Wednesday evenings league action in Canada Life International Division One was unaffected, despite the heavy rain earlier in the day with all scheduled matches going ahead, with the rain only setting in once again when fixtures were taking place.

League champions South Ramsey A continued their solid start to hit top spot as they played in their first home game of 2023, seeing off Marown B with a 9-1 victory. Four games were won to single figures by David Bradford, Bob Clark, James Teare and Peter Collister. Not having it all their own way were Glynn Hargraves who beat Karl Parker 21-15, Jordan Cain recovered from a 12-16 deficit to beat Matthew Keggen 21-18, whilst Alan Moore had to dip deep for his 21-19 win over Juan Killip. The last game on the green resulted in John Kelly picking up the visitors only win of the night with a well deserved 21-14 victory over Stefan Kelly.

Marown A played their second home game of the season hosting Peel A, who were missing three of their regular first team. The Crosby men brushed aside their opponents with an 8-2 win to remain in second place. Captain Paul Dunn was the only winner to single figures as he beat George Gadsby 21-8. Having to work hard for their wins were Peter Jones who beat Gordon Corrin 21-19 and Paul Kelly who recovered from a 14-18 to get past Stevie Kelly 21-20. The two winners for the visitors were Tommy McMeiken who got home 21-15 against Glenn Boland, whilst Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton beat Phil Kelly 21-19.

Onchan A hosted a much-improved South Ramsey B at the Park, with the hosts winning 7-3. For the visitors Tony Hart made his first start of the season count with a 21-7 win over Neil Dunwell, Austin Hart beat Jamie Clague 21-11, whilst Tony Dugdale held off Phil Kerruish 21-18. Winning to single figures for Onchan were Kevin Quirk and Reg Temporaza over Christian Caley and Ben Dugdale respectively.

Peel B remained in third place after their 6-4 home win over Castletown A, with Dave Smith and Paul Quirk claiming comfortable wins for the home team, helping them claim the two-point aggregate by nine chalks (144-135). For the Town men Ron Williams was the best winner as he beat Jeff Wilson 21-8, Nathan Cooil won 21-14 against Brian Lindsay. David Quayle won 21-18 in a close game with Michael Kavanagh, with Aaron Richardson edging his game 21-20 with Rob Middleton.

Another close game was played out at the Villa between Douglas A and Port St Mary A, as the home team crept home with a 6-4 win by just eight chalks (130-122). Gary Conwell continued his return to form with a 21-3 win over Dave Saxon, Keith Rise won 21-10 against Robbie Cooil, whilst Shaun Seal inflicted a 21-13 defeat on Paul Skelly. For the Port men Wayne Roberts returned to winning ways with a 21-5 win over Merv Sayle, Trevor Quayle bounced back with a 21-12 win over Jimmy Sansom, with Tim Williams seeing off Mark Kneen 21-14.

Marown C welcomed North Ramsey A to Crosby on Thursday evening as the teams played out a 4-4 draw, however the Crosby men took the aggregate by 18 chalks for a 6-4 win. Sid Bolton made his debut for Marown with a 21-3 win over Tony Smart, with Kevin Kelly and Stephen Rundle both winning 21-10 against Adrian Skinner and Gary Merrill respectively. For the visitors Steve Walmsley was their best winner as he beat Peter Kelly 21-11, Paul Allison beat Jamie Joughin 21-14, whilst Rob Monk and Allan Callow both won 21-16.

In Division Two Finch Hill A went top with a 9-1 home win over North Ramsey B, with the Finch men just missing out on a whitewash by just three chalks as David Callow beat Pat Maher 21-18. Four single wins for the home team keeping the visitors to 93 chalks showed the dominance on the night.

Noble’s B came back down to earth after their first game victory with their 2-8 home defeat to Onchan B, with the visitors a player short this awarded a Phil Salmon a welcome walkover, whilst Stephen Corkill picked up their second point of the night as he held off Mark Kelly 21-19. For Onchan Bernie McPhee and Steve Parker were pushed close before prevailing 21-17 against Noel Ash and Grahem Moore respectively.

Port Erin A got a first win of the season under their belt thanks to a hard fought 7-3 home win over Douglas B as they edged the chalks (151-147). For the Breagle men Seamus Whelan beat Kevin Firth, whilst teammate Mark Stockham also won to the same score against Paddy Murphy. For the visitors Geoff Mayles was on the right side of a 21-20 as he beat Ed Benson.

Castletown B hosted Onchan C at the Crofts, with the home team claiming a 7-3 home win as Ian Watson, Ross Moore and John Matheson all won their games to single figures. Responding for the visitors were Denis Maxwell and Bernard Galka who both claimed single figure wins of their own.

Just three fixtures scheduled for Tuesday evening went ahead as each of the away teams claimed victories with the heavy rain any home advantage will have been lost. In Division Three Douglas C came away from Finch Hill B with a 3-7 win with the home team being a player short this could ultimately have cost them the aggregate as they lost by 17 chalks. Winning to single figures for Finch were Sam Stannard-Duke and Chris Thompson, with Sefton Dent getting their third win as he beat Juan Readshaw 21-14. Each of the wins for the visitors were comfortable.

Marown D came away from the Villa with a 2-8 victory to get their season up and running, as they kept the home team under 100 chalks (94-147) helped by big wins to single figures from Richard Bregazzi, Jay Waters, James Kelly and Eddie Rough, with Greg Brew and Dave Corkish winning for the Villa men.

Newly formed Noble’s D impressed as they picked up their first victory of the season winning 3-7 away to Port Erin B on the night, helped by claiming the aggregate two points as they won by 11 chalks (119-130) despite suffering two single figure defeats. Winning for the Noble’s men were Roy Moore, Jay Elliot, Andrew Bell and Charlie Bell with Steve Colquitt the lucky recipient of a walkover.

Ballaugh B picked up their second win of the season on Wednesday evening as they lead the chasing pack following their 8-2 home win over Port St Mary B, with Richard Green and John Looney winning to single figures, whilst Dicky Watson just missed out on another point for the home team as he lost 20-21 to Derek Cain.

The remaining fixtures were played on a pleasant Thursday evening with South Ramsey D making the trip to Douglas as they took on Noble’s C. The visitors took a 4-6 win on the night with visiting captain Franz ten Donkelaar the only winner to single figures as he won 21-7. Nigel Hinds, who is the son of Colin Hinds impressed with a 21-13 win on his debut over Chris Brown, Paul Moore beat Robert Snape 21-19, a result matched by Lee Greggor who crept home against Billy Blair. Lee’s Dad Andy joked that the ‘bowling gene’ must have skipped a generation following his 14-21 defeat to Ryan Hargraves. Frank Feeney beat debutant Mike Caley 21-15.

Peel D didn’t have far to travel as they made the short trip to take on Ballaugh C (report to follow)…

The first round of fixtures for the 2023 Canada Life International season got underway this week. With 36 teams entered there are 12 teams in each division which includes two new teams, both from Noble’s as they come into division three.

In Division One Peel B who finished third from bottom last season got off to a flier as they demolished an under strength South Ramsey B with a 1-9 away win to go top. Andy Mackie now in his second full season beat Tony Dugdale 21-17, whilst Brian Lindsay held off Austin Hart to win 21-18. Preventing the whitewash was Eddie Carlyle with a 21-15 win over Dougie Allan.

Marown A made a solid start to their campaign with a 9-1 home win at Crosby over North Ramsey A, with Neil Withers, Peter Jones and Phil Kelly all winning to single figures. John Gelling had to fight back from a huge deficit before running out to win 21-18 against Rob Monk. Paul Allison continued where he left off last season, as he was the only winner for the Mooragh men with a 21-14 victory over Glenn Boland, who was making his first team debut.

League champions South Ramsey A started at the same green they secured the league title last season, going one better than their previous result at the Crofts with a 1-9 win over Castletown A. All the Castletown players made it into double figures, with five players finishing on 15 or more as the visitors had to fight for every win. Nathan Hamilton got his season off to a great start with a brilliant 21-12 win over South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, as coincidentally he was the lone winner for Port St Mary A when he beat Colin Kelly in the first fixture of the 2022 season.

Peel A started the season on a positive note with a 7-3 home win over Onchan A. For the home team Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly was the only winner to single figures on the night. The three visitors for the winners were Will Penhallurick who beat David Proctor 21-15, Reg Temporaza beat Tommy McMeiken 21-13, whilst Matthew Quirk had to dig deep for his 21-18 victory over Dean Kinley.

The closest match in Division One was between Port St Mary A and newly promoted Marown C. The visitors came away with a 4-6 win taking the chalks and two-point aggregate (134-143). The Crosby men look to have a team well placed to stay up. Steven Rough performed well to beat Wayne Roberts, Tom Kelly won 21-9 against Robbie Cooil, while Tom’s younger brother Kevin not to be outdone beat Paul Skelly to the same score. Peter Kelly caused an upset as he beat Trevor Quayle 21-20. For the home team Dan McCabe held off Dan Smith 21-19, with Tim Williams the best winner as he beat Conor Keenan 21-11.

Marown B kicked off their season with a 7-3 home win over Douglas A, as they claimed the aggregate by 15 chalks (151-136). For the home team Brian Kelly held his nerve to beat Mark Kneen 21-20, with Harry Barton beating Jimmy Sansom 21-18. Winning for the visitors were Ian Moore, Shaun Seal and Gary Conwell who beat Darren Kerruish, John Kelly and Walter McCarthy respectively.

In Division Two Ballaugh A are the early leaders following their 9-1 home win over last season’s Division Three winners North Ramsey B. Steve Grant was the best winner for the home team with a 21-7 win over Andrew Honour, whilst the experienced John Maddrell beat Adam Greenwood 21-8. For the visitors Paul Cannan was the only winner with his 21-13 victory over Mike Spooner.

Newly promoted Noble’s B matched the Ballaugh A result with a 1-9 away win over Onchan C, with the players from last season sticking together with their games clearly improving as they made an excellent start to life in Division Two. Two single figure winners were picked up by Stephen Corkill and Michael Cooper, whilst Junior bowler Alex Hampson made a great start with a solid 21-10 win over Denis Maxwell. For Onchan Brian Aspden recorded a comfortable 21-8 win over Ciaran Broad.

Port Erin A hosted Finch Hill A at Breagle Glen, it was the notoriously poor travellers who Finch who took home a 3-7 win, with Les Brookes and Dave McCabe both winning to single figures. The evergreen Derek Allen responded for the home team with a 21-9 win over Brian Murphy.

Onchan B started well with a solid 8-2 home win over South Ramsey C, with Mike Kelly and Sid McKnight both picking up big wins. For the visitors D Team captain Franz ‘Fonzie’ ten Donkelaar stepped up a division, as he enjoyed his evening with a 21-16 win over Steve Parker, whilst teammate Paul Routledge also beat Paul Callister to the same score.

A new look Castletown B made the trip to Douglas as they took on Noble’s A. It was the Town men who secured a 2-8 away win, with Junior bowler Sam Quayle impressing with a superb 21-6 win over Mark Bradshaw. Winning for the home team were Martyn Hobson and Dave Naughton who beat Ray Harris and Willie Corkill respectively. Mark Quinn lost out 19-21 to John Matheson and Alex Yates got to 17 before succumbing to George Peach.

Douglas B started their campaign with a 7-3 home win over Peel C. For the Villa men Dave Pease was the only single figure winner as he beat David Allwood 21-9, while Willie Cowley and Nick Firth displayed nerves of steel to both edge home 21-20 against Eddie Convery and Paul Baker respectively. For the Peel men Phil Clarke, Jimmy Corlett and Jeff Wilson all had to battle for their wins.

In Division Three the spotlight was on the two new Noble’s teams, with the higher ranked C Team playing their first ever competitive match, they did not disappoint as they easily passed 100 chalks in their 2-8 home defeat to Port St Mary B as they scored 115 chalks to the visitors 153. Leading from the front was captain Steve Cain who beat Nicholas Peterson 21-13, while Lee Greggor a surname all too familiar to those who have been in the game for some time as his Grandad Bobby Greggor used to turn out for Peel. Lee impressed with a 21-14 win over Michael Taylor, while Lee’s father Andy Greggor also turned out for the team who are playing in Leeds shirts (see picture). Also performing well were Paul Moore and Lee Price with both men reaching 19 against their opponents before just losing out.

Another newly formed team Noble’s D hosted Ballaugh C on Thursday evening and they made a great start with a 6-4 home win over Ballaugh C. Steve Colquitt won 21-17 against Peter Corlett, whilst son Alex had a resounding 21-5 win against David Dobbie. Also winning for Noble’s were Roy Moore and Terry Bates.

Marown D who aspire to get promoted following their third place finish last season had a tough night away to Finch Hill B, who despite winning four games, two of which were to single figures, suffered four heavy defeats to lose out on the chalks as they lost 6-4 on the night.

Peel D hosted Douglas D in the Sunset City, on a green which is heading in the right direction following a tough year for Peel, with grass coverage on the Peel green much better than this time last year. The home team took the spoils 7-3, helped by two single figure wins and a walkover. Picking up wins for the visitors were Greg Brew, Bob Banning and David Manley.

Douglas C managed to win four games against Ballaugh B, however the visitors dominated the chalks to take the aggregate and with it a 4-6 away win, which was helped by big wins from Mike Buckeridge, Gary Griffiths and Richard Green.

Elsewhere South Ramsey D and Port Erin B were both a player short in their match with the Northern Team claiming a 6-3 home victory. Frank Feeney performed well to beat Dylan Marsh 21-3, with Alan Crebbin responding for the visitors with a 21-5 win over Chris Brown.

On a lovely Spring afternoon at Finch Hill, 21 teams competed in the Newsbeat Men’s Pairs competition.

At the Quarter Final stage, there were comfortable victories for Karl Parker and Juan Killip (Marown) 21-15 over Dean Kinley and Nathan Hamilton (Peel/Castletown), Colin Kelly and Tom Kelly 21-9 over James and Brian Kelly (all Marown) and defending champions Marown pair Paul Dunn and Neil Withers 21-10 over Noble’s pair Michael Johnson and Ciaran Broad. The final game went the full distance with Les Brookes and Eddie Carlyle (Finch Hill/South Ramsey) just getting the better of the Finch Hill pairing of Dave McCabe and Paul Dougherty.

In the semi-finals, Colin and Tom Kelly were in front early on but Karl and Juan battled back well to edge ahead 15-13 however, a late rally saw Colin and Tom clinch their place in the final 21-15. The other Semi Final was nip and tuck throughout and after 16 ends Les and Eddie were ahead 19-18. Paul and Neil showed their mettle on the next end picking up a three, to make it an all Marown Final.

In the Final, Colin and Tom were always in control and took full advantage of the three chalk handicap advantage, running out comfortable winners 21-10.

Brian Murphy made the presentation on behalf of the sponsors Newsbeat. Colin Kelly thanked the sponsors for supporting the event and also thanked the Ladies from Finch Hill for their excellent catering throughout the afternoon.

League champions South Ramsey A will be wary of the challenge from Marown A, who might well be favourites for the league title in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One following the acquisition of Peter Jones midway through 2022, with John Gelling returning to the fold, whilst Glenn Boland has been promoted to the A team. South Ramsey A meanwhile have made just the one change from last season, with Alan Moore returning to the A team. Just two points separated the teams at the end of the 2022 season.

Newly promoted teams South Ramsey B and Marown C will be looking to consolidate their place in the top division, with Marown C looking well placed to hold their own.

In Division Two Onchan B and Port Erin A will be looking for an immediate return to the top flight. Noble’s A who settled into Division Two will be looking to improve on last year’s ninth place finish. North Ramsey B and Noble’s B were the teams promoted from Division Three last season, as they look to consolidate their place in the middle tier.

In Division Three a number of teams will be looking to push on and improve, with Marown D looking to take the next step as they narrowly missed out on promotion.

There are positive vibes coming from Noble’s, who have introduced two new teams this season. Noble’s C, which is made up of Leeds fans who are new to the game has been put together by Stevie Cain. Other than attending an open day at the end of last season and two weeks of practice recently, the guys really seem to have got the bug. This is a little bit more than a rumour as the team will be playing in Black and Orange shirts (pictured) this season, in line with the club colours, with the twist that they are actually Leeds United shirts!

It is a remarkable turnaround for the club who are one of the oldest clubs on the island which was on the brink of collapsing, to be in a position to now field four teams. The club is going from strength to strength thanks to the work from the new club members.