There was a strong entry of 67 in this years Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship held at Douglas Bowling Club on ‘the Villa’ on Saturday with the green being in superb condition for the Associations premier event with the first day seeing the competition being played down to the last 16.

In the last 16 Darren Kerruish took on Marown club mate Paul Kelly to get the action underway on Sunday in front of a good turnout for finals day with Kelly taking a 19-13 lead. Kerruish dug in to get the score level at 19-19 and was lying game only for Kelly to play a great bowl to save game and then finish the game off on the next end.

Jordan Cain (Onchan) was the underdog against the favourite South Ramsey’s David Bradford, however Cain put in a superb performance to end Bradford’s hope of a second title winning 21-12.

Neil Withers (Marown) took on Peel man Andy Kennish and managed to get over the line 21-17, whilst the Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly v Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly battle lived up to expectations with Dido leading 18-15, however Barney hit back to win 21-18 to book his spot in the quarter finals.

Alan Moore (South Ramsey) performed well to see off Phil Kerruish (Onchan) with a 21-15 victory, whilst Port St Mary’s Wayne Roberts made light work of Matthew Keggen (Marown) to win 21-13.

Another Port St Mary man Paul Skelly had his hopes ended for another year at the hands of John Kennish (South Ramsey) with the game being in the balance at the half way point, before Kennish pulled away to see the game out 21-14. Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) never got into the game against Marown’s Colin Kelly with Kelly easing to a 21-9 victory.

In the quarter finals Jordan Cain took on Paul Kelly, with Cain taking the win 21-15, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly made light work of Neil Withers to win 21-5 in the corners.

In the bottom half of the draw Alan Moore was firmly in control of his game at 16-10 up, however Wayne Roberts then scored 11 consecutive points to run out with a 21-16 win to reach his first semi-final. In the last match of the quarter finals 11 time winner John Kennish took on five time champion Colin Kelly, this was another game that looked like it would go right to the wire with the score tied at 9-9 after 13 ends, Kelly then took control to go 16-10 ahead and then 19-13 before seeing the game out winning 21-14.

In the semi-finals Colin Kelly wasted no time in reaching the final ending the fantastic run of Wayne Roberts with a 21-5 win, whilst Jordan Cain and Barney Kelly were tied 13-13 after 19 ends. From there Cain only allowed Kelly to score just two more points allowing Cain to go through to his first Manx Championship final with a 21-15 win.

The final was eagerly anticipated with both players predictably playing their preferred length early on. With the score tied at 5-5 after nine ends Kelly then went on a good run to take a 14-6 lead. When Cain did get in he did try something different to try to reduce the deficit, however Kelly immediately responded to this with a quick fire two to fully punish Cain. Kelly sealed his sixth Manx Championship title with a single on the last end to take a 21-11 win.

Kelly’s win was fully deserved beating two former champions on the day, playing well throughout as did Cain who had to beat Ian Moore, Kevin Quirk, David Bradford, Paul Kelly and Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to reach his first final.

The presentation was made by Association Chairman Neil Withers and President John Keenan. Thanks must go to the competition secretary Matthew Keggen and his team for running the competition, Douglas Bowling Club for the condition of the green, the excellent catering and to the club members who were on hand to help throughout the weekend.

Douglas Bowling Club hosted the first day of the eagerly awaited Canada Life International Manx Championship with the first round seeing some interesting draws take place. 

Paul Kelly won all three games convincingly to book his place in finals day, with his last game resulting in a 21-8 win over Peter Collister, whilst Marown C player Darren Kerruish came through two games to book his spot.

Two time winner Kevin Quirk disposed of 2015 runner up Trevor Quayle with relative ease to win 21–10, before facing team mate Jordan Cain in the next round with Cain taking a 16-5 lead, before Quirk worked his way back into the game eventually losing out 17-21.

Paul Dunn and David Bradford both came through their first games with single figures wins to then play each other in the next round in a game which was fascinating to watch for the spectators. Bradford recovered from 11-15 behind to creep over the line 21-19 with both players undoubtedly respecting the ability of their opponent.

Three time winner Andy Kennish beat 1994 winner Phil Kelly in his first game, before facing home greener Mervin Sayle in the next round, with Sayle losing out 18-21 for Kennish to take his spot in the last 16. 

2009 winner Neil Withers will be hoping to be in better form on Sunday, following a hard fought 21-20 win over Frank Watson & a 21-14 victory over Edward Carlyle.

David ‘Dido’ Kelly had to work hard to beat Marown’s Brian Kelly 21-17, then won his next game 21-10 against Peel’s Tom Kelly to go through to Sunday.

Things were a lot more straightforward for Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly with his dream still alive for a first Championship win, whilst 1986 winner Phil Kerruish also made it through.

South Ramsey’s Alan Moore got through his second game against Peter Slinger 21-19, with Slinger having disposed of the in form Tommy McMeiken in the first round.

Matthew Keggen & Wayne Roberts came through their two games, with Roberts playing the corners well to beat Steve Parker at his own game 21-6.

Paul Skelly made it through two games which looked to be tough, however he brushed aside Rob Monk 21-9, then took Stevie Kelly apart 21-4 to fire out an ominous warning to his opponents.

Eleven time winner and current champion John Kennish had 9 chalks scored against him in his two games, whilst Glynn Hargraves beat Nathan Hamilton 21-14 before seeing off Dean Kipling 21-7.

Colin Kelly came through his first game with no trouble, then faced home greener Shaun Seal who himself had come through a tough first round game to beat the youngest player in the competition, 10 year old Ryan Hargraves who had recovered from a big deficit to then take a good lead before losing out 17-21. Young Hargraves is certainly one to watch out for in the future. Seal played well against Kelly before losing out 17-21.

Last 16 Line Up

Paul Kelly vs Darren Kerruish

Jordan Cain vs David Bradford

Andy Kennish vs Neil Withers

David ‘Dido’ Kelly vs Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly

Phil Kerruish vs Alan Moore

Matthew Keggen vs Wayne Roberts

Paul Skelly vs John Kennish

Glynn Hargraves vs Colin Kelly

Sunday sees some interesting ties with Paul Kelly taking on club mate and C Team player Darren Kerruish.

Cain & Bradford is likely to be a good watch, whilst former home greener Andy Kennish takes on Neil Withers. 

There may be chants of ‘there’s only one David Kelly’ after Dido takes on Barney to decide who goes through to the quarters.

In the bottom half of the draw Phil Kerruish will look to use all his experience to progress against Alan Moore, who can play as well as anyone on his day.

Matthew Keggen against Wayne Roberts could be a close affair, whilst all eyes will be on Paul Skelly and John Kennish, with Skelly having beaten Kennish in years gone by in the Manx Championship he will be looking for a repeat performance this year.

Glynn Hargraves takes on Colin Kelly, with Hargraves ending the challenge of Kelly at this same stage in 2015, Kelly will be hoping to take the trophy home for the first time since 2011.

At the last 16 stage we have seven previous winners still in the competition with 24 wins between them, could this be the year a new name is engraved on the famous trophy?

With Douglas Bowling Club having stepped in to host the Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship at the Villa this weekend on a fantastic surface it brings the event back to the same green that David Bradford won his first Manx Championship on in 2015. Bradford must surely start as the favourite on this green, having won a number of open competitions on the Villa over the past five years.

Beaten finalist in 2015 Trevor Quayle will be hoping to go one step further this time to win his first title, as will team mate Paul Skelly who has previously reached the semi-finals. 

Last year’s winner and 11 time champion John Kennish has played very little bowls so far this season, however it would take a brave man to bet against Kennish picking up title number 12. 

Marown have four previous winners with Colin Kelly’s five wins, the last of which was in 2011 against team mate Neil Withers, who himself won his only championship on his own green in an epic final in 2009. Dean Kipling’s win was way back in 1992 on Port Erin, whilst Phil Kelly won his title on Noble’s 1 in 1994.

Peel have just one previous winner with Andy Kennish, who won the last of his three titles in 1999, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly will have competition from son Stevie to get his name on the trophy for the first time.

Onchan have two previous winners in their ranks with Kevin Quirk having won twice in 2005 at Ronairco & 2008 on Noble’s 1, whilst Phil Kerruish won it on Castletown in 1986. Both of these players have vast experience & were in good form last weekend to each pick up individual open wins. As well as their experienced players Onchan have a group of young players who themselves now have a wealth of experience with Matthew Quirk who recently got a huge breakthrough to win his first singles open, whilst Jordan Cain and Rob Monk will also be keen to lift the trophy on Sunday.

Apart from Bradford & Kennish South Ramsey have Glynn Hargraves who will be hoping to take the trophy home to add to his two back to back wins on Finch Hill & Castletown in 2012 & 2013, with Hargraves having narrowly lost out to Trevor Quayle in the semi-finals in 2015. Dido Kelly could do well on this green with there being plenty of trickery to work with.

Best of luck to all bowlers this weekend, who knows there might just be a new name on the trophy…

Peel A hosted Marown A in the sunset city in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one with the match turning out to be a thriller. Last season the Crosby men suffered an 2-8 loss in this fixture.

Peel made a good start in the match to go 3-1 up at the half way point with a 21 chalk lead. Tom Kelly was up against his Dad Colin Kelly for the first time in a league fixture and probably won’t be welcome round for a Sunday roast dinner anytime soon after pulling off a stunning 21-13 win. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won 21-9 against Dean Kipling, whilst Jerome Surridge got home with a 21-18 victory over Phil Kelly. Picking up a valuable win for Marown was Paul Kelly who did enough to win 21-19 against Gary Smith.

Andy Kennish was Peel’s only winner in the second half of the match edging out Matthew Keggen, with Kennish having trailed 13-17 he had to dig deep to take a 21-19 win. Marown’s fight back started with Neil Withers winning 21-10 against David Proctor, whilst Paul Dunn left the match finely poised at 4-3 (124-122) to Peel with his 21-11 victory to inflict a first league defeat on Tommy McMeiken. Home captain Stevie Kelly was 15-4 and 17-7 up on John Gelling and looked on course to seal a 7-3 win, however Gelling had other ideas rolling back the years to score 14 consecutive points to pull off a stunning comeback and in doing so the Crosby men went home delighted with their 4-6 win by just two chalks (141-143).

Peel can take heart from having pushed Marown so hard, however it is hard to argue with Marown being the team to beat this season having played three fixtures in which they picked up just 10 points from last season (South Ramsey A, Marown B and Peel A) yet this season they have picked up 22 points from the same fixtures.

Onchan A have crept along quietly this season and find themselves top on 48 points after seeing off Castletown B with a 9-1 home win. Rob Monk sits in first place in the merit table closely followed by team mate Matthew Quirk. Jordan Cain inflicted a first league defeat of the season on former doubles partner Bob Clark, whilst the sole winner for Town was George Foy who beat Mark Kelly 21-8. Onchan’s next five games see them face tough tests with away games against Douglas, North Ramsey and Port St Mary, whilst hosting close rivals Marown A and South Ramsey A to reach the half way point of the season.

Castletown A hosted South Ramsey A with the same fixture in 2018 resulting in a 10-0 win for the visitors. This time round the Town men took three games off the visitors with Sam Clague keeping his composure to record an assured 21-11 win over Stefan Kelly. Jordan Drewett dug in for his team to claw his way back from 11-19 down against Peter Collister to run out with a 21-19 win, whilst David Quayle recovered from 15-20 down to beat Alan Moore 21-20. For the visitors David Bradford beat Peter Oates 21-7, with James Teare not far behind defeating George Peach 21-9. South Ramsey sit in third place on 44 points, with tough away games against Onchan A & Peel A still to come in the first half of the season, which will give them a better idea of where they will finish this season, however the title looks to be too far away on current form.

Port St Mary A got back to winning ways after three consecutive defeats with a 4-6 away win over Noble’s A who are now bottom of the table with 18 points after six games. For the Port men Wayne Roberts & Paul Skelly won to single figures, whilst Trevor Quayle was also back in business with a 21-13 victory over David Pease with Bernard Thackrah holding off Steve Cook to win 21-18. For the home team Glenn Boland, Kevin Firth and Tommy Collister won fairly comfortably, whilst Steve Hall marked his first match against his former club with a 21-20 victory over Dave McCabe.

South Ramsey B won’t be too unhappy with their 4-6 home defeat to Douglas A, with Tony Dugdale making it five wins from six games holding off Ian Moore to win 21-19, with Edward Carlyle also pushed hard by Keith Rise before getting over the line 21-18. Steven Waters made light work of Shaun Seal to win 21-8, whilst Christian Caley will have been pleased to see off Gary Conwell 21-15. Winners for the villa men were Mervin Sayle, Jimmy Sansom, Stuart Garrett and captain Andy Cannell who got home 21-19 against George Brew.

Marown B sit comfortably in mid table following an assured 7-3 home win over North Ramsey A. The three winners for the Mooragh men were Steve Walmsley, Gary Merrill and Bryan Corner. Home captain Harry Barton led the way for his team, backed up by Luke Hyland and the experienced trio of Arnie Withers, Peter Kelly and Juan Killip.

In division two league leaders Ballaugh A put some distance between their nearest placed rivals Finch Hill A with a fine 9-1 home win over the Finch men. Young Patrick Grant stepped up into the A team and recorded his first league win of the season with a 21-19 victory over Sefton Dent. Peter Hughes prevented the whitewash thanks to a 21-19 win over Barry McDonald.

Marown C headed south to take on Port St Mary B, putting up a good fight before losing 7-3, taking three games off a team who will be looking to challenge at the top of the league. Winners for the Crosby men were Walter McCarthy, Jamie Joughin and Darren Kerruish.

In division three South Ramsey C really have the bit between their teeth following their 10-0 demolition of Noble’s B to extend their lead over second placed Ballaugh C to 13 points. The Ballaugh outfit could only draw 5-5 at home thanks in part to Port Erin B being a player short.