The top two clashed in Canada Life International League Division One at Crosby on Monday evening, as Marown A hosted South Ramsey A on a fascinating evening of bowls, despite the heavy rain earlier in the day the Marown green was running well.

First game off the green was a home win, as Colin Kelly gave little room for James Teare with a 21-7 win. Neil Withers made it 2-0, as he recovered from a 1-5 deficit against Peter Collister to go 15-5 ahead, as he eventually went on to close the game out 21-14. A third win arrived for the Crosby men as Phil Kelly performed well to see off Stefan Kelly 21-15. The last game off proved to be pivotal to the match as a 4-0 lead at half time would have been difficult for the visitors to come back from. Marown captain Paul Dunn trailed Bob Clark 3-11 and 13-18, only to go ahead 20-19 on the 29^th end. Clark had to dig deep to claim two singles to see the game out 21-20 to pick up the Ramsey men’s first win of the night to put the score at 3-1 at the halfway stage.

In the second half the visitors would have fancied their chances of picking up some points, they got off to a good start as David Bradford beat Paul Kelly 21-9, as he kept his opponent down to just one double. Dido Kelly then sealed their third point as he beat Glenn Boland with a comfortable 21-14 win. The penultimate game on the green was between Peter Jones and Jordan Cain, with the latter going three chalks ahead at 13-10, only to trail 13-18 on the 27th end. A stirring fightback from the Ramsey man followed to go 20-18 ahead, with Cain lying game twice only for Jones to hang in the game with a good saving bowl. Two singles followed for Jones, then on the deciding end the Marown man trailed the jack to get over the line 21-20. The final game of the night saw South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves storm into an 18-7 lead against John Gelling, with a huge comeback from the Marown man who dragged the score back to 19-20 on the 30^th end only for Hargraves to secure the single chalk needed to win 21-19.

With the match ending 4-4 on games, there were just six chalks (146-140) separating the sides, with Marown picking up the aggregate to secure a 6-4 win and with it condemn South Ramsey to their first league defeat of the season. South Ramsey won’t be too disappointed with the result as they are eight points ahead of Marown with just three fixtures left to play.

Onchan A won 8-2 at home to Castletown A, as they missed out on an extra point as Phil Kerruish lost 20-21 to Dave Quayle, with the latter bouncing back from last weeks defeat to the same score. The second winner for Town was Aaron Richardson as he beat Mike Thomas 21-15. Winning big for the home team were captain Peter Slinger who beat Chris Lever 21-2, Matthew Quirk won 21-5 against Ian Watson, whilst Neil Dunwell managed to hold off Nathan Hamilton 21-17.

Peel A are firmly in the hunt for third place as they beat Port St Mary A 9-1 at home to go level on points with Onchan A. With no other games being close, the lone winner for the visitors was Paul Skelly who beat David Proctor 21-15. Three single figure wins for the home team were claimed by Peter Greenlees, Stevie Kelly and Tommy McMeiken over Tim Williams, Dave Saxon, and Wayne Roberts respectively. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly claimed a good 21-14 victory over Trevor Quayle.

North Ramsey A recorded their first 10-0 win of the season as they beat Peel B at Mooragh Park. John Cannan was the only single figure winner as he beat Gordon Corrin 21-9. Paul Allison won 21-17 against Alan Cromwell, Gary Merrill beat Peel captain Paul Quirk 21-18, whilst Andy Mackie was the highest scorer for the visitors as he lost out 19-21 to Kimmy Moffatt.

South Ramsey B gave themselves a glimmer of hope of staying up, with an 8-2 home win over Marown B, missing out on a full house by just five chalks. Matthew Keggen led 18-10 against Christian Caley, with the latter nearly completing another comeback for a second week running only to lose out this time 18-21. Harry Barton was the second winner for Marown as he beat Tony Dugdale 21-19. For the home team Eddie Carlyle beat James Kelly 21-9, with George Brew stepping in to beat Brian Kelly 21-19, whilst Toby Hart won to the same score against John Kelly.

Marown C hosted Douglas A at Crosby on Tuesday evening with the home team going home the happier of the two teams with a 6-4 win. Marown captain Stevie Rundle led the way with a 21-7 win over Gordy Wynne-Smythe, with Peter Kelly not far behind with a 21-9 victory over Andy Foster. Andy Kennish stepped into help the team out as he beat former teammate Gary Conwell 21-15. Rounding off the home wins was Tom Kelly as he beat Villa captain Merv Sayle 21-16. Just losing out for Marown was Kevin Kelly who lost out 20-21 to Kevin Firth. Winning for the visitors were Jimmy Sansom, Keith Rise and Shaun Seal.

In Division Two league leaders Finch Hill A kept the momentum going with a 3-7 away win over Noble’s A, as they just got the aggregate for the chalks (134-136). Mark Bradshaw won 21-5 for Noble’s, with Dave Naughton and Stephen Hampson the other winners. For the visitors Pat Maher beat John Andrew 21-17, whilst Les Brookes got the better of Juan Qualtrough 21-19.

Castletown B had two players making debuts as Paddy Cooper had a tough start to league bowls, as he lost 12-21 to Steve Parker, whilst Kiron Kryptor impressed with a 21-4 win over Paul Callister. Winning close games for Town were Peter Oates who won 21-17 against Mark Kelly, whilst Alan Phair beat Mike Kelly 21-19.

Port Erin A beat North Ramsey B 8-2 at Breagle Glen with single figure wins from Ed Benson, David Cain, and Bernie Durcan against Tony Smart, Joe Kneale, and Lee Christian respectively. Brian Colquitt was the best winner for the Mooragh men as he beat Trevor Barker 21-3.

Douglas B won 7-3 at home to Noble’s B. Winning for the visitors were Alex Hampson, with an impressive 21-11 win over Geoff Mayles. Stephen Corkill beat Dave Corkish 21-7, whilst Ciaran Broad won 21-17 against Paddy Murphy. Comfortable wins to single figures for the home team arrived from David Pease who won 21-9 against Grahem Moore, with Steve Cook beating Michael Cooper 21-4.

Ballaugh A lie in second place, following their 3-7 victory away victory over Onchan C, as the visitors were no doubt still celebrating Friday evening’s Rayner Plate win. John Maddrell was made to work for his 21-18 win over Kelvin McNicholl, Tony Quine was the best winner as he beat Brian Aspden 21-8, whilst Nigel Tebay beat Bernard Galka 21-9.

Peel C got the better of South Ramsey C with a 6-4 home win by just two chalks (143-141). Andrew Cover was the best winner on the night as he beat Richie Davies 21-7, Eddie Convery won 21-19 against Paul Routledge, whilst Harry Kelly just missed out 20-21 to Anthony Kelly.

In Division Three Port St Mary B stayed top of the table despite a 5-5 home draw to Marown D. Winning for the home team were Nicholas Peterson, Pete Collins, and Mike Keggen. The three Port players who lost to 18-21 were Colin Leece, Ken Karran, and Ray Maddrell, as these high scoring defeats helped secure the aggregate by five chalks (142-137).

Ballaugh B are hot on the heels of Port St Mary after their 7-3 home win over their lower ranked C team as they hit 125 points for the season. The Port men stay top thanks to a better games of 97 to Ballaugh’s 95.

Noble’s C took on Noble’s D, with the D Team taking the spoils 8-2. Five single figure wins for the D shown the gap between the teams. Winning for the C team were Mike Caley, who beat Charlie Bell 21-16, Lee Greggor who won 21-15 against Alex Colquitt, with Nigel Hinds losing out 18-21 to Andrew Bell. Noble’s D aren’t to be written off as they are six points off the top as they wait for a slip up from the teams above them.

Elsewhere Douglas C won 7-3 at home to Port Erin B, Finch Hill B beat Douglas D 8-2 at home, with South Ramsey D seeing off Peel D (pictured), with the visitors having some players gaining experience. For Peel William Quirk and Mike Ashmole beat Hakim Thomas and Billy Blair 21-18 respectively, with Joshua Trickett winning 21-18 against Chris Brown. For the home team Geoff Collier won 21-3 against Kevin Murray, with Ryan Hargraves beating debutant John Sayle 21-6.

The Islands premier doubles competition the Plumbmaster Doubles Championship was hosted by Noble’s Bowling Club on Sunday. The competition was played 21up off a handicap of +3 for all competitors. The event was well supported with 31 pairs entering in a bid to win the coveted title.

At the quarter final stage the holders Neil Withers and Paul Dunn (Marown) had a tough battle against Neil Dunwell (Onchan) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) as the Crosby men prevailed 21-18. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly and Stevie Kelly (Peel) just crept home 21-20 against Rob Monk (North Ramsey) and Matthew Quirk (Onchan).

In the other half of the draw both games were also close as South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly beat the Onchan pairing of Kevin Quirk and Steve Parker 21-19, whilst Jordan Drewett (Castletown) and Dean Kinley (Peel) lost out 17-21 to Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly (Marown).

In the semi-finals Dunn and Withers were up against the father and son Barney and Stevie Kelly, with only singles scored in the first nine ends the score was 9-6 to the Marown pair. The Peel men briefly took with the lead on the 10th end, with a four scored only to concede a two and a three to trail 10-14. Just seven more ends were needed for Withers and Dunn to reach the final despite only winning three of the ends, they scored a single, a four and a double to secure a 21-14 win.

The other semi-final saw Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly take on Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly, this was more straightforward as the Marown pairing were kept down to five singles as the South Ramsey men progressed to the final with a 21-8 victory.

On the first end in the final, this ended up a dead end with the jack being taken off the green by Kelly. On the next end a three was scored by the South Ramsey pair, this prompted an immediate response from the Crosby men with two singles, two doubles and three three’s in between conceding just two singles to take a commanding 18-8 lead, with the Marown pair playing good bowls along with the ability to take out their opponents counting bowls. A three from Hargraves and Kelly, prompted a double for Withers and Dunn to put the score at 20-11 to the Marown men.

Withers headed for an edge putting up a good lead bowl to count one for game. With nothing to lose Hargraves came close to taking out the counting bowl only to take out his nearest bowl. Lying three down Kelly used a side bowl to come in off which Kelly did to perfection, with a good bit of fortune they counted for two to put the score at 13-20. Heading for the corners a good lead bowl from Hargraves was beaten by Withers with a front ‘toucher’, which gave Kelly two goes to kill the end, with the second attempt just missing this sealed a fully deserved 21-13 victory to win the title for a fourth successive year, following their wins at Port St Mary in 2020, Peel in 2021, and South Ramsey last year.

The presentation was made by Association President Phil Kelly, who thanked Noble’s Bowling Club and their members for providing helpers throughout the day, along with the competition team for the smooth running of the competition.

The final of the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate took place on Friday evening in windy conditions between second division side Ballaugh A (+45) who are battling for promotion as they occupy second place and first Division side Peel Sunset B (+35) who sit in 9th place in the top division.

Peel would have started as favourites as they ply their trade above the Ballaugh men, with the latter team having a 10 chalk start this was just over one chalk a man for Peel to claw back, however Ballaugh have a good mix of new bowlers, along with their experienced players.

The evening started positively for Peel as captain Paul Quirk stormed to a 21-6 win over John Keenan, with the Ballaugh man never getting a look in as Peel went five chalks ahead on the night. The next game off was a first win for Ballaugh as Mike Spooner one of the newest bowlers in the team beat Geoff Rice 21-15, with Spooner keeping Rice down to scoring just one double, whilst scoring seven doubles himself, with this being the main difference.

The third game went to one of the most experienced players on the green, with John Maddrell determined to show he can still mix it with the younger players as he beat Andy Mackie 21-13. Another one of the Ballaugh stalwarts delivered as Edgar Cowin recovered from a 6-11 deficit against Rob Middleton to take a 21-19 victory, with Cowin seeing the game out with five successive singles, when trailing 16-19.

At the half way stage Ballaugh had maintained and extended their 10 chalk head start over Peel by a solitary chalk to 11 chalks (114-103).

In the second half of the match, with a first ever Team Cup win in their sights Ballaugh captain Phil Quayle ensured the pressure was kept on Peel as he put in a good performance to beat Mick Kavanagh 21-13 to build up a 19 chalk lead. With the remaining three games for Ballaugh going in their favour, the win was all but confirmed as game number six came off, with Richard Hainge also winning to 21-13 as he put in a solid performance to beat Dave Smith.

Next off was the youngest player to play on the night in Patrick Grant, who looked like he could have a game on his hands with Dougie Allan, who is a tough customer. The younger and less experienced bowler never looked in doubt as he went on to seal a 21-13 win over Allan. Putting the cherry on the cake on the night was Nigel Tebay who ensured it was a resounding win for Ballaugh as he beat Alan Cromwell 21-16.

The all-important chalks went in Ballaugh’s favour as they won by a massive 40 chalks (198-158) to ensure the handicap difference of 10 chalks never came into play, whilst also winning 7-1 on games.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee Officer Steve Moore who thanked Finch Hill for hosting the final, along with providing measurers and the refreshments. Captain Phil Quayle was then presented with the trophy, he congratulated his team on their performance and offered his commiserations to Peel.

Rayner Plate Final Results

Ballaugh A	+45	+35	Peel Sunset B
John Maddrell	21	13	Andy Mackie
Mike Spooner	21	15	Geoff Rice
John Keenan	6	21	Paul Quirk
Edgar Cowin	21	19	Rob Middleton
Phil Quayle	21	13	Mick Kavanagh
Nigel Tebay	21	16	Alan Cromwell
Richard Hainge	21	13	Dave Smith
Patrick Grant	21	13	Dougie Allan
7 Games Won	198	158	1 Game Won

The Isle of Man Team took part in the 2023 BCGBA Senior Supplementary County Championship which was held on Sunday at Bellingham Bowling Club in Wigan on a good playing surface.

Drawn in Group 1, as expected the opposition was tough with Cheshire, South Yorkshire and Wales awaiting.

In the first round of matches the eight man team were up against Cheshire as the
the Manx men won 5-3 on games with Peter Jones, Paul Dunn, David Bradford, Bob Clark and Glynn Hargraves all winning, with the three games lost being to high scores (17,19 & 19) as they scored highly to win by 25 chalks (160-135) to make a positive start to pick up two points for the win.

In their second round match South Yorkshire were the opposition, the team managed to win three individual games with the winners being Paul Dunn, Jordan Cain and Bob Clark. Losing out in close games were David Bradford who lost 17-21 to Ross Meese and Neil Withers who was beaten 17-21 by Tom Boyd as they lost this one by a margin of 13 chalks (137-150) just two chalks a man to show the very fine margins between victory and defeat.

In their final match they faced Wales with all still to play for, winning four individual games from Peter Jones, Jordan Cain, David Bradford and Matthew Quirk. The team ultimately won the all important chalks as they won by 9 chalks (150-141) to pick up two points for the victory, helped by high scores from Neil Withers (20), Glynn Hargraves (18) and Bob Clark (17).

Cheshire ended up topping the group, going on to the reach the final where they came up against Warwick & Worcestershire who prevailed in Group 2, in a group that included Merseyside, North Midlands and Potteries. In the final Warwick & Worcestershire edged out Cheshire as they won by just four chalks (146-142) with the winners hanging on to a 22 chalk lead at the half way stage to take the title home.

The Isle of Man Team who were managed by Phil Kerruish and assisted by Juan Kermode finished in a very respectable second place on four points in the group to surpass last years performance in this competition, as they also finished +21 on aggregate chalks to show they can compete with other counties, with Cheshire progressing largely thanks to a huge 50 chalk win over Wales in their second round match, they then went on to beat South Yorkshire by seven chalks to also finish on four points and progress to the final with a better aggregate (+32) than the Isle of Man.

To put this into perspective the Isle of Man have just 13 bowling greens available on the Island, with a limited pool of bowlers to choose from. Whilst other counties have hundreds of greens to play on and thousands of bowlers to pick from, it could well be argued that the Isle of Man are punching above their weight.

A great team effort overall, with all players winning at least one game, no defeats to single figures and generally high scores even in defeat helping contribute to the overall result. It says a lot that the team were disappointed not to reach the final, to show the expectation has increased within the squad.

The Plumbmaster Limited Rayner Shield final between South Ramsey A and Marown C was held at Noble’s Bowling Club on Friday evening on a superb playing surface. The draw took place ahead of the match, with a short video of the draw put together to generate a bit of interest. This appeared to pay off with over 120 spectators in attendance to watch events unfold, on a fine evening for bowls with fantastic support for both teams. League leaders South Ramsey were the clear favourites on the night, however the Marown men would have been hoping to pull off a huge upset.

First off the green for South Ramsey was Jordan Cain who beat Peter Kelly 21-6, with Cain helped by a 11 point scoring streak over eight consecutive ends. Next off was David Bradford who beat Sam Clague as he finished the game in just 19 ends with a solid 21-7 victory.

The next game off the green was a hard earned win from South Ramsey, with both players performing well as James Teare was level with Kevin Kelly after 14 ends at 10-10, as Teare went on to build up an 18-14 lead. Two singles for Kelly closed the deficit to two chalks at 16-18, then Teare closed the game out with three singles to earn a 21-16 win.

The last game off in the first half ended up a good contest. South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves was fully in control as he went into a 14-6 lead over Tom Kelly, keeping the latter down to six singles at that point. On the 18th end the momentum of the game shifted, with Hargraves counting for two a fortuitous hit from the Marown man on his own bowl hit the jack, which then ricocheted off Hargraves’ bowl and fell kindly for Kelly to count two. Kelly went on to turn the game around performing brilliantly to score nine chalks over five ends and briefly went into the lead at 15-14, only for Hargraves to get back in before eventually going on to close the game out 21-17, on the final end lying two down a reaching bowl from Hargraves came off Kelly’s bowl furthest away from the jack, to spring Kelly’s bowl onto the jack, with a measure called this went in favour of Hargraves.

With South Ramsey 4-0 up and dominating the chalks, this didn’t take anything away from the support given by the spectators around the green, as Marown captain Stevie Rundle pulled off the shock of the night as he went into a 16-0 lead against Dido Kelly. The South Ramsey man started to work his way back into the game, however with little margin for error Rundle held his nerve to see the game out with a 21-12 win as he put in a captains innings. The sixth game off the green resulted in South Ramsey’s fifth win and officially sealed the Rayner Shield heading back north as Peter Collister beat Jamie Joughin 21-16, with the latter leading 11-10 at the half way point in the game, before the South Ramsey man’s experience came through to seal the victory.

Game number seven resulted in the biggest win of the night as Bob Clark romped home 21-5 against Steve Rough, with Clark leading 19-1, the Marown man managed to get another four chalks on the board. The last game on the green was on for the some time after game seven came off , with the score 9-6 to Crosby man Dan Smith who was up against Stefan Kelly. The South Ramsey man fought back to lead 10-9 after 15 ends, only for Smith to score five singles over six ends to lead 15-11. Kelly started to find his length, as he managed to see the game out with 10 chalks scored, losing just two of the last nine ends to win 21-18. Smith performed admirably to give the South Ramsey man a scare.

The presentation was made by competition secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked Plumbmaster for sponsoring the competition, Noble’s Bowling Club for the use of the green and their club members for assisting throughout the evening. The Rayner Shield was presented to South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, who offered his commiserations to Marown who had put up a spirited performance and congratulated his side for a superb team performance. South Ramsey’s win sees them take their 7th win in the competition, along with retaining the Shield to hold the title for a third consecutive season.

South Ramsey A			Marown C
Jordan Cain	21	6	Peter Kelly
David Bradford	21	7	Sam Clague
James Teare	21	16	Kevin Kelly
Glynn Hargraves	21	17	Tom Kelly
Peter Collister	21	16	Jamie Joughin
Dido Kelly	12	21	Stevie Rundle
Bob Clark	21	5	Steve Rough
Stefan Kelly	21	18	Dan Smith
7 Games Won	159	106	1 Game Won