Saturday saw a quality field of 28 pairs of all ages take to the green at Finch Hill in what were far from pleasant weather conditions.

A number of Island players were entered and made quick work of their first round matches, particularly the pairing of David Bradford and John Kennish who won 21-10 against Adrian Skinner and Rob Cowley. In the other first round matches, Matthew Keggen and Robert Monk had a good win (21-11) against Les Brookes and Reg Tampaza, as did Peter Hughes and Arthur Halsall who came back from 13-14 down with 8 points in 4 ends to take the match 21-14 and there was a similar story with Steve Kelly and David Proctor as they came back from 16-19 down with 5 points from the last 4 ends to win 21-19. There were also some very close matches as Alec Taylor and Derek Allen beat Eddie Carlyle and Nathan Hamilton by a single point and Roy Murphy and Peter Karran also beat Bod and Glenn Boland by the same margin. Father and son team of Glynn and Ryan Hargraves had a close match with Frank Watson and Jerome Surridge but narrowly lost out 21-18.

In the second round John Kennish and David Bradford had an even more impressive win against Derek Allen and Alec Taylor winning 21-8. Home pairing of John Harris and Sefton Dent had a good win over Peter Smith and Peter Woods by 21-15, helped by a 4 pointer in the final end, while Steve Kelly and David Proctor beat Jeff Wilson and Bob Berry by the same score. The other local pairing of Peter Hughes and Arthur Halsall were unlucky to lose by the single point to Frank Watson and Jerome Surridge as were Steve Waters and James Teare who also lost by the same margin to Thomas Keggen and Steve Hall and a similar scoreline saw Brian Kelly and Harry Barton overcome Matthew Keggen and Robert Monk. Arnie Withers and Mikey Collister came close but eventually lost out to another father and son team of Colin and Tom Kelly 21-18 while Neil Withers and Paul Dunn overcame Roy Murphy and Peter Karran 21-17.

John Kennish and David Bradford got the quarter finals off to a fast start as they beat John Harris and Sefton Dent by 21-8 but other matches were closer as Steve Kelly and David Proctor overcame Neil Withers and Paul Dunn 21-15 and Tom and Colin Kelly beat Thomas Keggen and Steve Hall 21-14. The last quarter final was a much closer affair and Brian Kelly and Harry Barton must have thought they were on for a win but got stuck on 20 points for four ends only to see Jerome Surridge and Frank Watson pip them at the post with a 3 pointer in the final end.

The semi-finals saw John Kennish and David Bradford take on Steve Kelly and David Proctor and once again the quality of play from Kennish and Bradford was just too much for Kelly and Proctor as they ran out comfortable winners 21-12.

The other semi-final was between the in form father and son team of Tom and Colin Kelly and the pairing of Frank Watson and Jerome Surridge who had won their last two matches by a single point, and once again the match went with the form book as the Kelly’s won the match 21-11.

With a cloudy sky and increasing wind, conditions were far from ideal but the quality of the bowls in the final was exceptional as some of the Islands best players took to the green. It was the Kelly’s who took an early hold on the match leading 12-7 and 15-11 helped by their corner to corner play. However, when Kennish and Bradford had the jack they were prepared to shorten the lengths to disrupt the Kelly’s rhythm and at one point went ahead 16-15. The Kelly’s then got hold of the jack and once they went corner to corner again they bagged another 5 points in three ends to lead 20-16 but couldn’t finish off the match as Kennish and Bradford regained the jack. Returning to the shorter length paid dividends once again for Kennish and Bradford and they made no mistake as they reeled off 5 points in the next three ends to take the match and overall competition 21-20.

The prize presentation was made by Ken Kinrade, Competition Secretary for Finch Hill with the losing semi finalists receiving £20 Newsbeat vouchers, the losing finalists £50 Newsbeat vouchers and the winners £100 Newsbeat vouchers and the R H Green Cup.

Special thanks go to our generous sponsors Newsbeat, to John Harris for preparation of the green and to Greeba Paramour and Peter Hughes for keeping everyone fed and watered throughout the afternoon and to Kevin Skillicorn for stewarding and to all those who helped make this a very successful competition.

Post Written by Ken Kinrade

Marown hosted the Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy on Saturday, with 51 players taking part, it was Kevin Quirk (Onchan), overcoming the challenge of home greener Neil Withers to win the trophy. Quirk got off to a flier in the final going 10-4 up. Withers got back in to have a run of ends to level it at 10-10. At this point, Quirk won the jack back to hit top gear again to see out the game taking a 21-12 victory.

Quirk had to win six games on his way to victory, playing brilliantly all day. Quirk was at his best in his semi-final game beating John Kennish (South Ramsey) 21-14. Withers had a similar scoreline in his semi-final game, easing to a 21-15 over Peter Slinger (Onchan).

Losing quarter-finalists were home greeners Matthew Keggen, Ian Kissack and Colin Kelly, along with Steven Waters (South Ramsey).

At the conclusion of play thanks were expressed to everyone who helped made a success of the competition, with special thanks given to the Marown Ladies for the excellent refreshments provided throughout the day and the ‘grass cutter’ Colin Kelly who prepared the green in the absence of green keeper Arnie Withers.

In the first division Onchan A closed the gap on rivals South Ramsey A by a point, following their visit to South Ramsey to take on the B Team, coming away with a convincing 10-0 win, with three of the home players running the visitors close before losing 17, 18 & 19 respectively. Onchan & Marown will both be hoping to close the gap further with South Ramsey sitting out the next round of fixtures.

Castletown A made the trip to Crosby, with their winning start to the season coming to an end, losing out 7-3 to Marown A, however they will have been pleased to have taken three points from a green that they have struggled to get much out of over the years. Bob Clark did all he could to get the extra point for the home team, going 20-19 up on Castletown’s Mike Hargraves, with Clark lying one for game, Hargraves then played Clark out to make two, in doing so taking the victory 21-20, to gain an extra point for the visitors.

South Ramsey A maintained their position at the top of the table, with what looked like a convincing 9-1 win away to Port Erin A, the reality was anything but that, with the home team considering themselves unlucky to be 4-0 down after the first four blocks, as it could quite easily have been 3-1 or 4-0 the other way. David Bradford notably coming back from 20-13 down to run out on Peter Addison. The lone winner for the home team Bernie Durcan dug in to come back from 16-4 down to win 21-18 against Peter Collister, in doing so picking up an all important point for his team.

North Ramsey A made the trip down South to take on Castletown B, managing to come away with a 6-4 victory, losing out 19-21 and 20-21 to miss out on taking another two points off the home team.

Douglas B hosted Port St Mary A, with the visitors coming away from the Villa with a good 8-2 win.

Ballaugh A made the short journey down the West Coast to take on Peel A, with the home team winning 8-2. For the visitors Barry McDonald & John ‘Shirt’ Keenan lost out 18-21 & 19-21 respectively.

In Division two Onchan B put the brakes on Marown B in their quest for promotion to the top flight, using their home advantage to win 7-3, in doing now sit on top of the table one point ahead of the Crosby outfit.

Noble’s B now sit in fourth place in the table, winning 7-3 against Peel B, thanks to getting the two bonus points for the aggregate, winning by two chalks overall. Peel B, who are on the same points, but with a better ‘games for’ managed to stay above Noble’s B.

Noble’s A visited the Mooragh to take on North Ramsey B, coming away with a 6-4 win.

Port Erin B made the short trip to take on Port St Mary B, but it wasn’t their night losing out 9-1 to a strong home team.

Finch Hill A continued their return to winning ways, taking home a 6-4 victory following their visit to Onchan C.

Port St Mary C (pictured) cruised to a 9-1 win over Douglas C, with Tommy Rougvie being the only winner for the visitors.

In division three South Ramsey D took on their C team, with the D Team giving a good account of themselves, taking four games off their higher ranked club mates.

Douglas D hosted Marown C, with both teams having a number of new bowlers taking each other on. The Crosby men’s extra years experience being the difference and giving hope to the Villa men that they could make similar progress themselves next season.

Peel C suffered a setback in their challenge for promotion following their visit South to take on Castletown C, with the home team managing to take a 6-4 victory despite having to give a game away.

Ballaugh C had a 7-3 away win over Peel D, whilst Noble’s C just got over the line to win 5-4 away to Finch Hill B.