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.

Browne Craine & Co sponsored the Men’s Doubles Championship for a third successive year showing their continued support for the Islands premier doubles competition which was played 21 up off scratch. The event was well supported with 33 pairs taking part in a bid to win the title. As well as paying out to the semi-finals onwards, there were also prizes awarded for the furthest pair that included a second division player, third division player and furthest junior.

Losing out at the quarter final stages were the South Ramsey pairing of Alan Moore and James Teare, the Onchan/Marown combination of Rob Monk and Matthew Keggen, Port St Mary father and son duo Peter and Tom Collins along with North Ramsey man Steve Parker who was partnered with home greener Kevin Quirk.

In the semi-finals the first game off was the Marown pair of Phil Kelly and Arnie Withers who beat South Ramsey’s Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves. The Marown duo made the better start going 13-3 up, which the South Ramsey players were never able to fully recover from. Kelly and Hargraves pulled the score back to 11-16, were counting three only for Withers to trail the jack with his last bowl to settle the end and keep their opponents at arm’s length. From there the Marown men picked up a three and a single to see the game out to win 21-13.

The other semi-final was a good battle between the Peel father and son pairing of Dave Barney Kelly and the South Ramsey pair John Kennish and David Bradford with a number of dead ends leading somewhat surprisingly to a slighter longer game than the other semi-final. The Peel pair took a 6-0 lead before Kennish and Bradford got in to turn the game around to take a 12-11 lead after 16 ends, before slipping behind 13-12 due to losing two consecutive singles. From there the South Ramsey pair were able to see the game out winning four of the next five ends to win 21-14. The difference in the game being that whilst the Kelly’s managed to win 12 ends to their opponents 11 ends, Kennish and Bradford scored four doubles, and three three’s, with the Peel men scoring just two doubles.

In the final Kennish and Bradford started as big favourites having taken the title for the previous two years, however Kelly and Withers had other ideas taking a 9-5 lead after eight ends, then 15-13 lead after 20 ends with Kelly leading well at the front and Withers pulling out some great counting bowls at the back. Kennish and Bradford then got back in with a three to go 16-15 ahead. Kennish took his time before setting the mark changing tactics to play the edge along the pitch and putt side of the green. From there the South Ramsey men ran out with a double, with Bradford killing the next end, they then took a single and another double to secure the title for a third successive year to reaffirm their status as the Island’s premier doubles partners. Interestingly the ends won in the final was 12 each from 24 ends, with the Marown pair making just three doubles, and the South Ramsey pair counting five doubles and two three’s to make the difference.

The presentation was made by Association Chairman Neil Withers, who thanked the sponsors Browne Craine & Co for their continued support, Onchan Bowling Club and its members for providing helpers throughout the day and to the Ladies for the refreshments and the green keeper for preparing an excellent surface. It was good to see several juniors take part in the competition, with the prize for furthest junior being split between Sam Clague (Castletown) and the youngest player in the competition 10 year old Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey) who both reached the same score. The prize for the furthest pairing with a second division player went to Port St Mary pair Peter and Tom Collins, whilst Walter McCarthy and Kevin Kelly (both Marown) received the prize for furthest third division players. The top prize paid out to the winners was £200, with further prizes paid out to the runners up and losing semi-finalists on what was a great day of bowling.

In Ellan Vannin Fuels sponsored division one Marown A suffered their third defeat of the season losing 6-4 away to Onchan A. In the first half of the match the two captains played each other with Peter Slinger beating Paul Dunn 21-18. Kevin Quirk performed brilliantly to beat Matthew Keggen 21-3, with Colin Kelly recording the biggest win for the visitors winning 21-9 against Adrian Skinner, whilst Dean Kipling was not far behind seeing off Phil Kerruish 21-12.

In the second half of the match Jordan Cain beat Peter Kelly 21-10, with Matthew Quirk also winning 21-18 against Paul Kelly. For Marown Phil Kelly won fairly comfortably 21-15 against Rob Monk, with Neil Withers holding off the challenge of Mark Kelly to win 21-17.

Onchan took the two points for the aggregate thanks in part to Kevin Quirk’s huge win, whilst Mark Kelly getting to 17 against Neil Withers should also be noted.

Crucially all of Marown’s defeats this season have been away to the top four, with the Champions South Ramsey still having to play three games away from home to the top four in the final six fixtures of the season the league is far from over. Marown host South Ramsey in their next league fixture.

South Ramsey A took full advantage of Marown’s slip up by winning 10-0 at home to Port Erin A extending their lead to 16 points. The win wasn’t quite as straightforward as the score suggests with Bernie Durcan pushing John Kennish all the way before losing out 20-21 and David Cain fighting back from 9-16 down again Chas Grills to 17-18 with Cain lying one on with Grills playing a good last bowl to get back in and see the game out. Winning big for the home team were Peter Collister, Alan Moore and Stefan Kelly.

Peel A came away from Mooragh Park with a good 7-3 win over North Ramsey A. Winning for the home team Allan Callow had a comfortable 21-10 win against David Proctor, whilst Gary Merrill beat Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-19, with Steve Walmsley also winning to the same score against Frank Watson. For the visitors Tommy McMeiken and Jerome Surridge both won to single figures, whilst the three other winners for Peel Gary Smith, Tom Kelly and Stevie Kelly were all comfortable.

Marown B continue to pick up points to help their cause, but will have been disappointed not to take two points for the aggregate losing out by a solitary chalk (145-146) following a 3-7 home loss to Douglas A. Captain Harry Barton led the way for Marown with a 21-10 win over Gary Conwell, with Arnie Withers beating Willie Cowley 21-14 and James Kelly recording a 21-17 win over the experienced Ian Moore. For the visitors Mervin Sayle and Andy Kennish both won 21-15 against Alan Kennaugh and Juan Killip respectively, whilst winning three close games were Stuart Garrett, Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal.

South Ramsey B look to pull themselves away from the danger zone with a 4-6 away loss to Castletown A. For the visitors 15 year old Austin Hart recorded his first ever division one win beating Dean Kinley 21-12. Hopefully Hart can now use this win to kick on, as he has been knocking on the door all season scoring 17 or more in eight league games to show he can compete. Austin also found himself a bit richer with a couple of his club mates stumping up the cash as reward for his first win! The other winners for South Ramsey were Steven Waters who beat Ian Watson 21-10, Tony Dugdale who beat Jordan Drewett 21-13 and James Teare who held on to win 21-20 against David Quayle. For the home team Mike Hargraves just got over the line 21-20 against Christian Caley, Jeff Kinley beat Steve Moore 21-5. Peter Oates won 21-10 against Martin Caley with George Peach seeing off Ben Dugdale 21-16.

Douglas B hosted Port St Mary A taking three games off the visitors, losing out 3-7. For Douglas Andy Cannell won 21-11 against Steve Franks, Bob Callow beat Thomas Keggen 21-12 and Gordon Wynne-Smythe doing enough to beat Rob Cooil 21-18. For Port St Mary Trevor Quayle won to single figures, with Steve Hall, Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe also winning, whilst Wayne Roberts was pushed by Mark Corrin before getting over the line to win 21-17.

In division two league leaders Noble’s A had a tough looking away trip to face Ballaugh A, with the home team losing the advantage of a tricky home green following three consecutive days of rain. Winning for the visitors were Tommy Collister, Kevin Firth, Glenn Boland, David Pease with Reginald Temporaza defeating Peter Graham 21-4. For the home team Richard Fisher, John Maddrell and John Keenan were the winners.

Second placed Castletown B pulled two points back on the league leaders following their 9-1 away win against Noble’s B. The lone winner for the home team was John Singleton who beat Mark Saunders 21-14. For the visitors Ross Moore, Derek Lewney and Aaron Richardson all won to single figures against Juan Qualtrough, Stewart Cubbon and Peter Woods respectively.

Onchan B travelled south to take on bottom of the table Port Erin B coming away with a 7-3 win. For Onchan Mike Thomas recorded the biggest win of the night winning 21-8 against Ben Mowle, whilst Edward Carlyle and David Inch both won 21-18. The home team winners were Harry Minor, Christopher Dent and Ken Horsley who beat Paul Bailey 21-20.

Peel B sent Port St Mary B home with the tail between their legs with a 9-1 defeat. The sole winner for the visitors was Bernard Thackrah who was the only Port St Mary player to make it into double figures beating Dougie Allan 21-16. Alec Taylor & David Smith both won 21-2, Ray Shooter and Michael Kavanagh won 21-5, whilst Gordon Corrin and Harry Kelly both won 21-8.

Port St Mary B slipped up at home to Peel C winning just 6-4. Brian Corrin and Tom Collins both lost 20-21 to Peter Kelly and Jimmy Corlett, with the other two Peel winners being Bob Berry and Jeff Wilson. Winning for the home team were Peter Collins, Ray Maddrell, Tim Williams and Derek Kneen.

Finch Hill A made the journey north to take on North Ramsey B and came away with a 6-4 win taking the aggregate by just eight chalks with three of the Finch Hill losers scoring 17 or above to help take the win. Winning for the visitors were Tony Epifani, Arthur Halsall, Paul Dougherty and Billy Long. For North Ramsey Brian Colquitt, Alex Yates, John Breen and Paul Cannon won.

With Ballaugh B taking their turn to sit out in division three it gave the teams below them the opportunity to close the gap with Marown C doing just that with a 9-1 home win over Douglas D. Five of the home team won to single figures. Picking up the only win for the visitors was David Boylan who beat Steve Wilson 21-16. Marown have now jumped ahead of Castletown C to sit just one point behind Ballaugh B.

Castletown C slipped up away to Peel D losing 3-7. Brian Lindsey recorded the biggest win for the home team whilst Bert Quayle inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Juan Drinkwater with Quayle winning 21-14. Winning for the visitors were Sam Clague who beat Leslie Halsall 21-18 in a close game, John Kinley picking up where he left off last week beating Adam Kelly 21-12 and Philip Smith who won 21-13 against Owen Crompton 21-13.

Douglas C hosted near neighbours Finch Hill B with the match ending in a true draw 4-4 and the chalks tied at 123 each. Winning for the home team were Andy Foster, Mike Cain, Keith Fearnley and Thomas Rougvie who beat Stephen Oates 21-2. For Finch Hill Eric Stanley had his work cut out to beat Davy Stewart 21-19, whilst Kevin Anderson was the biggest win 21-7 against John Ferguson, Sam Stannard maintained his chase for the third division merit beating Les Quayle 21-13 with Paddy Murphy being awarded a walkover.

South Ramsey D won 8-2 at home to Ballaugh C, however third division merit leader Ian Moore lost his 100% record just losing out 20-21 to Trevor Jones. The other winner for Ballaugh was Patrick Grant who beat Ryan Surridge 21-11. Ryan Hargraves returned to winning ways with a 21-17 win over Phil Faragher, with Jay Moore winning to the same score against Alan Kelly. Peter Morgan beat Bert Quayle 21-19 and Franz ten Donkelaar held on to beat Peter Corlett 21-20.

Onchan C lost 4-6 at home to South Ramsey C with Mike Kelly winning 21-8 against Robert Snape. For South Ramsey Tony Hart beat Paul Clinton 21-7 with the northern men winning the aggregate by just 5 chalks.