. Nick Wyer (Penn) was 19-19 with Paul Dunn (Marown) only for the latter to finish the game with a two to progress to the semi-final 21-19.

In the other half of the draw Reece Farr (Penn) seen off Andy Kennish (Peel) 21-16, whilst the last home greener Alan Moore put paid to the challenge of Joe Dicken (Woodfield) 21-14.

Both winners of the semi-finals ended up with comfortable wins as Quirk trailed 6-12, and 13-15 to Dunn who was the current holder having won the competition for the past two years, with the former running out to win 21-15. Moore managed to build up a healthy 16-8 lead over Farr, as the latter fought back only to lose out 16-21.

The final saw neither player able to win more than two consecutive ends in the early stages, it was Quirk who led by two chalks after nine ends at 13-11. Moore went on to win seven of the next eight ends playing the corners to go within touching distance of his first win in this competition, however two doubles from Quirk cast a shadow of doubt on the outcome, however a single was enough for Moore to lift the trophy, along with the £350 first prize, whilst Quirk took home £150 for his efforts. This was also Moore’s third singles open competition win overall having previously lifting the Autumn Shield and Dreswick Cup.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey club member Glynn Hargraves, who thanked the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition. Thanks were given to long term sponsor George Brew, along with Richard Butler from sponsor CEF who presented the prizes.