Author Archives: Glynn Hargraves

Marown A Drop Vital Home Points to Peel B

South Ramsey B prior to their match with Finch Hill A on Friday evening

Photo: Gemma Lloyd-Jones

In Ellan Vannin Fuels Division One fixtures were put back to Wednesday evening due to the Bank Holiday on Monday, with some teams making an early start to allow players to get home to watch the big game!

Third placed Marown A hosted Peel B at Crosby, the home team whilst winning 7-3 would have been disappointing to drop three points with Peel’s Dougie Allan beating Matthew 21-18, whilst Brian Lindsay and Gordon Corrin both pipped Paul Kelly and Juan Killip 21-20 respectively. Peel will have been delighted with the three points. For the home team all their wins were comfortable, it looks like Dean Kipling could be a permanent fixture for the second half of the season, he won his game 21-14 against David Proctor.

Second placed Peel A bounced back from last week’s heavy defeat to win 8-2, they had the pleasure of hosting Marown B in the sunset city with Brian Kelly returning to his old stomping ground, he was one of two winners seeing off Tom Kelly 21-19, whilst Glenn Boland inflicted a second straight league defeat on Peter Greenlees with Boland winning 21-11. Winning to single figures for the home side were Gary Smith, Ste Kelly and George Gadsby.

Ballaugh A welcomed league leaders South Ramsey A, with the home team losing 2-8 to the visitors. Winning for the home team were John ‘Shirt’ Keenan who shown his class to recover from a 2-12 deficit against Grandson Stefan Kelly to run out with a 21-15 win, whilst John Maddrell never knows when he is beaten, fighting back from a 15-20 deficit to Chas Grills to win 21-20. Ballaugh could have had a third win on the night with Richard Hainge leading 17-11 against James Teare, who dug in to run out with a 21-18 victory. The visitors had two single figure victories with Dido Kelly winning 21-8 against Tony Quine, whilst Alan Moore continues his return to form playing brilliantly to win 21-6 against Patrick Grant.

Port St Mary A are in somewhat of a false position having played seven of their 11 home league games due to not having floodlights for later on in the season, they held off Castletown A on a fast home green to record a 6-4 win, with Ray Watterson showing he has still got what it takes to compete in division one with a stunning 21-0 victory over Nathan Cooil. At the other end of the spectrum captain Wayne Roberts was on the right side of a 21-20 this week, beating opposing captain Ian Watson. Trevor Quayle returned to winning ways with a 21-7 win against Dean Kinley, whilst Robbie Cooil continues to fly high in the overall merit defeating Aaron Richardson 21-12 to make it eight wins from 10 games. For the visitors Jordan Drewett just edged home 21-20 against Tim Williams, Bob Clark won to single figures against Paul Russell, whilst Sam Clague won 21-14 against Juan Hargraves, with the latter helping out his club playing in just his fourth game of bowls since 2017 and first since 2019.

Two teams suffered 10-0 home defeats, with Noble’s A losing to Douglas A, with Martyn Hobson coming closest to picking up a point for his team, before losing out 18-21 to Gary Conwell, whilst North Ramsey A didn’t make home advantage count with their heavy defeat at the hands of Onchan A.

In Division Two South Ramsey B moved their home match with Finch Hill A to Friday evening with both teams having the opportunity to go top if they recorded a big win. The home team made home advantage count winning 7-3 with Tony Dugdale and Steven Waters both winning to single figures, whilst Ben Dugdale had to work hard to beat Dave Jones 21-19, and Eddie Carlyle just got home 21-20. For the visitors Tony Epifani made sure it wasn’t an even heavier defeat winning 21-19 against Christian Caley, whilst Dave McCabe and John Harris won comfortably against Bryan Corner and George Brew respectively. The result put the South Ramsey men joint top with Castletown B on 56 points.

Port St Mary B and Castletown B played out a true draw 5-5 with both teams winning four games and tying on chalks (140-140) to share the aggregate.

Marown C suffered a 2-8 home defeat to Port Erin A with both teams winning and losing a 21-20, For the Crosby men Jamie Joughin was on the right side of the score, whilst captain Stephen Rundle, was the wrong side losing out to Bernie Durcan.

South Ramsey C came away from the Villa pleased with their 8-2 away win over Douglas B, just missing out on a 10-0 win by just seven chalks, with David Corkill losing 17-21 to Bob Callow, whilst Andy Morgan recovered from a slow start before losing out 18-21 to Steve Gregg.

Onchan B stay in the mix for a long awaited return to division one, following their 8-2 away win against Finch Hill B, with Will Penhallurick continuing to impress at this level, he recorded a 21-15 win over Kevin Stannard.

The Division Three fixtures were unusually held before the top two divisions last week due to the Bank Holiday, with league leaders Ballaugh B not having it all their own way dropping four points with their 6-4 home win over Port Erin B.

Ballaugh B were well beaten 8-2 away to Onchan C with Gordie Moore winning 21-20 against Sid McKnight for the visitors to prevent an even heavier defeat.

Something doesn’t sit quite right with me following the Douglas D result against Douglas C, with the lower ranked D team winning 9-1 this could mean a reshuffling of the teams is required for next season to get the teams right, however the D side is full of new bowlers who appear to be enjoying the game since they took it up. Three single figure victories for the D team, is proof the result was well deserved.

Castletown C suffered a 7-3 home defeat to Peel D who themselves have a number of new bowlers who continue to impress, they have Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton leading the way for them as he won 21-8 against Byron Mercer to make it eight wins from nine games played, whilst for Castletown John Matheson was one of three home team winners and currently sits top of the individual merit to remain unbeaten this season thanks to his 21-7 win over Andy Morrison.

South Ramsey D slipped to a 4-6 defeat at home to Noble’s B, with players on both teams all reaching double figures, with the visitors taking the aggregate by 10 chalks (129-139).

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Dunn & Withers Win Grimshaw Pairs

Tynwald Day Grimshaw Pairs Winners 2021 - Paul Dunn & Neil Withers

Photo: Arnie Withers

Marown hosted the ever popular Tynwald Day R & A Grimshaw Pairs Trophy on Bank Holiday Monday with 30 pairs taking part.

At the end of the day it was the Marown duo of Neil Withers and Paul Dunn, who beat the Castletown pairing of Nathan Hamilton and Bob Clark 21-12 in the final to continue their success in doubles competitions this season. The game was well contested early on, with the score 14-12 to Withers and Dunn after 11 ends, it looked like the match could go the distance. From there the home pairing shifted up a few gears to pick up a three, followed by two doubles to ensure the trophy went home with the Crosby men.

Losing out in the semi-finals to the winners were South Ramsey’s Peter Collister and Glynn Hargraves (Castletown) to Withers and Dunn, with the former pair trailing all game before making a mini recovery only to eventually lose out 15-21. The other losing semi-finalists were Andy Kennish (Peel) and James Teare (South Ramsey) who lost 18-21 to Hamilton and Clark.

Losing quarter finalists were home greeners Walter McCarthy and Phil Kelly, Juan Killip and Colin Kelly, South Ramsey’s Tony Hart and Lee Dawson along with 2020 winners Stefan Kelly and Alan Moore (also South Ramsey).

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by competition secretary Philip Kelly, who thanked everyone who had helped with the running of the competition and the Marown Ladies for the refreshments provided throughout the day. The newly crowned Manx Champion was then introduced to present the prizes.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Home Win Has Kelly in ‘Seventh’ Heaven

Canada Life International Manx Champion 2021 - Colin Kelly

Photo: Arnie Withers

Marown Bowling Club hosted this year’s Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship with the competition once again played over two weekends. The competition attracted 91 entries – the highest entry seen the 1980’s, with the qualifying day held last Sunday whittling the field down to 32 for finals day. At the start of the day there were five previous winners in the field, however four of them fell before the quarter finals to leave the six time champion Colin Kelly as clear favourite on his home green. There was an excellent crowd who came to support their club mates, which added to the great atmosphere.

Last 16 Results

Phil Kerruish 20-21 Dean Kinley
Stevie Kelly 17-21 Bob Clark
Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-9 Gary Smith
Matthew Quirk 21-12 Robert Monk

Neil Withers 13-21 Colin Kelly
Stevie Rundle 12-21 Trevor Quayle
Jordan Cain 21-17 Peter Collister
Walter McCarthy 21-19 Jamie Clague

In the quarter finals Dean Kinley (Castletown), who had put out last year’s champion Paul Dunn 21-7 in his first game of the day had his challenge ended by teammate Bob Clark losing 16-21, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel) recovered from a poor start only to lose out 18-21 to Onchan’s Matthew Quirk. Home favourite Colin Kelly had to battle hard to beat Port St Mary’s Trevor Quayle 21-17, whilst Marown C Team player Walter McCarthy performed brilliantly to claim a nerve-wracking 21-20 victory over Jordan Cain (Onchan), playing a brilliant last bowl to progress to the semi-final.

The semi-finals had Kelly up against McCarthy, with Kelly wasting no time in booking his place in the final, thanks to a 21-6 win over his club mate. In the other semi Clark just about kept his nose in front for most of the game against Quirk, leading 15-10, then 18-11 and 19-13 only for Quirk to take a double, a single and another double to close the deficit to just one chalk at 18-19. Clark then made sure of his place in the final with a double on the last end to take a deserved 21-18 win in a good quality contest.

The final started with Kelly the hot favourite on his own green, however Clark had been the favourite from those never to have won the Manx Championship previously to get their name on the trophy, has a good record in head to heads against Kelly and is unflappable under pressure. Both players preferred to play a fair distance, with Kelly leading 9-6 after 12 ends with two doubles from Clark thanks to Kelly uncharacteristically putting both bowls in the ditch in the same corner on two separate occasions. From there the final was thrilling to watch, with Clark having to pull out some great bowls on a number of occasions to stay in touch with Kelly.

One of the defining moments of the game came on the 26th end with Kelly jumping in on Clark’s lead to play a good first bowl with the score 16-15 to the former. With his second bowl Clark ran into the back of Kelly’s bowl and Clark probably felt confident he would only be one down, however Kelly had other ideas, sending his bowl on the other peg to flick off his own bowl then trail the jack to make a brilliant two and increase his lead to 18-15. Kelly then picked up a single on the next end thanks to a great second bowl to play Clark out, only to then have a good lead beaten by another fantastic bowl from Clark to stay in the game at 16-19 to keep the pressure firmly on. On the following end Clark played his lead eight inches to the side of the jack, only for Kelly to play him out once again to lead 20-16. On the final end Kelly played a good lead, with Clark’s bowl just clipping Kelly’s bowl and running through. With his final bowl Clark changed his peg to play a reaching bowl, cruelly missing everything to give Kelly a 21-16 victory in a thrilling final for the spectators. The standard of bowling over distance was of an excellent standard from both players, this final will be remembered for a long time.

The presentation was made by competition committee officer Steve Moore, who introduced Daniel Pownall from the sponsors Canada Life International to present the prizes. Thanks were given to Marown for hosting the event, the greenkeepers for preparing the green, the ladies for the refreshments provided, and all the club members who assisted with the measuring & stewarding throughout. In his speech Kelly was understandably emotional upon claiming his first Manx Championship win on his own green, seventh title overall and this was the fourth different decade that he has won the Manx Championship, with this one being watched by his wife Margaret, children Tom and Kevin and parents Juan and Isabel, it was clear to see how much it meant to him. Both finalists are now eligible to play in the Senior Merit Trophy at Heaton Park BC in Manchester on Saturday 24th July.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Callow & Moore Win Corkhill & Callow Over 60’s Any Combination Doubles

Corkhill and Callow Any Combination Doubles Winners 2021 - Bill Callow & James Moore with Sponsor Tim Pressley

Photo: Kim Hargraves

South Ramsey Bowling Club hosted an Over 60’s any combination doubles competition sponsored by Corkhill and Callow Funeral Directors with 16 pairs taking part on a superb surface on a fine day.The competition was last played for in 2011 and was previously known as the Pro Tours Gold Cup.

The quarter finals had the husband and wife pairing of Steve & Judy Kelly (South Ramsey) lose out 17-21 to Peel pair Dougie Allan and Gordon Corrin, whilst Elaine Moore (South Ramsey) and Kevin Firth (Douglas) were defeated 18-21 by Marown duo Philippa Taylor and Lynda Cadamy. The home green pairing of Richie Davies and Bryan Corner were well beaten 10-21 by Chris Price (Port St Mary) and Les Brookes (Noble’s). Rounding off the quarter finals South Ramsey’s James Moore and Bill Callow ensured it was the end of the road for Derek Allen (Onchan) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) with a 21-16 win to take their place in the next round.

In the first semi-final the ladies Taylor and Cadamy coasted through their game against Peel pair of Allan and Corrin only losing three ends, winning 21-10 to reach the final. Joining them in the final was home pair Moore and Callow, who themselves only lost four ends winning 21-13 against Price and Brookes. 

The final was extremely well contested with Moore and Callow taking three singles on the first three ends to lead 8-5, only for a swift response from Taylor and Cadamy to win three consecutive ends, scoring a two, a four and a single to lead 12-8 after six ends. Moore and Callow stepped up a couple of gears to take the next six ends scoring 12 points on the way to lead 20-12. Taylor and Cadamy hit back with a three and a double to make the score 17-20, only for Moore and Callow to score the single chalk they needed to take the victory.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by competition secretary Kim Hargraves, who thanked Corkhill and Callow Funeral Directors for sponsoring the competition, the club members who helped with the running of the competition and the Ladies for the refreshments provided throughout the day. Tim Pressley from Corkhill and Callow was then introduced to present the prizes.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Peel A Suffer Heavy Defeat At Hands Of South Ramsey A

Onchan A Team 2021 - Sporting their new team shirts sponsored by SafetyNet

Photo: Phil Cain

In Division One last week second placed South Ramsey A hosted league leaders Peel A with the home team taking apart the visitors in style with David Bradford leading the way with a 21-3 win over George Gadsby. Next off was captain Glynn Hargraves with a 21-7 win over Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly. Responding for Peel, captain Gary Smith ran out from a 13-15 deficit to win 21-15 against Peter Collister, whilst James Teare ensured a 3-1 lead at the half way point with a hard fought 21-18 win over Tommy McMeiken. Sensing an opportunity for a big win Alan Moore won 21-4 against Darren Young, with the evergreen Chas Grills matching this seeing off the previously undefeated Peter Greenlees. Sealing a 9-1 victory to jump into a seven-point lead at the top with 70 points, with two hard fought wins were Stefan Kelly who beat Tom Kelly 21-16, whilst his father Dido recovered from a spell under the weather over the weekend to see off Stevie Kelly to the same score.

Marown A had a tough looking trip south to take on Port St Mary A, who have performed well this season and were only a point behind the Crosby men prior to this fixture, however Marown turned on the style to take a 1-9 victory and in doing so drew level with Peel A. Winning to single figures for Marown were John Gelling and Colin Kelly over Dan McCabe and Paul Russell respectively, whilst Phil Kelly edged his game 21-20 against Wayne Roberts. Dean Kipling stepped in for Paul Dunn, with Kipling inflicting a rare home defeat on Trevor Quayle 21-12. The only winner for Port was Robbie Cooil with his 21-13 win over Juan Killip.

Elsewhere Onchan A hosted Peel B at the Park with the home team winning 9-1. Brian Lindseywas the only winner for the visitors 21-14 against Frank Watson. Rounding off the 9-1 wins in division one on the night were Douglas A who defeated Ballaugh A keeping the visitors to just 75 chalks. Home captain Andy Cannell continues to fly high in the merit with eight wins from nine games.

The teams at the top in Division Two continues to chop and change as Castletown B returned to top spot thanks to their 8-2 home win at the Crofts over Marown C with four single figure wins along the way. The two winners for Marown were Jamie Joughin & Stephen Rundle with both players continuing to improve at this level.

Finch Hill A suffered a setback in their quest for promotion with a 4-6 home defeat to Douglas B, who were good value for the win after winning four games and taking the aggregate thanks to winning by 26 chalks (122-148).

South Ramsey C are more than holding their ownin division two this season, they were the only 10-0 winners this week on a quick green with the visitors Finch Hill B only scoring 75 chalks, they unfortunately were a man short on the night.

As predicted last week in Division Three Ballaugh B hit top spot, but missed out on a great opportunity to put some distance between the teams below them after losing 6-4 away to Peel D, who continue to impress in their first season with Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton going well with seven wins from eight league games. Ballaugh C took their turn to sit out, they currently sit in second on 55 points, just two behind their B Team.

Port Erin B sit just one point further back on Ballaugh C after their 9-1 home win over South Ramsey D, whilst Castletown C also stayed in touch on 54 points with their own 9-1 away win over Douglas C.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

No Change At The Top – Port St Mary stay in touch

Ballaugh A Team 2021

Photo: Phil Cain

In Division One last week South Ramsey A kept in touch with league leaders Peel A after a successful trip south coming away with a hard fought 1-9 win. Preventing the whitewash for the Town men was Bob Clark, who got over the line 21-17 against James Teare, a score matched by the visitors with Steven Waters beating Dean Kinley. Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly held off Sam Clague 21-18, whilst Peter Collister inflicted a second league defeat of the season on Nathan Hamilton, whilst Glynn Hargraves was pushed all the way winning 21-20 against Jordan Drewett.

League leaders Peel A kept the pressure on following their 9-1 home win over Ballaugh A with Philip Quayle the lone winner for Ballaugh with a fantastic 21-13 victory over Andy Kennish, whilst teammate John Keenan just lost 20-21 to the unbeaten Peter Greenlees. The Peel men visit second placed South Ramsey on Monday (28th) in what could prove a pivotal game.

Marown A had a tricky looking game against their B team, however the higher ranked side came out 8-2 winners on the night with Bobby Thorne beating John Gelling 21-17, whilst Brian Kelly beat Juan Killip 21-16. Winning for the A side captain Paul Dunn led the way with a 21-6 win over Darren Kerruish, closely followed by Matthew Keggen who beat Peter Kelly 21-8.

Port St Mary A continue to impress, this week overturning Onchan A with a 7-3 home victory. Wayne Roberts performed brilliantly to inflict yet another defeat on Jordan Cain 21-20, whilst Trevor Quayle recovered from a 8-17 deficit to win 21-19 against Reg Temporaza. Tom Collins recorded a stunning 21-7 win over Peter Slinger, Dan McCabe beat Colin Spence 21-8, with Rob Cooil seeing off Phil Kerruish 21-16.

Noble’s A hosted Peel B with the visitors taking a 3-7 win on the night. David Proctor won 21-5 against captain Juan Qualtrough. For the home team Mark Kneen got on the right side of a 21-20 this week with his win over the ‘real’ Paul Quirk, Mark Quinn beat Dougie Allan 21-16, whilst Dave Naughton beat Michael Kavanagh 21-15.

North Ramsey A are fourth from bottom, but only three points ahead of Ballaugh A who currently occupy one of the relegation spots after slipping to a 3-7 home defeat to Douglas A. For the Mooragh men Rob Monk, Allan Callow and Steve Walmsley all had comfortable wins, whilst for the visitors Keith Rise beat John Cannan 21-4.

In Division Two Finch Hill A hit joint top spot on 45 points from seven games, following their 9-1 home win over South Ramsey C winning four close games with Tony Epifani beating Anthony Kelly 21-18, Arthur Halsall and Dave McCabe beat Dave Corkill and Lee Dawson 21-19 respectively, whilst Paddy Murphy just got home with a 21-20 win over Andy Morgan. The sole winner for South Ramsey was James Evans who beat Paul Dougherty 21-13.

South Ramsey B had a tough home match against Castletown B with Franz ‘Fonzie’ ten Donkelaarstepping up from the D team who excelled to beat Ross Moore 21-8 to help the team to a 7-3 home win. The loss resulted in Castletown dropping from top spot to third place, just two points off the top two.

Port Erin A are still in the mix on 41 points following their 3-7 away win over Douglas B at the Villa, which could have been 9-1 with Steve Durcan losing out 19-21 to Bob Banning and Seamus Whelan was defeated20-21 by Willie Cowley.

In Division Three Ballaugh B are well placed to return to top spot once all teams have played an even number of games following their 9-1 home win over Douglas C, whilst their C Team overcame Douglas 3-7 away from home to stay in top spot.

South Ramsey D beat Peel D 7-3 at home with Richie Davies making his first appearance of the season winning 21-4 against Andy Morrison. Castletown C beat Marown D 9-1 at the Crofts winning two games 21-20 with John Matheson beating Rob Bell and Junior player Dylan Marsh beating Alan Gault. Steve Cain who has only taken up the game this year prevented a 10-0 whitewash with his 21-17 victory over Dave Hill.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Bradford Takes First Ballacashtal Cup Win

Ballacashtal Cup Winner 2021 - David Bradford with Sonya Mercer from ABS Solutions

Photo: Glynn Hargraves

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Ballacashtal Cup on Sunday, attracting an entry of 48 on a good smooth and running surface it was a pleasure to play on throughout a fine day.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel), who lost out 16-21 to team mate Andy Kennish. Marown’s Brian Kelly just lost out 19-21 after a tough battle with South Ramsey’s David Bradford. Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) gained revenge for his defeat to Bob Clark (Castletown) the previous day to win 21-15, whilst Steven Waters (South Ramsey) just edged home 21-20 against Phil Kerruish (Onchan).

In the semi-finals Kennish held a 11-8 lead after five ends over Bradford, before the latter opted for a longer length to see the game out 21-14, whilst Hargraves built an 18-11 lead over Waters, who fought back to 15-18, with Waters lying one before Hargraves played a reaching bowl to flick the jack to count one and went on to win the next two ends to take his place in the final courtesy of a 21-15 win.

The final started between the South Ramsey men with the score tied at 9-9 after the first five ends, with Hargraves opting for a shorter length over the crown, whilst Bradford preferred a longer length which had served him well. Bradford performed well to win 10 of the last 12 ends to run out with a deserved 21-12 win to take first Ballacashtal Cup win, which is staggering to think this was his first singles title success on Castletown with all the titles Bradford has won over the years.

The presentation was made by club chairman Phil Taubman who thanked everyone who had helped with the running of the competition throughout the day with thanks also given to ABS Solutions for sponsoring the competition. In his speech Bradford commented on the great condition of the bowling green.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Dunn Wins Jim Kernan Cup

Jim Kernan Cup Winner 2021 - Paul Dunn

Photo: Arnie Withers

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday, in what would normally be the first of the pre-festival opens with a good entry of 52, despite a number of bowlers missing due to their involvement in the Parish Walk.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Adrian Skinner (Onchan), who lost out 15-21 to Jimmy Sansom (Douglas). Marown man Neil Withers ended the run of Jordan Cain (Onchan) with a hard fought 21-18 win, whilst Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) lost out 14-21 to Paul Dunn (Marown). David Bradford had his work cut out against South Ramsey team mate James Teare, after falling 7-15 behind, Bradford hit back with a break of 14 points to run out with a 21-15 victory.

In the semi-finals Withers ended the good run of Sansom with a 21-9 win, whilst the other semi-final between Dunn and Bradford was well contested throughout in a good quality game with Bradford just losing out 19-21 for Dunn to progress to the final. 

The final started between the Marown team mates with Withers playing a shorter length on a round peg to take a 11-7 lead, with Dunn then going on a run of four consecutive ends preferring a longer length to lead 12-11. Withers responded to take the next two ends to lead 14-12, then Dunn took three consecutive singles after playing a great bowl to get back in on a tough mark to once again take the lead at 15-14. On the following end Withers played a good reaching bowl to count for two to lead 16-15, then played a poor two bowls on the following end which Dunn took full advantage of to score two, which he followed up on the next two ends with two more doubles to run out with a 21-16 victory to claim his first Jim Kernan Cup win and the £240 first prize, whilst Withers could console himself with his £120 winnings.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey chairman Steve Moore who thanked George Brew for once again sponsoring the competition, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition throughout the day. George Brew and his grandson were then introduced to present the prizes. During his speech Dunn thanked the ladies for the brilliant refreshments provided, congratulated South Ramsey on a brilliant green and a well-run competition. Spot prizes were also awarded for highest break to Stevie Kelly (Peel), furthest Over 60 Jimmy Sansom, furthest second division player Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) and furthest third division player Steve Kelly (South Ramsey) along with paying out to those who reached the last 16 stage.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Peel A Hit Top Spot Again – Mixed Week for Marown A

Noble’s A Team 2021

Photo: Mark Kneen

All three divisions held the first ‘double’ week of the season with a couple of shock results in division one, with a shock result going against Marown A on Monday night and the other that went in favour of the Crosby men on Wednesday evening. 

On Monday evening Marown A made the short trip West to take on Peel A, with the home team making the most of home green advantage to win 8-2 taking out Marown’s ‘big three’ in the process, with Tommy McMeiken beating fellow left hander Colin Kelly 21-20, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beating Paul Dunn 21-19 and George Gadsby defeating Neil Withers 21-17. Winning for the visitors were Juan Killip who performed well to beat Andy Kennish 21-17 and Phil Kelly who won 21-14 against Gary Smith. 

The Crosby men bounced back brilliantly on Wednesday evening with their second away fixture of the week against the teams above by them, with a 3-7 away win over South Ramsey A on a superb green with the visitors just edging the aggregate by a solitary chalk (148-149). Winning for the home team were Tony Dugdale who beat Paul Kelly 21-14, Chas Grills who recovered from a 1-11 deficit to run out with a 21-15 victory over Matthew Keggen, whilst Stefan Kelly beat Phil Kelly 21-15. The vastly experienced Crosby men won the big games with Paul Dunn playing a brilliant last bowl to win 21-19 against Peter Collister, Juan Killip did likewise against James Teare to win 21-19 with Teare counting two for game, whilst Neil Withers held off Glynn Hargraves to win 21-18. Colin Kelly ensured Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly couldn’t get the two chalks the home team needed for the aggregate running out from 13-16 behind to win 21-16 to seal a great result and performance for the current league champions. The result leaves Marown still very much in the mix having played most of their tough fixtures away from home in the first half of the season, they are well placed to go on a good run.

Peel A hit the top once again, however they will have been disappointed to win 4-6 on Wednesday evening against Douglas A at the Villa with the home team wins coming from Andy Cannell who beat Gary Smith 21-16, Gordon Wynne-Smythe who won 21-17 against George Gadsby, Keith Rise seen off Darren Young 21-19, whilst Merv Sayle inflicted a third league defeat of the season on Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-20.

Noble’s A had another tough week, but continue to battle on and conduct themselves in an exemplary manner despite losing 9-1 away to South Ramsey A on Monday, with Steve Cook losing 19-21 to Glynn Hargraves and Mark Kneen losing 20-21 to Peter Collister. The lone winner on the night was Sam Stannard-Duke who beat Alan Moore 21-19. On Wednesday evening Noble’s A visited Port St Mary A and managed to get two wins in their 8-2 defeat with Steve Cook and Mark Quinn beating Tim Williams and Paul Russell respectively.

Castletown A had a poor 7-3 away defeat on Monday evening against Douglas A, followed up by a 4-6 away win over Ballaugh A on Wednesday evening. Nathan Hamilton and Bob Clark continue to fly high in the league merit with six wins from seven games. Ballaugh A won’t be disheartened by their weeks work despite also losing 3-7 at home on Monday.

Port St Mary A currently sit in third place tied on points with Marown A, they seem to ticking over nicely despite the uncertainty over their future, they recorded a ruthless 10-0 win over Peel B on Monday evening, then followed this up with an 8-2 home win over bottom of the table Noble’s A.

In Division Two South Ramsey B dropped from top spot to sit in second this week following a somewhat disastrous 5-5 away draw against Finch Hill B who prior to this fixture had only taken six points all season. Whilst the visitors only won three games on the night, they took the aggregate by 14 chalks (124-138) to snatch a draw. 

Castletown B had a solid week hitting the top of the league after two 8-2 home victories over Port Erin A and Douglas B opening up a two-point lead at the top, whilst Marown C had a poor week losing 6-4 away to Peel C on Tuesday night and then 8-2 away to Onchan B the following evening, however Walter McCarthy kept his 100% record for the season with two comfortable wins.

In Division Three Ballaugh C are top of the league after a 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D, which was followed up with another 7-3 home victory over Castletown C.

Marown D had an up and down week, with Jay Waters leading the way in the individual merit with seven wins from his first seven games, helping his team to 6-4 home win over Port Erin B on Tuesday, which was followed up by a 2-8 defeat on Thursday evening against Ballaugh B with Waters just winning 21-20. The visitors are only four points off top spot having played a game less than their C Team.

Onchan C sit in second place, they hosted Ballaugh B on Tuesday evening with the home team winning five games, however the visitors had bigger wins from their three winners to take the aggregate by four chalks (139-143) to secure a 5-5 draw. Onchan C would have been hoping for a better result on Thursday, when they took on bottom of the table Douglas D at the Park, with the away team picking up three victories in their 7-3 defeat with Juan Readshaw, Nick Firth & John Ferguson all winning to boost their points total for the season and ensure there were some good after match talking points in the Woodbourne Pub, with a number of the team having took up the game having previously socialised together and deciding to take up the game.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Two On The Trot For Withers & Dunn

Lancaster Cup Winners 2021 - Neil Withers & Paul Dunn

Photo: Arnie Withers

Peel hosted the Lancaster Cup men’s doubles on a fine Saturday afternoon on a vastly improved playing surface with 30 pairs taking part.

At the end of the competition it was the Marown duo of Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (+3) who carried on their good run of form seeing off the Douglas pairing of Paul Cowley and Bob Callow (+8) who had performed brilliantly throughout the entire day to reach the final and can be proud of their efforts with Cowley leading well at the front and Callow pulling out some great bowls at the back, however the Marown pairs quality came through with some good lead bowls and strikes which came off recovering from a 3-10 deficit to ensure they took a 21-15 victory in the final. The winning pair received the Lancaster Cup and shared the £200 first prize, whilst the runners up could console themselves with £100 between them.

Losing out in the semis to the winners were the heavily fancied Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) and Bob Clark (Castletown) with the score tied at 10-10 before eventually losing out 13-21, whilst in the other semi it was the end of the challenge from Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) and Nathan Cooil (Castletown) to Cowley and Callow 10-21.

Falling at the quarter final stages were last weeks Mooragh Park winners Wayne Roberts and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) 19-21 to McCabe and Cooil, home pair Andrew Cover and David Proctor lost 20-21 to Cowley and Callow, whilst another home pairing Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton and Paul ‘Pooky’ Quirk lost 17-21 to Dunn and Withers. Onchan men Neil Dunwell and Mike Thomas were defeated 16-21 by Kelly and Clark.

The presentation was made by Peel Bowling Club chairman Dougie Allan, who thanked the sponsor David Lancaster, the team who ran the competition and all the club members who had helped throughout the day.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves