News: Reports
Peel & Castletown Hit Maximums
The opening matches of the 2019 season were held on Thursday in cold, but dry, blustery conditions. Both Peel Sunset and Castletown got off to a flying start with both teams winning all 6 games against Douglas A and Douglas B.
South Ramsey travelled to take on Port Erin A and had a good win with a margin of 104 to 68 chalks.
Marown also travelled south to take on Port St Mary B team who they beat by 40 chalks. Brenda Hawkard and Pauline Worrall both won their games for Port St Mary but Marown’s performance by Philipppa Taylor, Shirley Whelan, Celia Joughin and Mary Alderson tipped the scales in Marown’s favour winning 4-2 in some close games .
Ballaugh had a very friendly game against Port St Mary A . Barbara Graham playing for Ballaugh won her game against Wendy Kennaugh but Port St Mary A won the match 5-1.
Mooragh B were at home against Port Erin B and had a very close game with the home side winning on chalks 95-92.
Quirk Seals First Singles Open Win
Matthew Quirk - Jubilee Cup Winner 2019
Photo: Wayne RobertsA good entry of 40 bowlers contested this seasons C. Tarleton Hodgson Insurance sponsored Jubilee Cup at Port St Mary.
Traditionally a mixed triples format, this season was changed to a mixed singles in order to promote mixed singles competitions. Blessed with sunny weather after a week of chilly conditions, it turned out to be a pleasant day to play, and watch.
The first quarter final was between Alec Taylor (Peel) & Matthew Keggen (Marown), after coming through three tough matches, Taylor lost out 13-21 against an in form opponent. The next quarter final between two home greeners saw Trevor Quayle beat Bernard Thackrah 21-13. Thackrah had a good win in the previous round beating Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) 21-17, who had himself beaten Barney Kelly (Peel) before that. The third quarter final between Philippa Taylor (Marown) & Brian Lowe (Port St Mary) went all the way, with Philippa scoring two on the last end to win 21-20. The last quarter final was a good battle between two top players with Matthew Quirk (Onchan) winning 21-16 against Janet Monk (Mooragh Park).
The first semi-final saw a great match between Keggen & Quayle. This one could of gone either way, but Keggen scored the last point to win 21-20. The second semi-final was between Philippa Taylor & Matthew Quirk. Quirk built up a good lead early on. Philippa fought back well but Quirk was bowling very well and won 21-12.
In an excellent final between the two Matthew’s, both players had been on top form all day. Every point was hard earned in the final, and Matthew Quirk was slightly more consistent in the final winning 21-13 to seal his first singles open win.
The presentation was made by Wayne Roberts, thanking the sponsors, C. Tarleton Hodgson Insurance, the Port St Mary ladies for their excellent catering, Ray Watterson for the excellent condition of the green, everyone who helped in anyway and to those that took part.
New Season Gets Underway
League Champions 2018
The long awaited night league crown green bowls season starts on Monday 1st April with Division One champions South Ramsey A, who will have it all to do to retain their title with the news that the Islands undisputed number one player John Kennish is taking a break from night league bowls having won everything there is to at team level, with the loss further compounded by a couple of their top players due to be missing for stints throughout the season. With the loss of Kennish, this has given James Teare the opportunity to step up having improved each season that he has played since taking the game up in 2013 to prove there is a reward for putting the time in to the game.
South Ramsey B have signed Edward Carlyle from Onchan, who will be encouraged to be playing regular first division bowls, as they look to secure another season in the top division.
Marown A have no changes to report from their first team from last year, may well be favourites to win the league for the first time since 2013. Whilst Marown fell short by 21 points last season, they will no doubt feel that they can perform better individually and as a team, and will be in good spirits with a number of their players having recently returned from a bowling holiday in Cyprus.
Marown B who have a good blend of youth and experience will feel confident of retaining their top flight status once again, having done so fairly comfortably last season.
Onchan A look to have made a couple of signings, with Frank Watson joining from Peel A whilst Steve Parker is rumoured to be making the move from North Ramsey A, they will look to improve on last seasons points total.
Peel A have signed three time former Manx Champion Andy Kennish, who joins from Douglas having captained them last season, with Stevie Kelly taking on the captaincy for a second season.
Douglas A having lost their captain, appear to be largely unchanged. Former Manx Champion Gary Conwell is now entering his 40th season of league bowls with 25 of those on the Isle of Man.
2018 Division two winners Noble’s A will be hopeful of staying in the top division, provided they have managed to keep the same team as they had last season, with young Glenn Boland and newcomer Reginald Temporaza in their ranks with both keen to impress in the top flight.
Port St Mary A have signed Dave McCabe who has made the short move from Port Erin, which has allowed McCabe to continue to play bowls in division one, whilst my younger brother Glenn ‘Tango’ Hargraves is rumoured to be on the verge of making a bowls comeback after a number of years away from the game.
Castletown A have been struck a blow with the news that Mike Hargraves has taken the tough decision to stop playing bowls having played for Castletown A since 1974, with 17 year old Sam Clague believed to be taking the opportunity to step up into the A Team.
The B team will be confident of staying in division one having gained promotion last season and may look to give their A Team a run for their money as to who will be top dogs in the town. Rumour has it Bob Clark has returned to Castletown and will be playing in the B Team, with Nathan Cooil making a full comeback which is great to see. Nathan Hamilton has left Port St Mary after just one season to join up with Clark & Cooil.
Back to the north of the Island and North Ramsey A have a new captain in Allan Callow, who will no doubt hope the improvement in the green last season has continued over the winter to help their good home form.
In Division Two Port Erin A will be looking to bounce back from being relegated, with the club hoping to take over the maintenance of the bowling green shortly which will allow them the opportunity to have the green as they would like it, this may well encourage new members to join the club. Port Erin when running well can be a difficult green to play.
Ballaugh A & Finch Hill A are the only other A Teams in the men’s night league that don’t have an A Team in division one, with Ballaugh A the more likely of the two who could possibly go up, with their home form not in doubt, it is their results on their travels that will be key to mounting a serious challenge.
Douglas B who were relegated along with Port Erin A may find it a bit tougher to go straight back up to division one.
Division three champions Marown C, will be hopeful of continuing their season by season improvement by retaining their place in division two, whilst Ballaugh B may find it a bit tougher to stay up.
In Division three Noble’s have added a third men’s night league team, with Douglas D dropping out of the league having struggled to fill four teams for the majority of the 2018 season, whilst Port Erin B will be looking to make an immediate return to division two.
After a tough summer last season the Islands clubs can only hope their greens have wintered well following the work carried out in the Autumn to help get them into good condition for the 2019 season.
I hope everyone is looking forward to the new season and I look forward to seeing you around the greens.
World Club Championships
Following their success in winning the league for a third consecutive season, South Ramsey A once again have the opportunity to compete in the World Club Championships on Sunday 7th April, with the competition taking place at Spen Victoria Bowling Club where they take on Ecclestone (Merseyside). The competition involves 16 teams, is played over four consecutive weekends in a group of four teams on a straight knockout basis. The other two teams in the group are Newdigate (North Midlands) who will play Thurgoland (South Yorkshire). The winners from each game in the group then play off to qualify for the finals day on Sunday April 14th.
Quayle Seals Individual Merit
Trevor Quayle - Individual Merit Winner 2018
Photo: Steve HallPort St Mary captain Trevor Quayle sealed the individual merit trophy in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one with a near perfect season winning 21 out of 22 games, losing his only game of the season away to the league champions South Ramsey. This success will go some way towards making up for the heartbreak Quayle suffered in 2017 when he missed out on the individual merit to Marown’s Colin Kelly, with Quayle having led the merit for the entire season he lost only his second game that season again at South Ramsey, which ultimately cost him the individual merit trophy.
Onchan A took on Peel at Onchan Park on Monday evening with only three points separating the teams third spot was still achievable for the visitors. Both teams were missing key players notably Phil Kerruish for Onchan and Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly for Peel. The home side showed their dominance on the night with a 9-1 win with Kevin Quirk and son Matthew both winning 21-8 against David Smith and Peel captain Stevie Kelly respectively. Mark Kelly and Rob Monk both won 21-10 with Jordan Cain recording a good 21-13 win over Tommy McMeiken. Adrian Skinner was pushed hard by Tom Kelly with Skinner winning 21-18. Saving the whitewash for Peel was Gary Smith who beat Edward Carlyle 21-20.
Marown A took on Douglas A at Crosby with the Villa men rather disappointingly only managing to field seven players. Marown recorded a 9-1 win with Colin Kelly beating Shaun Seal 21-4. Despite the result the Douglas men scored well in four of their losses with Gary Conwell losing 17-21 to Neil Withers, Keith Rise reached 18 against Peter Kelly, Ian Moore lost out 19-21 to Gary Weightman who stepped in from the C team to record a fine win, whilst Jimmy Sansom fell at the final hurdle losing 20-21 to Phil Kelly. It was also good to see John Gelling make his first league appearance for over two months winning 21-14 against Mervin Sayle. Visiting captain Andy Kennish recorded the win for Douglas with a 21-15 victory over Paul Kelly.
Champions South Ramsey recorded their 21st win of the 22 game season with a 8-2 home win over Castletown A. Missing for the home team were John Kennish and Peter Collister which gave the northerners the opportunity to give some experience to two of their up and coming players. 15 year old Austin Hart lost 6-21 to Jeff Kinley, whilst 10 year old Ryan Hargraves playing in the same team as his Dad and making his first appearance in the top flight lost 7-21 to Castletown captain Ian Watson. Hitting back for South Ramsey were David Bradford with a 21-9 win over David Quayle, captain Glynn Hargraves beat Peter Oates 21-10. Stefan Kelly recorded a 21-3 win over Clifford Clague. Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly beat Jordan Drewett, whilst Alan Moore recovered from a poor start to beat Juan Kermode 21-19 and Chas Grills just got over the line 21-20 against Dean Kinley.
North Ramsey A travelled back north on a high despite giving a game away thanks to a 2-8 away win against Port Erin A recording only their second away win of the season. John Cannan and Tony Smart both won their games 21-20 against Christopher Dent and David Cain respectively.
Marown B also finished their season positively with a 3-7 away win against bottom of the table Douglas B. The Crosby outfit will be looking to push on next season and improve on this year’s finish.
South Ramsey B travelled to Port St Mary A safe in the knowledge that their top flight status was secure coming away with a 3-7 loss. Winning for the visitors were James Teare to single figures over Thomas Keggen, Steven Waters won a close game 21-18 against Steve Franks and Tony Dugdale won 21-12 against Dan McCabe. For the home team Wayne Roberts, Paul Skelly and Rob Cooil all came in with 21-7 wins over Sid Bolton, Steve Moore and Martin Caley respectively, with captain Trevor Quayle winning comfortably 21-10, whilst Steve Hall won 21-18 against George Brew.
On Wednesday evening Port St Mary A hosted North Ramsey A in a rearranged game, with the home team winning 6-4. North Ramsey will have been pleased with their weeks work away from home with wins from John Cannan, Geoff Porter, Ray Skelly and Steve Parker. For the home team captain Trevor Quayle had a comfortable 21-8 win which was enough to seal the individual merit. Also winning were Dan McCabe, Steve Hall and Wayne Roberts with the southerners taking the aggregate winning by 13 chalks on the night.
Kelly & Bolton Win Inaugural Challenge Cup
Douglas Borough Corporation Challenge Cup Winners 2018
Pictured: Stefan Kelly & Sid BoltonSunday saw a quality field of 54 entered for the inaugural running of drawn doubles competition Douglas Borough Corporation Challenge Cup at Finch Hill. With showers in the morning and further showers and a cold breeze in the early stages of the competition playing conditions were challenging to say the least, although the green was in excellent condition albeit a little slow.
With this drawn format there is less chance of two top players being paired together but even so there were indications from an early stage which would be the most competitive pairings. In the first round Alison Keggen & Lyn Bolton dispensed with Libby Andrade & Caroline Corlett 21-7 while Eddie Carlyle & Rebecca Teare came through 21-15 against Shirley Corrin and Reg Temporaza. Bryan Masterton & Sue Gawne overcame Paul Quirk & Frank Christian 21-11 while Nathan Hamilton & Bernie McPhee came through 21-16 against Kevin Firth & Derek Allen. Stefan Kelly & Sid Bolton had a reasonably comfortable win against Sylvia Kennaugh & Brian Lindsay.
In the second round Rebecca Teare and & Eddie Carlyle continued their winning ways with a 21-16 win over Sam Clague & Steve Waters. Harry Minor & Glynn Hargraves started their campaign with a 21-15 win over Brian Masterton and Sue Gawne. Steve Parker & Austin Hart came from behind to beat Helen Murphy & Gordon Corrin 21-19 and so did Nathan Hamilton & Bernie McPhee with two four pointers in the final two ends against Mike Ashmole & Lynda Clarke. Sam Stannard Duke & Gary Lenton cruised past Hazel Hughes & Terry Bates 21-13 while John Harris & Jenny Moore picked up three points in the last two ends to beat Walter McCarthy & Alan Moore 21-18. Closest match of the day was between Alison Keggen with Lyn Bolton and Frank Watson with our youngest player Ryan Hargraves but with a three pointer on the final end it was the ladies who came through 21-20. Stefan Kelly & Sid Bolton were finding their length and went into a 19-8 lead against Peter Venables and home favourite Paddy Murphy before running out winners 21-13.
In the quarter finals Rebecca Teare & Eddie Carlyle cruised to a 21-12 victory over Steve Parker & Austin Hart whilst in the same part of the draw Stefan Kelly & Sid Bolton scored consistently to beat Sam Stannard Duke and Gary Lenton 21-13. In the bottom half of the draw it was John Harris & Jenny Moore who took the honours against Nathan Hamilton and Bernie McPhee 21-12 while Harry Minor & Glynn Hargraves did just enough to hold off Alison Keggen & Lyn Bolton 21-18.
In the first semi-final Stefan Kelly and Sid Bolton scored strongly and only losing three ends ran out 21-11 winners against Rebecca Teare & Eddie Carlyle. Despite getting off to a good start with a four pointer on the first end John Harris & Jenny Moore could not hold off Harry Minor & Glynn Hargraves who took the game 21-16.
In the final, Stefan Kelly & Sid Bolton continued their strong scoring and in just eleven ends they beat Harry Minor & Glynn Hargraves 21-9.
The prize presentation was made by Deputy Mayor of Douglas, Mr. Ian Clague with the losing semi-finalists each receiving £15, the runners up receiving £40 and the winners £60 and the Douglas Borough Corporation Challenge Cup. Special thanks go to Douglas Corporation for supplying the new Challenge Cup, to Greeba for keeping everyone fed and watered throughout the afternoon, to Peter Hughes and Sefton Dent for stewarding and to all those who helped make this the most successful open competition of the year at Finch Hill.
Moore & Hargraves Win Kennish Cup
Kennish Cup Winners 2018
The last Mixed Doubles competition of the season The Kennish Cup was held on Saturday with the competition postponed at the end of July due to poor weather. The competition still managed to attract 24 pairs.
The winners were the home pairing of Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves who beat Chris Price (Port St Mary) & Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly 21-19 in the final. The game was close throughout with both pairs taking some good counting bowls off their opponents throughout with neither pair able to break away from the other until the last few ends. With the score standing at 15-14 to Moore & Hargraves they conceded a four and a single to fall 15-19 behind. From there Moore & Hargraves dug deep to take three consecutive singles and counting with three good bowls on the final end to secure the title with a 21-19 win.
Losing semi-finalists were the two home pairings of Fiona Kennish and Steven Waters to the eventual winners (8-21), whilst Kim Hargraves and Stefan Kelly lost out 10-21 to the runners up.
Losing out at the quarter final stage were new bowlers Sue and Geoff Collier (South Ramsey) who only took the game up in June, Lil Smith (Marown) and Edward Carlyle (Onchan), Caroline and Steve Parker along with Janet Monk and Rob Monk (all North Ramsey).
The presentation was made by competition secretary John Kennish on behalf of the Kennish family who sponsored the competition, with thanks given to everyone who had helped with the running of the competition, the ladies for once again putting on a fantastic selection of refreshments throughout the afternoon, and the green keepers for preparing the green.
Title Still Up For Grabs In Division Two and Three
The tie of the week at the top of Ellan Vannin Fuels division one was between third placed Peel A & champions South Ramsey A in the Sunset City with the Northerners having already secured the title the previous week. The champions came away with a respectable 6-4 win on a tough night in extremely windy conditions. Winning for Peel were captain Ste Kelly 21-20 against Peter Collister, Tommy McMeiken won to single figures against Alan Moore, David Proctor beat Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly 21-17 and Frank Watson who inflicted a second league defeat of the season on South Ramsey skipper Glynn Hargraves 21-19. Winning for the visitors were John Kennish to single figures against Gary Smith, David Bradford 21-11 against Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, Stefan Kelly 21-18 against Tom Kelly and Chas Grills who defeated Jerome Surridge 21-17. With six close games the result could have been a lot different for both teams on another night.
South Ramsey B having had a tough start to the season confirmed their place in division one for another year with a fine 7-3 win over Port Erin A who would have had a long journey home having been relegated as a result of losing the game. Winning for South Ramsey were Ben Dugdale, Tony Dugdale, James Teare, Sid Bolton and George Brew. The three winners for Port Erin were David Cain, Bernie Durcan and David McCabe with McCabe set to leave Port Erin to continue playing first division bowls next season.
Douglas A took on their B Team with the lower ranked team having been relegated some time ago there was little to play for, however this did not prevent the B team from taking two games off the A team with Andy Cannell and Gordon Wynne-Smythe the two winners. Winning for the A team were Andy Kennish, Keith Rise, Jimmy Sansom, Shaun Seal, and Gary Conwell whilst Roy Williams stepped in and was fortunate enough to receive a walk over.
Castletown A had a good 7-3 home win over Port St Mary A with visiting captain Trevor Quayle back to winning ways, with Quayle set to secure the individual merit title providing that he can win his last two league games with both of them being at home. Nearest rival is John Kennish who has recorded 20 wins from 20 games with Kennish due to miss the last league match of the season, having missed a game earlier in the season, it is in Quayle’s hands.
Marown A had a good 8-2 home win against North Ramsey A with the usual suspects winning for the Crosby men, whilst Steve Wilson stepped up to the A team just losing out 20-21 to Allan Callow. The other winner for North Ramsey was Steve Walmsley who had a comfortable 21-14 win over Matthew Keggen.
Marown B took on Onchan A at Crosby on Tuesday evening with the visitors taking an 8-2 win. Winning to single figures for Onchan were Matthew Quirk, Peter Slinger and Rob Monk. Winning for the home team were Rob Corkill, who beat Mark Kelly 21-16 and Brian Kelly who beat Steve Crampton 21-10. There was a first league appearance of the season from Mark Moorley who lost out 13-21 to Jordan Cain.
In division two the title is still up for grabs for which team will be crowned champions with Noble’s A dropping two points in their 8-2 win against their B Team. Recording big wins to single figures for the A Team were Glenn Boland, Tommy Collister and John Ruscoe. The two winners for the B team were Stewart Cubbon who beat David Quayle 21-10 and Les Brookes who beat Mark Quinn 21-15.
Castletown B capitalised on the Noble’s result with a 9-1 win away to Port St Mary C to close the gap to just three points. The last league fixture of the season sees Castletown B with what looks like a fairly straightforward home game against Peel C, whilst Noble’s A have what could be a tricky away game against Finch Hill A. The two teams have matched each other blow for blow throughout the season and should Castletown manage to pull three points or more back on Noble’s Castletown would be crowned champions with a better games for record.
In the individual merit battle four players are tied on 18 wins each which David Pease (Noble’s A) can secure providing he wins his last game of the season. Hot on the heels of the Noble’s man are John Keenan (Ballaugh A), Dave Faragher and Ron Williams (both Castletown B) who only trail on points dropped having suffered heavier defeats than Pease.
In division three Ballaugh B took advantage of league leaders Marown C taking their turn to sit out with a 9-1 win at home to South Ramsey D with Ian Moore suffering a second league defeat of the season losing out 18-21 to Tony Quine. John Kneen crept over the line 21-20 against Matthew Corkill with a fine bowl on the last end to help secure a further point for the home team. Preventing the whitewash and sparing the blushes of the visitors was Geoff Collier who made his debut in the night league and performed brilliantly to win 21-13 against Mike Buckeridge.
The final match of the season to settle the title in division three is between Marown C and Ballaugh B at Crosby with the visitors sitting just one point behind the Marown men only a win will do for Ballaugh against the league leaders it promises to be a huge match for both teams which I am sure the clubs members will support. Marown will go into the match as favourites having won all their home fixtures throughout the season.
In the rest of the matches South Ramsey C won 7-3 at home to Ballaugh C, Castletown C lost 3-7 away to Finch Hill B, Onchan C won 6-4 at home to Peel D in a close match winning the aggregate by nine chalks (143-132) whilst Douglas C and Douglas D were missing five players from both teams with the C Team winning 7-1, and with their B team missing a player in division one it may well be a case of Douglas dropping a team next year to fill all of their teams each week.
Peel Sunset Capitalise To Close In On Over 60s Ladies Title
Peel Over 60s Ladies Team 2018
Back: Pat Robertson, Mary Moffatt, Lynda Wilson, Shirley Corrin, Cath Parker Front: Joyce Kelly, Heather Horsburgh, Mona KerruishThe last two matches in the Ladies Over 60s League have been played with Peel Sunset capitalising on two low scores by title rivals, and current champions, Port St Mary A.
On Thursday 13th September Port St Mary A lost ground at the top of the league against their B team. Restricted to under 100 chalks with the B team picking up two big wins to single figures, the A team won the match 96-78 (4-2).
Peel Sunset travelled away to South Ramsey and edged a close encounter winning 96-109 (3-3). The 13 chalk margin over Port St Mary A increased their advantage on Thursday to 93 chalks.
Marown sat out from Thursday allowing Onchan and Nobles to catch up and hunt down third position. Onchan defeated Ballaugh 111-77 (4-2) whilst Nobles beat Mooragh Park A 102-97 (3-3). The result left Marown over 100 chalks clear and ties up third position for the Crosby outfit. Nobles and Onchan remain separated by 7 chalks with Tuesdays matches crucial to finalising their positions.
In the other results on Thursday Mooragh Park B lost to Castletown 101-109 (3-3); Breagle lost to Villa 88-92 (3-3) and Douglas A won 115-90 (4-2) against Port Erin.
Onto Tuesday 18th September and the final matches for nearly all of the league teams with the exception of Port St Mary A and Douglas who play their re-arranged match later in the week.
Marown who had already secured third beat Breagle 112-80 (4-2). In the race for fourth Onchan put in a fine away performance to defeat Villa 74-122 (1-5). Nobles weren’t to be outdone and in their match away to Ballaugh won 62-121 (2-4). The result places Nobles in fourth 6 chalks ahead of Onchan. Castletown finish sixth after beating South Ramsey 103-85 (4-2) and Port St Mary B finish seventh after their win against Mooragh Park B 105-73 (5-1).
Back to the race for the title. Mooragh Park A took on Port St Mary A with the away side needing to keep up the pace set by Peel. In a low scoring match, which saw two games won to nil, Port St Mary were restricted to scoring 89 chalks with the match ending 84-89 (3-3).
Peel Sunset did all that they could to take the title down to the wire and put in another strong home performance defeating Douglas 116-89 (5-1).
An incredible season, which has seen Peel and Port St Mary swap and change at the top, will go down to the very last match of the year. Peel have built a 120 chalk lead and have one hand firmly on the title.
Port St Mary are still Champions however and will not give up without a fight. Thursdays match at home to Douglas will see 126 points up for grabs and a chance to win the league for a fifth consecutive year.
Janet Monk has won the individual merit in her first over 60s season. Elaine Moore and Mary Moffatt currently sit second and third with Margaret Tasker able to claim either of those positions depending on her final game.
Top Four, All To Play For
Friday 14th September saw the penultimate games take place in the Ladies Bowling Night League.
Port St Mary remain on course for their fifth title in succession, and eight overall, following their full house win over Douglas. Douglas unfortunately were a player short and were unable to push close in any of the games with Chris Price and Margaret Tasker winning to single figures. The match ended 189-84 (9-0).
Castletown A nearly matched their rivals but dropped one game in their 184-86 (8-1) win over Ballaugh. Hilary Kermode, Kim Foy, Heike Perry, Anne Oates and Sue Peach turned in fine home performances to win to single figures. Ballaugh avoided a whitewash with Gill Dixon defeating Hannah Drewett 21-16.
The battle for third position continues into the final week of the season with South Ramsey heading Nobles for the position. South Ramsey defeated Port Erin with Elaine Moore and Jenny Moore both playing well winning 21-0 and 21-4 respectively. Port Erin did pick up two wins from Caroline Whitehead and Lynda Cadamy but South won the match 182-122 (8-2).
Nobles kept up with South by winning their match against Mooragh Park 179-98 (7-2). Debbie Leece, Alison Keggen, Paula Firth and Clare Cooper all won to single figures. Mooragh’s wins came from Helen Martin and Caroline Parker.
Peel Sunset suffered a home defeat to Purt Le Moirrey despite winning more games on the night. Shirley Corrin, Heather Horsburgh, Louise Horsfall, Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt won for the home side. Purt Le Moirrey pulled off a six chalk win with wins from Sandra Lowe, Dot Mylchreest, Wyn Collister and Linda Dawson. Final score 154-162 (5-4).
In the final match from Friday, Onchan defeated Castletown B 176-74 (8-1) with the visiting team managing to avoid a full house defeat with Barbara Young winning 21-8.
Heading into the final game of the season Port St Mary hold a strong 81 chalk advantage over Castletown A. On paper Castletown A’s final game against their B team could result in another maximum 189 score. That would mean Port St Mary would have to score a minimum of 108 chalks to retain the league, but face a strong Nobles side who are themselves chasing South Ramsey for third position.
South Ramsey will only play their final match against Douglas on Thursday 27th and will look to turn over whatever advantage Nobles have built.
In the race for the individual merit Chris Price leads on 482 chalks followed by Amanda Lawler 478, Jayne Kneen 476 and Jenny Moore 469. All four ladies are in contention for the top spots with the last game of the season the crucial deciding game.
Millennium Fours
Millennium Fours Winners 2018
Rebecca Teare, Paula Firth, Maureen Payne, Lin RuscoeA good turnout of 32 ladies split into eight teams took part in the Millennium Fours competition held at Marown.
The competition see’s teams of four play two singles and a doubles match with total chalks determining the winner.
In the first semi final Margaret Tasker, Trish Bull, Mavis Franks and Chris Price booked their spot in the final with a 34-29 victory over Jenny Moore, Kim Hargraves, Bethany Kennish and Fiona Kennish.
In the other semi, Maureen Payne, Rebecca Teare, Lin Ruscoe and Paula Firth advanced following their 45-31 win over Alison Keggen, Debbie Leece, Lil Smith and Lyn Bolton.
In the final, Maureen Payne defeated Mavis Franks 15-5 whilst Trish Bull responded for her team winning 15-4 against Lin Ruscoe.
With the match evenly balanced at 20-19 the doubles would settle the contest.
After some brilliant ends Rebecca Teare and Paula Firth edged past Margaret Tasker and Chris Price 15-13 giving their team an overall 34-33 victory.
Thanks to Marown for hosting the competition, Heather Horsburgh and Elaine Moore for running the competition and all those who helped on the day.