It is hold to contain my excitement and pride in the week leading up to the most important bowls match in the history of the Isle of Man.

A lot of hard work has been put in by a lot of people to make this dream a reality, and it is the culmination of all of these efforts that sees the Isle of Man take on Shropshire in the Crosfield Cup.

On Sunday 3rd May at 12:30 the first historic bowls will be sent simultaneously both Peel Sunset Bowling Club and Sinclair Bowling Club in Telford, Shropshire, as the Manx team aim to cause a few upsets and give their much more experienced rivals more than they bargained for.

In truth the step up to full county level, the highest level of Crown Green Bowls that there is, will be a tricky one and nobody is underestimating how mammoth the task is that lies ahead, but there is a buzz around the local bowls scene at the moment and maybe just maybe we can have our own minor victories.

The Island are drawn in a group with Shropshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire. Shropshire are not just odds on favourites to win the group but they are also one of the most fancied teams to win the whole competition so a good performance in the home leg is vital if the Manx men are to have any chance of causing a massive upset.

Shropshire have some of the biggest names in the game in their ranks and Callum Wraight and Richie Goddard are just two that followers of the bowls festival will regognise.

The travelling Manxies will have their work cut out as they travel to a green that none of them have ever even seen before and it will be a massive achievement to leave the green with some individual wins under their belts.

All that is left to do is to wish all of the players and everyone involved the best of luck and it would be brilliant if as many of you that can make the pilgrimage to Peel at 12:30 on Sunday to offer your support as the Island’s best bowlers embark on a new adventure. Whilst a win would be unbelievable the most amazing achievement has been to make it to this point, and anything else beyond will be a huge bonus.

Bowls is back! If the first few entertaining weeks fixtures were the appetisers last Monday’s gargantuan war of attrition between South Ramsey A and Marown A was most definitely the main course, and after such a delight it leaves me wondering what truly spectacular mouth watering dish will be served for dessert.

It is very rare in an eight aside bowls match for the entire fate of the game to rest on the solitary figure standing on the mat, lying game down, with the final bowl of a 296 point affair in his hand, but last Monday it happened.

They say cometh the hour cometh the man and Dido Kelly was more than ready to prove the old adage true as at 20-19 ahead he found himself lying two down after a brilliant fight back from a very worthy adversary, five times Island Champion Colin Kelly.

As things stood if Dido failed to change things Colin would seal a well earned 6-4 win for the visitors, but Dido never knows when he is beaten. With one of the best bowls you will ever see full corners he trailed the jack to his back bowl to win his game, tying the match on aggregate and ensuring it was his side who were on the right end of a well fought 6-4 victory.

This was just one of the many highlights of one of the most evenly matched entertaining encounters you could ever wish to experience. Carlsberg don’t do bowls matches but if they did it very well might play out like this one. Credit goes to all 16 players who stepped onto the green and it’s a shame either side had to lose,

Oblivious of events up north league champions Onchan A ruthlessly went about their task of defending their title with a 10-0 dismantling of Castletown B. Winning big at home is the key to any victorious championship quest and with both of their openers at the park ending in maximum victories where they concede on average 71 points against they have definitely thrown the gauntlet down to the challengers.

Both Marown and South have the pedigree to beat Onchan in head to heads but it is the champions devastating consistency which could be the key to their success.

Douglas A followed up last week’s hard earned draw with South Ramsey with an extremely impressive 9-1 away victory over Castletown A to leapfrog the men from the crofts into third place.

At the top of division two it was first against second as league leaders South Ramsey B travelled to the Villa Marina to take on an inform Douglas B side. Despite young Stefan Kelly’s performance of the night for the visitors, beating Roy Williams 12-5, it was the home side who took victory with an extremely impressive overall team performance seeing them come away with a comfortable 8-2 win. They will be tough to beat this season if they keep this form going and now top the table with the visitor’s four points behind in second place.

Port St Mary B had to fight at home to overcome a spirited Onchan B side 6-4 and now find themselves in third spot.

With Peel C, Ballaugh C and Douglas C all picking up good 7-3 home victories its very tight at the top of division three with them on 22, 22 and 21 points respectively from the first three games.

League Champions Onchan A continue to head Isle of Man Bank Mens Division One thanks to a 9-1 win away at Port Erin A.

They will be disappointed not to have picked up all ten points after a very strong start to the season.

Second placed South Ramsey A’s run of maximum 10-0 victories also came to an end as they met a battling Douglas A side at the Villa Marina, with honours ending even 5-5. The home side won 5 out of the 8 games with the visitors aggregate score enough to seal the draw.

Castletown A are still flying high in third place after a very strong 9-1 win over their B team at the crofts.

Marown A have played one less game than their rivals and got their campaign going again with a 9-1 win over Ballaugh at the memorial playing fields, just missing out on the maximum by a solitary chalk as Captain John Keenan winning 21-20 against Dean Kipling to get his side on the board.

The two newly promoted teams faced off at Finch Hill with the home side running out 7-3 victors over NoblesPark to get some much needed points on the board.

North Ramsey A are an ever improving side who can be a test for anyone and they will be happy with a 7-3 victory on their travels to Peel A.

South Ramsey B top division 2 thanks to a 9-1 home win over a struggling Castletown C side, with John Kinley’s victory the only light at the end of a very long tunnel for the visitors.

Douglas B continue their strong start to the season with an 8-2 win away at Ballaugh B.

Peel B are in third spot despite losing out on their travels to Onchan B who managed a 6-4 victory.

Onchan C top the division three tree thanks to and 8-2 home win over Peel D in a league where I think the lead will change hands all the way to the wire.

This is a ground breaking season for Manx Bowls with the Islands inaugural inclusion in the Senior County Championships and with hope of a good showing in that it was great to see the domestic league season start with a bang.

The big guns are all firing early on and league champions Onchan A top the Isle of Man Bank division one table after two maximum 10-0 wins. Onchan are the team to beat again this year and will be very pleased with the start they have made.

South Ramsey A finished third last year and many people think they can get a lot closer to the top two this year and really put the cat amongst the pigeons. They know they can beat anybody and have good strength in depth and a terrific start from them has seem them score two maximums of their own, only trailing Onchan on chalk difference.

Marown A finished last year in second place and whilst they only had one game last week, they must be happy with their start. They beat Port St Mary 8-2 away from home, a result that cannot be understated as the southerners are very hard to shift on their own patch. Port backed this statement up midweek with an 8-2 home victory over a strong Douglas side who came into the fixture off the back of a 9-1 win away at Ballaugh earlier in the week.

Castletown A will have been delighted with their start and a 9-1 win at home against Port Erin A followed up with a 5-5 draw away at newly promoted Finch Hill A has seen them move into 3rd with some good early points on the board.

Division 2 has also started will and is very tight at the top after only 1 round of fixtures. Peel B are surprise leaders after a great 8-2 home win over North Ramsey B, and they are closely followed by South Ramsey B who recorded their own 8-2 win on their travels to Nobles B.

Ballaugh B and Douglas B both picked up good 7-3 wins to see them start off in third and fourth place respectively. It was also great to see newly promoted Marown B start with a 6-4 win away at Onchan B, the Crosby boys battled back from 4-0 down at halftime to win the remaining games and take the aggregate points.

What a difference a year makes and last seasons division 3 basement outfit Douglas C top the league after a magnificent 10-0 victory in their first fixture. They struggled last year only winning in their final match of the campaign but things already look very different for them this time around.

Ballaugh C and Onchan C both picked up very respectable 8-2 wins to trail Douglas in second and third places.

Please be aware that the following point deductions have been made to the league tables following game 15.

South Ramsey C have received a 4 point penalty for playing an ineligible player.  Match result altered to a 7-3 (135-121) win for North Ramsey C

Please be aware that the following point deductions have been made to the league table during June.

Finch Hill B have received a 4 point penalty for failing to fulfil their Game 11 fixture

Double weeks can seriously shape a bowls season and last week was no different as Champions Marown A climbed to the top of the tree.

They began the week with a treacherous trip away to then leaders, and closest rivals, Onchan A and must have started the match as underdogs. Whilst many may have written off Marown, you only achieve what you believe – and the Crosby men believed!

A string of brilliant performances helped them overturn a deficit to take the match 7-3, and whilst there was a string of breathtaking performances man of the match must be Phil Kelly who came from 20-11 behind to win 21-20, and help his side to the aggregate points.

They followed this up on Wednesday with a simply stunning 10-0 thrashing of Castletown C, allowing their opponents to amass a miserly 64 points in the process, to move above Onchan. The champions are now showing all of their championship credentials.

Onchan didn’t have long licking their wounds with a midweek match away at Port St Mary A on the cards, and they had to use all of their experience and ability to come out the right side of a 7-3 win. Many expect Onchan to regain the title they lost to Marown last year, and whilst they still might, they will have to do it the hard way from here on in.

Third placed South Ramsey A are making that position their own as of late, and a great week sees them stay in contention to make a move should the top two slim up. They started off with a solid 8-2 win away at Port Erin and followed this up with a 9-1 home win over Peel A. to match Marown;s impressive 17 points for the week.

Douglas A have managed to hang on to 4^th spot despite losing out 6-4 at home to Port St Mary A after leading 3-1 at the half way stage. Port showed great fighting qualities to see out the win. The men from the Villa bounced straight back though with a very impressive 8-2 win away at North Ramsey A to put momentum back in their season.

Castletown A restored order at the Crofts with wins over their C team on Monday and their second string on Wednesday to move into 5^th in the table and go above their B team for the first time this season.

Finch Hill A still leas the way in Division 2 after a mixed bag last week. They began with a stong 7-3 win over Douglas B however dropped points on Wednesday as they were beaten 6-4 by third placed Onchan B. Onchan preceded this victory with another win this time taking out Nobles Part A 7-3.

Peel B are the surprise package in second place after a couple of very impressive displays beginning with a 6-4 win over Nobles Mixed before travelling to Ballaugh B and leaving 7-3 victors.

In division three its Arnie Withers’ young starlets at Marown B who are shining brightest and a simply magnificent week has not only seen them move top but open up a 5 point gap at the top. They kicked off with an 8-2 win away at MooraghPark over North Ramsey C before their best result of the season so far as they brushed aside title favourites South Ramsey B 8-2 at the memorial playing fields.

Torrential conditions could not do anything to halt the charge of Champions Marown A whose 10-0 win was as unforgiving as the rain.
They have now narrowed the gap to leaders Onchan A to just 5 points as they picked up a maximum over Port Erin A. They have been firing on all cylinders recently and it will be interesting to see what happens when they face of against their fiercest rivals next time out.

Onchan themselves have been in good form and wont be disappointed to have left North Ramsey A with 8 points on the board. If both teams keep picking up good points it really is going to come down to who comes out of their head to heads on top, and with the first scheduled to take place on 9th June we wont have to wait long to find out.
South Ramsey A have made third place their own with a stunning 10-0 whitewash of Ballaugh A away from home. They have some real quality in their ranks and whilst they are capable of beating anyone, including the top 2, on their day they need to show some more consistency if they want to challenge for silverware.

Douglas A find themselves in a lofty 4th position and if they keep putting points on the board like their 8-2 win over Castletown C it would not be a surprise if they stayed there.
With the match between Port St Mary A and Castletown B postponed until this week the final game in Division One saw Castletown A get the better of Peel A 7-3. Peel are moving along nicely in 6th place whilst Town who were fancied to challenge for a top 3 finish have not yet hit top gear.

Division Two leaders Finch Hill A turned on the style against their B team taking all 10 points to widen the gap at the top to 6 points.
Peel B are now their closest rivals thanks to a solid 8-2 win over Nobles Park A. Both these teams are performing extremely well and whilst neither were really tipped for top honours if they keep hammering out result like this who knows?
Douglas B have now got the pendulum of momentum swinging their way and another solid display saw them defeat Onchan B 7-3 away from home.
This slip up by Onchan B has allowed Port St Mary B to move into 4th spot thanks to an 8-2 win over their C team.

South Ramsey B are now in control at the top of division 3 and an 8-2 win away at Peel D has done their championship credentials no harm at all.
Marown B are now snapping on their heals though thanks to a superb 9-1 win over Port St Mary D where they missed out on the maximum by just two chalks.
Port Erin B are still in the hunt though and another solid display in beating Onchan B 8-2 has left them only a point behind Marown.

Phil Kerriush and David Bradford won the first men’s doubles competition at Nobles Park on Sunday 25th May in fine style.

They capped some great performances with a 21-17 final win over Jordan Cain and Bob Clark in a ding dong battle with the lead swinging backwards and forwards throughout.

In the Semi finals the eventual victors battled past Tony Smart and Geoff Porter whilst Cain and Clark put pay to the challenge of Kevin and Matthew Quirk.

It was fitting that a rejuvenated club ran such a tremendous competition from their recently renovated clubhouse, and a staggering entry of 32 pairs made the trip to the park for a brilliant day of bowls.

Please be aware that the following point deductions have been made to the league table during May.

Peel Sunset D have received a 4 point penalty for playing an ineligible player in Game 5

Douglas C have received a 4 point penalty for failing to fulfil their Game 7 fixture