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.

There were a number of close fixtures in division one this week with league leaders South Ramsey A visiting Onchan A in a high quality match with close scores in all but one game. For Onchan Kevin Quirk seen off Chas Grills 21-16, Peter Slinger managed to get over the line 21-19, whilst Matthew Quirk played well to beat Stefan Kelly 21-8. For the visitors Alan Moore beat Frank Watson 21-15, Glynn Hargraves recovered from a 14-18 deficit to run out with a 21-18 win after a tough battle. Second half winners for South Ramsey were David Bradford who beat Phil Kerruish 21-15, Dido Kelly won 21-17 against Jordan Cain in a great game to watch, whilst James Teare beat Mark Kelly 21-15 to seal a 3-7 win with the northern team taking the aggregate by just five chalks (143-148).

The closest match of the night was between Castletown A & Peel A at the Crofts, with Peel taking the win 6-4, winning 5-3 on games, but tying on chalks (133-133) after suffering two heavy defeats. For the home team Nathan Hamilton continued his solid start to the season and in doing so inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Tommy McMeiken 21-6, Jordan Drewett beat George Gadsby 21-9, whilst Aaron Richardson did well to beat Ste Kelly 21-13. For the visitors Peter Greenlees beat Ian Watson 21-18, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly got back to winning ways defeating Bob Clark 21-19, with wins from Tom Kelly & Gary Smith being comfortable, whilst Darren Young recorded the biggest win of the night with a 21-4 victory over Nathan Cooil.

North Ramsey A hosted Port St Mary A at Mooragh Park with the home team taking a 7-3 win in another close encounter on chalks (133-132), with Rob Monk somewhat surprisingly turning out for his former club having plied his trade at Onchan for three seasons. Monk made his return after nearly two years out of the game and recorded a fine 21-13 win over Trevor Quayle.

Marown A hosted Ballaugh A at Crosby with the home team recording an 8-2 victory, will have been disappointed to lose two close games with John Gelling losing 18-21 to Richard Hainge, whilst Phil Kelly lost 19-21 to John Keenan. All of Marown’s wins were never in doubt with six single figure victories. Marown remain in third place, closing the gap to the top to just three points.

Noble’s A were well beaten 1-9 at home with Mark Kneen preventing the whitewash with his 21-11 win over John Kelly. For the visitors James Kelly just edged out Steve Cook 21-20. Douglas A got their first win of the season with a 2-8 away win over Peel B. Ian Moore just missed out on an extra point for his team losing 20-21 against Dave Smith, whilst Keith Rise and Shaun Seal both won 21-19 against Dougie Allan and Michael Kavanagh respectively.

In division two Finch Hill A used home advantage to beat Castletown B 6-4, taking the aggregate by nine chalks (139-130). South Ramsey C pulled off a surprise 3-7 away win over Port Erin A, which could have ended up 9-1 to the visitors who lost two games 19-21 with Seamus Whelan and Bernie Durcan both getting over the line against David Corkill and James Evans. Port St Mary B won 7-3 at home to Peel C with Derek Cain winning 21-10 against Paul Baker, whilst Derek’s son Will held his nerve to win 21-20 against Kevin Mort. For the visitors Mike Ashmole beat Rod Swift 21-9.

South Ramsey B hosted Onchan B on a tricky green with the home team maintaining their recent good form with an 8-2 home win. Tony Dugdale was ruthless with his 21-3 win over Paul Clinton, whilst Ben Dugdale went right to the wire with his 21-20 win over Bernie McPhee. For the visitors Mike Kelly continues to perform well in division two with a 21-7 win over Austin Hart, whilst Mike Thomas beat Ian Moore 21-8.

On Tuesday evening Marown C hosted Finch Hill B with the home team winning 7-3 thanks to good single figure wins from Walter McCarthy, Stewart Clague and Kevin Kelly for the Crosby team.

In division three Ballaugh B played their lower ranked C Team with the B taking a solid 7-3 win to ensure they stayed top. South Ramsey D had a tough home fixture against Marown D with the match finishing 5-5 with the visitors winning five games, however the home team won two games to single figures to ensure they took the aggregate on chalks. Steve Cain won his first game with a good 21-16 win over Ryan Hargraves.

Port Erin B hosted Douglas C at Breagle Glen with the home team crushing the visitors 10-0. Castletown C recorded a solid 8-2 home win over Onchan C, however only six chalks separated the teams (133-127) to show it was a closely contested match. 

Peel D slipped to a 2-8 home defeat against Noble’s B. For Peel Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton was ruthless with a 21-0 win over Stan Cooper, whilst team mate Andrew Cover beat Terry Bates 21-16 with both players showing they are ones to watch out for. For the visitors’ Junior player Alex Hampson picked up another win getting over the line 21-20 against Richard Callister.

On a beautiful summer afternoon at Finch Hill Bowling Green, 32 entries took part in the Newsbeat sponsored Men’s Pairs Competition on Sunday.

Andy Kennish (Peel) and Reg Temporaza (Onchan) got through their quarter final with a comfortable win over Tom Kelly (Peel) and Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) 21-11. Likewise, Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (Marown) took care of Kevin Firth(Douglas) and Frank Watson (Onchan) in similar fashion 21-13. Onchan pair, Mike Thomas and Neil Dunwell battled back from 6-13 down to overcome James Kelly and Bobby Thorne (Marown) 21-17. The final quarter final match saw Dean Kinley and Sam Clague (Castletown) defeat Phil Kerruish (Onchan) and Andy Foster (Douglas) 21-15.

In the semi-final Kennish and Temporaza were nip and tuck with Thomas and Dunwell until a decisive15th end when Kennish and Temporaza picked up four to go 19-14 ahead and closed the match out in the next end to win 21-14. In the other semi-final Dunn and Withers were always in control and ran out comfortable winners 21-11 against Kinley and Clague.

Kennish and Temporaza made a fine start in the final and went 13-6 ahead before being pegged back by the Marown pair to 13 across. Again, Kennish and Temporaza forged ahead leading 19-14 before a determined fightback saw the match tied at 20 across, before Dunn and Withers pounced to snatch a thrilling 21-20 victory.

Brian Murphy, Finch Hill Competition Secretary presented the prizes on behalf of Newsbeat and thanked the sponsors for their continued support. He thanked the club members for all their hard work in support of the event which was a great success. Neil Withers thanked the club for the well organised event and praised their opponents for an extremely hard fought contest.

In the first division the match of the week was between Onchan A and Peel A at the Park, with the visitors taking a 4-6 victory courtesy of winning by a solitary chalk (136-137). For the home team Matthew Quirk made his first outing of the season with a 21-7 win over Gary Smith, Phil Kerruish beat George Gadsby 21-17, Reginald Temporaza defeated Tom Kelly 21-16, whilst Jordan Cain pulled off a great 21-7 win over Dave ’Barney’ Kelly. For the visitors Tommy McMeiken beat former Peel man Frank Watson 21-5, Darren Young beat Mark Kelly 21-12, Andy Kennish won 21-16 against Peter Slinger, whilst Ste Kelly beat Kevin Quirk 21-19. The result leaves Peel joint top with South Ramsey A on 33 points.

South Ramsey A recorded another 2-8 away win against local rivals Mooragh Park, a result on another night which could have been 10-0 with Chas Grills losing out 17-21 to Gary Merrill, whilst Alan Moore lost 19-21 to Allan Callow.

Marown A sit in third place four points behind the leaders after a hard fought 6-4 home win over Castletown A, with Sam Clague inflicting a first league defeat of the season over Manx Champion Paul Dunn 21-18. Jordan Drewett won 21-10 against Phil Kelly, Nathan Hamilton beat Juan Killip 21-11, whilst Bob Clark continued his fine form with a 21-9 win over Paul Kelly. Three of the home wins were to low single figures from Colin Kelly, Neil Withers and Matthew Keggen over Aaron Richardson, Ian Watson and Dean Kinley respectively.

Port St Mary A are going along nicely after their 8-2 home win over Douglas A, whose search for a first league win of the season goes on, whilst Noble’s A picked up their first league victory of the current campaign with a 7-3 home win over Ballaugh A. Peel B hosted Marown B in the Sunset city with the home team edging the match 6-4 taking the aggregate by 12 chalks (145-133).

In division two the league is starting to take shape with South Ramsey B starting to get their act together, they sit in second place following their 8-2 win at home to Peel C in a well contested match, winning three close games with Austin Hart winning 21-17 against Kevin Mort, Edward Carlyle seeing off Jimmy Corlett 21-19, whilst George Brew edged it 21-20 against Mike Ashmole.

Finch Hill A held onto first place despite crashing to a 4-6 home defeat against Onchan B, losing out by just two chalks (136-138). Marown C are in fine form following their 7-3 win at home against Port St Mary B, whilst Douglas B are also in the mix after their 9-1 home win at the Villa over Finch Hill B.

Castletown B won 8-2 at home against South Ramsey C, with the home team having played a game less they are currently in mid-table as are Port Erin A who sat out this round of fixtures.

In division three Onchan C went joint top on 31 points following their 2-8 away win over South Ramsey D, with home captain James Moore winning 21-9 against Roger Payne, whilst 13-year-old Ryan Hargraves battled back from a 12-18 deficit against Sid McKnight to win 21-19.

Ballaugh C are level at the top with Onchan C, they came away from Breagle Glen with a 3-7 win over Port Erin B. Noble’s B claimed a 2-8 away win with Alex Hampson taking the bragging rights over fellow junior player Clark Kelly 21-17, whilst Castletown C won 7-3 at home to Douglas D with the new bowlers continuing to impress with David Beynon and Nick Firth (another returning bowler) both winning after starting in the league this season, whilst Juan Readshaw who has returned after a few years out of the game also won.

Marown D continue to impress with a 3-7 away win over Peel D, who had a familiar surname on their team sheet with Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton, who is the son of Jimmy, having returned to bowls after playing as a teenager he won 21-9 against Rob Bell, whilst another new bowler Andrew Cover is another who has family links to bowls through his grandfather and is highly rated by club members lost 12-21 to Alan Gault.

South Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the Association Cup on Sunday with the competition attracting 63 entries. The green was in excellent condition with the green getting quicker throughout the day.

The quarter finals were well contested with home greener Glynn Hargraves losing out 18-21 to Marown’s Matthew Keggen, Bob Clark (Castletown) just lost 20-21 to Colin Kelly (Marown). Jordan Cain (Onchan) ended the challenge of Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) with a 21-16 win, whilst home greener David Bradford progressed with a 21-17 victory over the 2020 winner Sam Clague (Castletown).

In the semi-finals Bradford put paid to the run of Cain who had won the half mountain marathon the previous day, with a 21-13 win, whilst Kelly booked his place with a 21-18 win over Keggen.

The final got underway with Kelly winning the first eight ends in the corners, playing brilliantly with Bradford never far away, building what looked to be an unassailable 16-6 lead over Bradford, who got in with a single then cleared the jack off the green when lying one down on the following end, only to concede a two to trail 7-18. From there Bradford started to pull some points back to trail 12-18 only for Kelly to take two singles and within touching distance of picking up the title. Bradford got back in and headed for the corners playing them well to recover to 16-20 and was counting with two good bowls. Kelly made sure he reached and flicked away Bradford’s bowl and left himself counting for one to win the trophy he last won in 2019.

The presentation was made by competition committee officer Dave Kelly, who thanked South Ramsey for the excellent condition of the green, the club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day and the competition committee for the smooth running of the competition.