Author Archives: Glynn Hargraves

Marown Book Final Spot

Marown Club Team who took on Peel at Crosby

Photo: Arnie Withers

In Group A Marown secured their spot in the final with a game to spare despite suffering losses in all of their doubles games at home to Peel. Jerome Surridge & Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat Neil Withers & Paul Kelly 21-18, Gary Smith & Gordon Corrin defeated Phil Kelly and Juan Killip 21-14, with Stevie Kelly and David Proctor seeing off Paul Dunn & Peter Kelly 21-16. In the singles Frank Watson was the only Peel winner defeating Matthew Keggen 21-17. Marown’s victory ended up being comfortable (149-112) thanks to wins in the singles from Dean Kipling, Brian Kelly and John Gelling all winning to single figures against Dave Smith, Mike Ashmole and Tommy McMeiken respectively, whilst Colin Kelly showed no mercy against his eldest son Tom Kelly with a 21-13 win.

In Group B it is set up nicely for the last group match at Onchan against South Ramsey who sit top by two points holding an 18 chalk advantage. For Onchan to progress to the final they need to win the match by 19 chalks to reach the final.

South Ramsey picked up two points this week with a victory over Douglas (150-124) with the floodlights now coming into play early on in matches due to the nights closing in. In the singles matches Steven Waters and Chas Grills both recorded 21-18 wins over Gary Conwell and Shaun Seal respectively, whilst Stefan Kelly beat Willie Cowley to single figures. Austin Hart lost out 15-21 to Ian Moore, whilst Sid Bolton lost 19-21 to Andy Cannell. In the doubles matches Ben Dugdale & James Teare were well beaten 11-21 against Mervin Sayle and Keith Rise, with Alan Moore & Peter Collister cancelling this defeat out with a 21-10 win. Glynn Hargraves & Dido Kelly won 21-7 against Jimmy Sansom & Gordon Wynne-Smythe.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

South Ramsey Retain Title

League Champions 2018

South Ramsey A confirmed their dominance of the Ellan Vannin Fuels sponsored division one with their third straight league title following a 10-0 home win over Port St Mary A on a particularly wet Monday evening.

Five of the home team wins were to single figures with the most notable being David Bradford defeating Paul Skelly 21-4. Three of the visiting players made it into double figures with Wayne Roberts losing out 15-21 against Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly and Steve Franks losing 13-21 to Peter Collister. There was also a first league defeat of the season for Port St Mary captain Trevor Quayle losing out 12-21 against South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves to shake things up at the top of the individual merit.

At the start of the season I stated that Marown A were favourites for the league with the squad they had, and I am surprised that a stronger challenge did not come from the Crosby men, however I am sure that they will be back next year.

Marown A took on their B Team and without taking too much away from the B team the weather did play a part in levelling things up, with the B team securing a 7-3 win over the higher ranked team to officially secure their place in division one for next season after gaining promotion last year. The three winners for the A team were Paul Kelly who won a close game against Brian Kelly 21-19, with Colin Kelly and Neil Withers both winning to single figures. For the B Team captain Harry Barton led the way with a 21-17 win over opposition captain Paul Dunn, Steve Bridson recorded a memorable win to the same score over Dean Kipling, John Kelly beat Phil Kelly 21-19, with James Kelly beating Matthew Keggen 21-10 and Arnie Withers defeating Peter Kelly 21-9.

At the other end of the table South Ramsey B have all but secured their top flight status for another year with a 7-3 home win over near neighbours North Ramsey A. Austin Hart having waited most the season for a league win has now won three of his last four games with a 21-20 victory over Allan Callow with his confidence soaring on the back of picking up his first win. Home team captain Ben Dugdale recorded a 21-18 win over Steve Parker, with the other three wins from Steven Waters, James Teare and Sid Bolton all being fairly comfortable. For the visitors Ray Skelly and Geoff Porter defeated George Brew and Christian Caley respectively, whilst Tony Smart won to single figures.

Port Erin A made the trip to ‘The Villa’ to take on Douglas A, with the Breagle Glen men taking three games off the home team with Dave McCabe beating Mervin Sayle 21-20, Derek Cadamy won 21-18 against Shaun Seal and captain Bernie Durcan won 21-8 against Gary Conwell.

Douglas B are officially relegated, however they did pick up one of their best results of the season taking four games off Peel A away from home with Pat O’ Donohue, Andy Cannell, Andy Foster and Gordon Wynne-Smythe the winners.

In division two Noble’s A edged closer to winning the league following a 9-1 home win against Peel B. For the home team John Ruscoe and Reginald Temporaza won to single figures, whilst for the visitors Harry Kelly prevented a whitewash with a 21-11 win over David Quayle. Noble’s have two fairly straightforward fixtures left to play against their B Team and away to Finch Hill A.

Castletown B sit just four points behind Noble’s following their 8-2 away win against Port St Mary C, helped by Ross Moore and Aaron Richardson both sneaking 21-20 wins against Derek Cain and Louis Callister respectively, however they still face a tough away game against Port St Mary B, finishing up with a home game against Peel C.

In the individual merit stakes Dave Faragher (Castletown B) suffered a hammer blow to his hopes following a 4-21 defeat against Bernard Thackrah (Port St Mary C), which has allowed David Pease (Noble’s) and John Keenan (Ballaugh) to leapfrog Faragher at the top.

At the other end of the table Port Erin B have been relegated to the third division, following a 3-7 home loss to Noble’s B who themselves are all but relegated with just two games left and sit 17 points from safety.

In the third division Marown C sit on the brink of winning the title and gaining promotion to the second division following a fantastic 10-0 away win against Onchan C. Marown have done some fantastic work as five years ago their B Team pulled out of the league as they couldn’t field a team that season. Since then the club led by Neil Withers have done some fantastic work to recruit new players into the game which culminated in Marown introducing a C Team into the league in 2016 and got them to where they are now, with players who have stuck together and improved each year, with some of their players enjoying some success in open competitions with Steve Wilson winning a men’s doubles at Castletown last year and Walter McCarthy performing brilliantly to win the men’s doubles in the September festival.

Ballaugh B are by no means down and out from taking the title themselves, and sit 10 points behind the league leaders with a game in hand. Their cause wasn’t helped by dropping four games against their C Team with a 6-4 win.

Sitting just three points further back on Ballaugh B in third place are Castletown C who took their turn to sit out the fixtures last week.

South Ramsey D Team player Ian Moore looks to have secured the individual merit title following another comfortable win away from home winning 21-11 against Tommy Rougvie (Douglas C). Moore has lost just one league game all season losing 20-21 at home to Trevor Jones.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Cooper and Dawson Take First Mixed Doubles Title

Wilfred Quayle Winners 2018

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Wilfred Quayle mixed doubles on Sunday with the competition attracting 37 pairs on a fine day.

The eventual winners were Clare Cooper (Noble’s) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) who overcame the strong challenge of Chrissy McManus (Ainsdale) and Steve McManus (Mere Brow) in a high quality final to secure their first mixed doubles win. After six ends the score was 13-12 to Cooper and Dawson with the McManus Husband and Wife partnership having only won two ends but scoring two three’s. From there the latter were kept down to four singles with Cooper and Dawson complimenting each other well with Cooper leading brilliantly at the front and Dawson doing the business at the back when needed to take three singles, a three and a double to take the title with a 21-16 win.

Losing out to the winners at the semi-final stage were Alison Keggen (Noble’s) and Neil Withers (Marown) 13-21, whilst the South Ramsey pairing of Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves lost out 12-21.

Falling at the quarter final stage were the Port St Mary pairings of Pauline Worrall and Paul Russell, Katy Williams and Tim Williams, home greeners Marie Ashurst and Dave Faragher, along with Paula Firth (Noble’s) and Sid Bolton (South Ramsey).

The presentation was made by Phil Taubman who thanked everyone who had entered and all the club members who had helped with the smooth running of the competition throughout the day. It was great to see some visitors extend their stay on the Island to enter the competition with the losing finalists playing on the green for the first time, showing how quickly they had adapted to a new green, with the visitors thanking everyone for such a warm welcome.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Monk Wins Thurlwell Bowl

Thurlwell Bowl Winner 2018

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Thurlwell Bowl on Saturday with the rain mostly holding off throughout the day.

The eventual winner was Rob Monk (Onchan) who defeated Paul Skelly (Port St Mary) 21-19 in a hard fought final. Both players performed well making good two’s throughout the game despite their opponent having good bowls. The game changer was at 18-18 with Monk playing a short round peg and Skelly was lying one on and looking to make two resulted in Skelly flicking his own bowl out to leave Monk on to go 19-18 ahead. Skelly got back in next again, however very nearly turned his counting bowl out again. At 19-19 Skelly headed for the corner and couldn’t have had a worse time to play his poorest end of the game to allow Monk to pick up an easy two for game in an otherwise entertaining and high quality game.

In the semi-final Monk ended the challenge of Paul Dunn (Marown) with a good display to book his place in the final, whilst Skelly was pushed all the way by team mate Trevor Quayle with the latter losing out 20-21.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were home greener Alison Keggen, Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey), Harry Barton (Marown) and Mike Hargraves (Castletown).

The presentation was made by Wendy Leece who thanked Clare Cooper for running the sheet throughout the day, the club members who had helped with the running of the competition and for providing refreshments to those taking part.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Moore & Kennish Take Top Titles

September Festival Winners 2018

The top prizes in the Isle of Man September Bowls Festival went to two local players.

In the Men’s competition it was South Ramsey’s John Kennish who picked up his fourth September Festival win and the winners cheque for £3,000. Kennish had to overcome the challenge of Onchan man Peter Slinger in a repeat of the 2017 Manx Championship on the same green, this was also the first all local final since September 2014 between John Kennish and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly.

The final started with Slinger taking a single point on the first end after trailing the jack with his last bowl. The second end proved to be crucial and was probably a first for a festival final with Slinger heading for the corner the jack went off the green, allowing Kennish the opportunity to set the mark, to which Kennish then headed for the edge also sending the jack off, allowing Slinger a second chance to set the mark again in the corner however the jack went off the green once again. Kennish didn’t waste the second opportunity of setting the mark along the edge. From there Kennish was ruthless wasting little more than 20 minutes to win the game picking up five two’s and five one’s along the way. To be fair to Slinger he was never far away with his bowls just pegging away at the end or falling just short or running out, it is more a reflection of how devastating Kennish was on the day. Slinger could take consolation in the runners up cheque for £1,000.

Kennish reached the final courtesy of a 21-13 win over David Jackson (Knutsford), whilst Slinger booked his place in the final defeating Callum Wraight (Knutsford) in a thrilling game coming back from 6-12 down, then 13-17 down before Slinger got level at 17-17. Slinger headed for the corner and played two poor bowls, which Wraight wasn’t able to punish fully taking just a point to go 18-17 up. Slinger picked up a single on the next end up to the crown to level matters again, then lay one next end with Wraight contemplating striking which was risky given how close his own bowl was to the one he was hoping to take out. Wraight struck taking out his own bowl to gift Slinger two to go 20-18 up. Slinger headed along the edge on a straight peg which is well known to be a push to reach into, he led a good bowl with Wraight pushing two yards through. Crucially Slinger made two with Wraight playing through taking out Slinger’s nearest bowl, however Slinger’s other bowl was left counting for game to win 21-18.

The quarter finals were all fairly straightforward with Kennish seeing off Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) with a 21-10 win. The closest game of the quarters was between John Bailey (Knutsford) and David Jackson, with Jackson falling 7-10 behind early on, before taking a 17-11 lead and eventually seeing the game out 21-17. Wraight ended the challenge of Danny Petcher (Netherseal) with a 21-12 win. Slinger booked his place in the semi-final courtesy of a 21-14 win over Gareth Jones (Dalton Cricket).

There is always that one game in a festival that makes or breaks you and that came for Kennish on the Thursday afternoon against another local Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) in the last 16 with Kennish edging it 21-20 with Quayle leading for the entire game and having a good opportunity on the last end to win it. Kennish has now won five Isle of Man festival titles, with one June win and four September wins it is surely only a question of when, not if he will pick up his next title. John will also be playing in the Champion of Champions at Blackpool at the end of the month, an event that he had already qualified for through winning the Manx Championship earlier in the season.

In the Ladies main competition it was another South Ramsey player Elaine Moore who won the Ladies title and the cheque for £1,000 with a hard fought 21-18 win over Gill Simm (Lune Road) with Simm being quickest out of the blocks taking a 14-8 lead with Moore working her way back into the game to go 17-16 ahead slightly varying the length being played. Simm took two singles on the next two ends to take the lead 18-17. Moore dug in to take two singles and a two on the last end playing over the crown to win her first festival and the relief and emotion was clear for everyone to see.

In the semi-finals Simm booked her place in the final with a 21-10 win over Helen Clee (Wrockwardine Wood), whilst Moore was pushed all the way by daughter Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) with Elaine fighting back from 12-18 down to eventually win 21-20 after lying two down at 20-20 Elaine trailed the jack with a brilliant bowl to reach the final.

Gill Simm started her day with a 21-16 win over Veronica Lyon (Unison), whilst Helen Clee ended the challenge of Alison Cotton with a hard fought 21-17 win. Jenny Moore made light work of her quarter final game with a 21-11 win over Margo Sinclare (Meersbrook BC) whilst Elaine Moore had to battle hard to see off Tracy Ryan (Meole Brace BC) with a 21-18 win having lost to Ryan in the semi-finals of the Tourism on Thursday morning.

Elaine certainly won her first festival the hard way with her games from the quarter finals onwards all being close, and having to play two of the favourites on the way against her daughter Jenny Moore and Tracy Ryan, no doubt Elaine was made all the more determined having suffered the heartache of losing out in the final of the June festival to Debbie Farmer on a particularly wet finals day several years ago. Elaine has also qualified to play in the Champion of Champions at the Waterloo Hotel in Blackpool.

Following their festival wins John Kennish received the Chris Quayle trophy for the furthest Manx Man, whilst Elaine Moore received the Blanche Kaye Trophy for the furthest Manx Lady.

The Men’s Tourism was played down to the winner on Thursday morning on Noble’s 1 with Colin Kelly (Marown) performing brilliantly in the corners to take the Tourism title defeating Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) 21-11.

Kelly booked his place in the final with a hard fought win over Callum Wraight (Knutsford), whilst Ditchfield defeated Dave Phillips (Lloyd Hotel).

The Ladies Tourism was also played down to the winner on Thursday morning on Noble’s 2 green it was Tracy Ryan (Meole Brace) who defeated Helen Martin (North Ramsey) 21-13 in the final.

Tracy Ryan booked her place in the final following a tough game with Elaine Moore (South Ramsey), whilst Helen Martin ended the run of Lynn Bennett (Orrell Rovers).

The Men’s consolation was won by Chris Talbot (Knutsford) who beat Robert Whyatt (Packhorse BC) 21-9. The Ladies consolation was won by Hazel Borrowdale (Kendal Vic) defeating Olwen Edwards (Llanfair PG) 21-20 in a close final.

The Visit.Com Flyer title went to Paul Beer (Meole Brace) who had a 9-6 win over Callum Wraight (Knutsford), whilst the Last Chance Mixed Final was won by Neil Rigden (New Longton) who beat John Clark (Wrockwardine Wood) 21-19 in another close final.

In the doubles competitions the Open Doubles was won by Peter Yates (Kirkham) and Steve McCall (Kirkham) with a 11-5 win over Martin Gilpin (Kendal Vic) and Ian Nicholson (Kendal Vic).

The Men’s doubles was won by Walter McCarthy (Marown) and David Jackson (Knutsford) defeating Paul Bailey (Meersbrook BC) and Frank Jolly (Canberra) 11-6 in an entertaining final.

The Ladies pairs was won convincingly 11-1 by Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) and Carleen Doody-Millington (Meole Brace) who beat Sylvia Bentham (Tarleton) and Joan Jolly (Canberra).

The Mixed pairs was won by Patricia Edwards (Winstanley) and Michael Coupe (Hoghton) defeating Sharon Ridgen (Penwortham Sports) and Kevin Nicholas (Gresford Colliery) 9-4.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Ditchfield Secures Davisons Autumn Shield

Peel Bowling Club hosted the popular pre-festival competition the Davisons Autumn Shield on Sunday. The competition attracted 96 entries which made for a long day, with start times given out to those taking part.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Bob Wyatt (Packhorse BC), Brian Furber (Pavilions) Tom Kelly (Peel) and Dido Kelly (South Ramsey).

In the semi-finals Neil Wright (Kirkham) ended the challenge of Neil Ridgen (New Longton) with a 21-15, whilst Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) booked his place in the final with a 21-12 win over Steve McCall (Kirkham).

In the final club mates Wright and Ditchfield took to the green with both players knowing each other’s game well it was always going to be a close final, however Ditchfield did enough to take a 21-18 win and his third success in this competition.

The presentation was made by Ian Davison, who once again sponsored the competition. There was over £750 paid out in prize money with the winner receiving £300. Thanks were also given to everyone who had helped with the running of the competition.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

September Festival Preview

Mens September Festival Winner 2017

John Bailey

September Festival Preview

The Isle of Man September Bowling Festival takes place this week with a host of top names from across the game hoping to be the one that gets their name on the trophy and the winners cheque for £3,000.

It’s seems like an awful long time since South Ramsey’s John Kennish won back to back Festivals in September 2014 and then June 2015, however it is the first festival since then that Kennish has not had to give his opponents a start due to his previous successes.

Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) makes his first visit to the Island since becoming a father, will be looking to pick up his first festival since 2010, whilst Craig Gant (Thongsbridge) could face Ditchfield in the second round, however with Gant having to give his opponents a two start this could make it more difficult to progress.

2012 winner Dave Phillips (Lloyd Hotel) is another one who will be hoping to get his name on the trophy for a second time, whilst 2017 winner John Bailey (Knutsford) will be looking to retain the trophy he won for the first time last year after years of trying.

On the same page as Bailey is three time winner Ian Nicholson (Kendal Vic) with a potential fourth round clash.

June festival winner Martin Gilpin (Kendal Vic) will be hoping for back to back festival wins, having last won the September title in 1999 when he beat Norman Fletcher (Blackpool) in the final.

Another regular visitor to the Island Callum Wraight (Knutsford) will be hoping to secure his first festival win having won most of the games biggest prizes, this is one he will be keen to tick off his list.

With six greens in use and nine different competitions throughout the week there is plenty of bowls for everyone and with the weather looking good it should make for a great week of bowls.

Have a great week!

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Bolton & Quayle Win Derek Killey Memorial

Derek Killey Memorial Winners 2018

Photo: Glynn Hargraves

There was an entry of 34 pairs for the Derek Killey Memorial held on Sunday at Onchan Bowling Club.

The eventual winners were the South Ramsey/Port St Mary duo of Lyn Bolton and Trevor Quayle who beat the South Ramsey pair of Jenny Moore and James Teare 21-7 in the final which was played under the floodlights.

Losing semi-finalists were the home pairing of Sue Gawne and Rob Cowley, along with another South Ramsey pair Kim Hargraves and Stefan Kelly.

The presentation was made by Kevin Quirk who thanked Eileen Killey for the continued sponsorship of the competition held in memory of her late husband Derek Killey who was a popular member of the bowls community. Thanks were also given to the club members who had helped officiate and provide refreshments throughout the day. Libby Andrade was then introduced to present the prizes with the finalists generously handing back their prize money to add to the total amount of over £500 raised for Alzheimer’s IOM.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

South Ramsey A Edge Closer to Hat-trick of League Titles

It was only the second double week of the season in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one this week with the positions at the top and bottom becoming a lot clearer.

Champions South Ramsey A had a good week starting with a 10-0 win at home to bottom of the table Douglas B. For the visitors Pat O’Donohue lost 16-21 against John Kennish, whilst Grahem Moore was 9-1 up on Glynn Hargraves before losing 15-21.

On Wednesday evening South Ramsey A had a much tougher fixture away to Onchan A on a wet night, despite this the Onchan green played well with the rain mostly holding off for the duration of the match with some good comebacks from both teams. For Onchan Phil Kerruish was first off winning 21-15 after being 7-10 down to go 20-10 up, with Grills taking five singles to get back to 15-20 before Kerruish got in to finish the game. Stefan Kelly replied for South Ramsey after taking a 10-4 lead against Steve Crampton with Crampton getting back to 17-18 before Kelly finished with a single and a double to win 21-17. Glynn Hargraves was next off for the visitors recovering from 5-9 down against Kevin Quirk to take a 19-12 lead. Quirk picked up five points over the next four ends to pull the score back to 17-19 and was lying one before Hargraves got back in to finish the game with two singles to win 21-17. Perhaps one of the best comebacks of the night was the game between Peter Slinger and Dido Kelly with Slinger taking a 15-5 lead only for Kelly to take 14 points without reply to go 19-15 up. Slinger then staged his own mini comeback to take the next four ends scoring six points to run out winning 21-19. Kelly would have been disappointed at playing a poor end at 19-15 up and then having opportunities on the next two ends to get back in. The match could not have been any closer at the halfway stage at 2-2 and the chalks tied at 76 each.

In the second half Rob Monk helped Onchan’s cause performing well to win 21-6 against Peter Collister. John Kennish responded with a 21-12 win over Jordan Cain, with Cain doing well to reach 12 after being 2-13 down in a game which had several tight ends. David Bradford was another who dug in for his team to pull off a good comeback against Matthew Quirk who performed well despite eventually losing out. Quirk was 14-6 up before Bradford ‘edged’ his way back into the game playing the edge along the shelter side of the green to take the lead 18-16. Quirk replied with three singles to retake the lead at 19-18 with Bradford getting back in playing a good bowl to level up the score 19-19. Bradford then played two good length bowls on the last end to take a double to secure a 21-19 victory with his experience seeing him through a tough game. This left Alan Moore needing to win 21-16 or better against Mark Kelly to secure the aggregate for the visitors, with Moore doing just that winning 21-11 to secure the aggregate by just six chalks (145-139). South Ramsey came away with a 7-3 win knowing they had been in a tough game against an Onchan team that performed well despite the loss.

Marown picked up two wins during the week, however slipped three points further back on the league leaders South Ramsey. On Monday night the Crosby men won 7-3 away to Castletown A with Peter Oates, Juan Kermode and Jordan Drewett beating Peter Kelly, Matthew Keggen and Phil Kelly respectively.

On Wednesday evening Marown had a tough looking home fixture against Peel A, however they still managed to take a 7-3 win with Paul Dunn and Colin Kelly winning 21-8 against David Proctor and Frank Watson respectively. Dean Kipling won comfortably 21-11 against Mick Kavanagh, whilst Peter Kelly did well to beat Peel captain Stevie Kelly 21-18, with Paul Kelly beating Tom Kelly to the same score. Winning for Peel were Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly who beat Neil Withers 21-16, with Tommy McMeiken beating Matthew Keggen to the same score and Jerome Surridge defeating Phil Kelly 21-17.

South Ramsey B will have been pleased with their weeks work despite losing 8-2 away to Marown B they managed to beat Douglas A 6-4 at home. The result on another night could have ended up 9-1 to the Ramsey men with Sid Bolton, Steven Waters and George Brew all losing 19-21 to Jimmy Sansom, Gary Conwell and Shaun Seal respectively. Austin Hart recorded his second league win of the season defeating Ian Moore 21-13, with good wins from Tony Dugdale, Ben Dugdale and James Teare.

Port Erin A now need a minor miracle to stay up having picked up five points following an 2-8 away loss to Peel A and a 3-7 home defeat against Marown B. The Breagle Glen team are 13 points from safety with three games to play, one of which is away to the team closest to them South Ramsey B.

Douglas B picked up just one point this week and are certainties to be relegated to the second division.

In division two it was very much a case of as you were at the top with both Noble’s A and Castletown B taking 14 points each with both teams picking up the points with differing results.

Noble’s A won both of their fixtures 7-3 starting the week with a home win over Onchan B that could have been 9-1 with Glenn Boland losing 19-21 to Mike Alexander and Mark Quinn also missing out 18-21 to Colin Spence. Noble’s ended their week with a good away win against Peel C, with David Quayle, David Pease and Tommy Collister all winning close games.

Castletown B started their week with a 6-4 win taking the aggregate by just six chalks. Alan Phair missed out on winning an extra point for the visitors losing 20-21 to Brian Colquitt. In their second fixture of the week Castletown beat Onchan B 8-2 bettering the result that Noble’s had recorded against the same opposition on Monday evening.

At the other end of the table Port St Mary C look to be safe on 73 points having picked up 12 points during the week helped by a 9-1 home win over the side closest to them Noble’s B. Things don’t look so good for Port Erin B who are firmly rooted to the bottom of the table on 50 points and facing a return to division three, with Noble’s B looking likely to suffer the same fate, currently sitting 22 points from safety with just three games to play.

In division three Marown C continue to set the pace at the top of division three following two good 7-3 wins, away to Peel D and at home to Douglas C.

Castletown C are hot on their heels, sitting just three points behind Marown despite giving a number of walkovers throughout the season. It was great to see Nathan Cooil back playing league bowls with Cooil showing he has still got it with two single figure wins, winning 21-2 and 21-9.

Another three points back on Castletown are Ballaugh B who have a game in hand on the two teams above them, which they could well use to return to the top of the league if they record a big win.

Two of the junior players performed well this week with Peel D player Ryan Tate winning both of his games, with Ryan Hargraves doing the same for South Ramsey D. Both players have improved this year, as shown in their improvement not just in winning games, but their overall scores.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Marown Head Up Group A In Club Team Championship

The Finch Hill Team defeated by Marown

Finch Hill Squad

The Finch Hill Team defeated by Marown. Photo: Arnie Withers

Marown currently lead the way in Group A with six points after three games, courtesy of winning all five singles games and the three doubles game at home to Finch Hill, who sit bottom of the table in Group A with no points having played four of their six fixtures in the group. Marown look clear favourites to top the group with the squad at their disposal, however they still have to face Peel at Crosby, along with Port St Mary home and away to progress.

Group B has opened up nicely with Onchan sitting top having played three games. Despite Onchan suffering two heavy defeats in the singles games they pulled enough points back in the other games to secure the victory by just four chalks against Douglas. Onchan travel to South Ramsey for their next fixture. Once this fixture has taken place this will give a better idea as to who will go through in the group, with it becoming clear in this format that a lot depends on the draw as to which players get drawn in the singles and the doubles.

South Ramsey slipped to defeat at North Ramsey losing out by 18 chalks to earn the two points the Mooragh Park men, with Brian Colquitt and John Cannan inflicting single figures defeats in the singles games on their opponents Ian Moore and James Teare.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves