News: Reports
Silvia Cashen Ladies’ Doubles
There was hardly a cloud in the sky at Port St Mary for the Silvia Cashen Charity ladies’ doubles played on Wednesday 3 May. There was an entry of twenty pairs most of whom found the fast green very tricky, the difficulties being exacerbated by the very strong winds in the latter part of the afternoon.
The competition was hotly contested with some very close games along the way.
Quarter-finals; Val Macfarlane and Jayne Kneen 21, Alison Keggen and Debbie Leece 15; Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden 21, Ann Hollingworth and Elaine McElroy 16; Lil Smith and Elaine Dewhurst 21, Elaine Moore and Kim Hargraves 10; Marie Ashurst and Kath Kinley 21, Katy Williams and Ann Maddrell 19.
Both semi-finals were nail biters . In the first Val and Jayne got off to a lightning start taking a lead of 16-10 after nine ends, at which point their opponents dug in to take the next five ends to reach 19-16. A three for the two home greeners on the next end levelled the score before a two on the following end gave them the game. The second semi-final was even closer with the Castletown pair just having the advantage in the early skirmishes, holding a lead of 15-12 after eleven ends. The Marown pairing then showed their class pulling back, then taking a 19-16 lead after 17 ends. Two 2’s put the Southerners in the box seat, although their opponents did level at 20-20 before Kath And Marie came in for that crucial last point.
Semi-finals: Val Macfarlane and Jayne Kneen 21, Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden 19; Marie Ashurst and Kath Kinley 21, Lil Smith and Elaine Dewhurst 20.
In the final Val and Jayne showed their class, racing to a 14-7 lead. A 2 and a 3 on the next two ends from Kath and Marie gave hopes of a come-back, but it was their last throw of the dice as Val and Jayne refused to let them have the jack from that point on, taking the title 21-12.
The presentation was made by Port St Mary’s lady president who thanked those who had entered and all those who had helped, both round the green and in the kitchen.
The afternoon raised £350 for the IOM Breast Cancer charity.
League Favourites Lock Horns
It was tense for two of the top teams in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league, on Friday 28 April, when Port St Mary made the long journey up to South Ramsey. The home team had the better on games, 5-4, in match where all players reached double figures and two games went all the way with Kellie Maddrell-Reeve edging out Gill Dixon 21-20 while in reply Shelley Kennish had a similar result against Ann Maddrell. South Ramsey ended with a win by just three points.
It was even closer at Marown where, despite the home team winning 5 games with Rosie Winckle winning to single figures, Peel Sunset came through by 2 points with Sue Jones and Shirley Corrin both winning to single figures.
Top scorers of the night were Nobles with six wins, two of them to single figures, at Douglas. They also had a 20 as Rebecca Teare just lost out to Paula Garrett.
Mooragh Park’s four wins, one to single figures, kept Castletown’s score down when they travelled North, although the Southern team had three wins to single figures to give them a healthy points margin.
Purt le Moirrey also had a wide points margin against Onchan, although only winning 5-4 on games, with all players reaching double figures and three wins to single figures.
Finally a 6-3 win for Port Erin at Ballaugh gave them the advantage in a low-scoring match.
South Ramsey Hit Top
Douglas A Mens Team 2017
Back: Merv Sayle, Ian Moore, Kieth Rise, Stuart Garrett, Andy KennishFront: Gary Conwell, Paul Kelly, Mike Cain
The Men played two set of fixtures last week, with the cold and windy conditions on Monday night being particularly challenging for all teams playing.
South Ramsey A started their week with a good 9-1 away win away to Castletown B, with Ross Moore being the sole winner for the home team, managing to take a 21-19 victory over Chas Grills, whilst on Wednesday South Ramsey brushed aside the visitors Douglas B to win 10-0, with the visitors averaging less than seven chalks each. These results now see South Ramsey with a six point lead over Douglas A, however both Marown & Onchan both have a game in hand to potentially close the gap and move up the table.
Marown A started their week with a visit north to take on South Ramsey B, taking a good 9-1 victory back to Crosby with both teams sneaking 21-20 wins. Marown then visited Onchan Park to take on Onchan A, who had sat out Monday night’s fixtures, but that didn’t stop them showing their title credentials to secure a 6-4 win over the visitors.
Douglas A (pictured) will have been pleased with their week, dropping only two points with a 9-1 over their B Team, matching this result on Wednesday over the visitors Port Erin A.
Castletown A continued their winning start to the season coming away with a 3-7 win away to Port Erin A on Monday evening.
Peel continue to consolidate their top flight status with a 6-4 win over visitors Port St Mary A, will have been pleased to come away from Mooragh Park with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday.
North Ramsey A fared better on Monday night taking a 7-3 victory way to Ballaugh A.
Castletown B ended their week with a visit to Port St Mary A, but only managed to take two points off the home team who won 8-2.
The bottom four teams Ballaugh A, Castletown B, Port Erin A and Douglas B look like they could be in a four way fight to stay in the top flight.
In the second division Marown B are starting to open up a gap at the top having won two home games, taking a 9-1 & 8-2 victory over Douglas C & Nobles B respectively.
Not far behind Marown are Peel B who made up for losing 4-6 away to North Ramsey B, by winning 10-0 at home to Onchan C.
Nobles B find themselves in the unusual position of being ahead of their A Team having picked up three points more than their club mates so far.
Finch Hill A are getting their season back on track with two victories this week to start to pull away from the bottom.
Douglas C are finding the second division much tougher this season, rooted to the bottom of the league, but with time to pull clear.
In the third division Peel C and Marown C continued their promising start to the season with both team securing good wins to extend the gap over the teams below them.
Castletown C started their week with a 10-0 win over visitors Ballaugh B. Their week didn’t end so well with a visit to Ballaugh to take on their C Team with the home team taking a 7-3 win.
Finch Hill B are at the bottom of the pile suffering a 1-9 home loss to Marown C. Thursday didn’t go any better with another 9-1 loss making it a long journey home.
Peel D secured a good 8-2 home win over South Ramsey C, following this up with a visit to Nobles C to come away with a 6-4 victory.
Noble’s Cu-Plas Cup
Noble’s held their annual Men’s doubles competition on Sunday, with the pairing of Stuey Garrett and Ian Moore (Douglas) losing out 12-21 in the final to Jordan Cain and Kevin Quirk (Onchan).
Losing semi-finalists were Roy Murphy and Peter Karran 12-21, along with Derek Allen and Alec Taylor 15-21 to the eventual winners.
The presentation was made by club chairperson Clare Cooper, who thanked the sponsors Cu-Plas and all those who helped make a success of the competition.
Cringle Fours
Cringle Pairs Winners 2017
Neil Withers & Steve WilsonThe Cringle Fours were held on Saturday with an entry of 21 pairs.
At the conclusion of play it was the Marown pairing of Steve Wilson and Neil Withers who overcame the South Ramsey/Castletown combination of Alan Moore and Nathan Cooil 21-20 in the final, which was made all the more satisfying for the Crosby men, who came back from 15-20 down to run out in what was ‘Wilsy’s’ first men’s open competition.
Losing out 18-21 to the eventual winners in the semi-final were Stuey Garrett and Ian Moore (Douglas).
In the semi-final Dave McCabe and Bernie Durcan (Port Erin) lost out 12-21 to the runners up.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Noel Cringle, with thanks made to the club for running the competition, with the sum of £250 being donated to Manx Blind Welfare Society.
Ladies’ over 60’s Thursday April 27
Both Peel Sunset and Port St Mary B fell one game short of a full house in the Trend sponsored over 60’s league on Thursday 27 April. Peel travelled to Nobles, where Heather Horsburgh was their lone loser thanks to Lin Ruscoe, while Pat Dacre almost gave the home side a second game, losing out 20-21 to Cath Parker.
Sylvia Maddrell was the fly in the ointment for Port St Mary B after their long journey to Breagle, winning to single figures. Two games in this match went all the way with Stef Swift and Hesba Skelly reaching 20 against Dot Mylchreest and Chris Holland respectively.
Onchan and Douglas drew on games with the home side winning on points – the other three games ending 4-2 on games. Voirrey Curphy and Mavis Franks were the two winners for Port Erin at Port St Mary A, but with three home players winning to single figures the home sided ended with a significant points advantage.
Philippa Taylor and Celia Joughin were the two winners for Marown at Villa, while Ann Gale and Brenda Bowyer won for Ballaugh at Castletown where despite all their players reaching double figures they fell just three points short of the 100 point mark.
Cu-Plas Ladies’ Doubles
There was an entry of 21 pairs for the ladies’ doubles sponsored by Cu-Plas and played at Nobles’ number 2 green on Sunday 30 April. Although the rain stayed away the strong winds made it very cold particularly in the latter stages when the sun decided to go to bed.
There were some entertaining games with a lot of excellent bowling.
Quarter-finals: Alison Keggen and Debbie Leece 21, Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden 8; Fiona Kennish and Jenny Moore 21, Clare Cooper and Rebecca Teare 18; Kath Kinley and Marie Ashurst 21, Ann Hollingworth and Barbara Young 16; Lynda Cadamy and Mary Alderson 21, Gill Morgan and Julie Reilly 9.
In the semi-finals Jenny and Fiona were too strong for Alison and Debbie, coming through 21-8, while Kath and Marie put up greater resistance against Lynda and Mary before going down 15-21.
The first half of the final was tense and evenly matched, standing at 12-12 after nine ends. Fiona and Jenny won the next three ends, scoring two singles and a three to give them a five point lead. Despite scoring a single on the next end, Mary and Lynda had to concede defeat when their opponents won the next two ends, to record a winning score of 21-13.
The presentation was made by club chairman, Clare Cooper, who thanked Cu-Plas for their sponsorship and support. She also thanked those who had helped in the smooth running of the afternoon, measuring, stewarding and running the sheet. Further thanks went to those who had provided the magnificent refreshments, which were particularly welcome on such a cold afternoon.
Janet Reclaims Top Lady
Top Lady Winner 2017
Janet MonkThe morning weather did not bode well for the Top Lady Invitational at Port Erin on Saturday 29 April, as players made their way south through heavy rain. However, by start of play, the weather cleared giving a sunny and at time warm afternoon with players able to strip down to their shirts ! A touch of drizzle late on did not detract from the event.
In a high quality field there were some close, and some not so close, matches in the early rounds and by the quarter-finals the cream had risen to the top.
Quarter-finals: Ann Hollingworth 18, Rosie Winckle 21; Janet Monk 21, Joyce Kelly 13; Lynda Cadamy 21, Helen Martin 13; Lyn Bolton 17, Margaret Tasker 21.
In the early rounds Janet had cut a swathe through the Peel players with Joyce Kelly being the only one to reach double figures against her. In the semi-final she moved inland to Marown to tackle Rosie Winckle who, like the two other Peel players, had no answer to her accuracy on her corner-to-corner mark.
The other semi-final was much closer affair with Margaret taking an early 7-1 lead before Lynda responded to level at 11-11. After 25 ends Lynda led 19-17, but her opponent took the next four ends to run out the winner 21-19.
Semi-finals: Rosie Wickle 6, Janet Monk 21; Lynda Cadamy 19, Margaret Tasker 21.
In the final it was Janet who made the early running, racing to 14-5, then 18-8. Margaret’s fighting spirit came to the fore as she pulled back to15-19, but it was too little too late as Janet took the next two ends and the title at the end of a fascinating battle. Janet reclaims the title she last won in 2010 and joins Helen Martin, Chris Price on 3 wins with Jenny Moore holding the outright record at 4.
Final: Janet Monk 21, Margaret Tasker 15
The Presentation was made by Association president, Rosie Winckle, who thanked Port Erin For the use of their green, and the club men for the measuring and the ladies for the catering. She also thanked Elaine and Heather for their work running the sheet
Familiar Name at the top after Games 6 and 7.
Game 6 of the 2017 Season saw a meeting of two of the leading teams with Onchan A hosting joint top team Peel Sunset A at Onchan Park in what promised to be a very keenly contested match. At the end of the afternoons bowls it was Onchan A who ran out 5-3 winners with some close games with Peter Wallis maintaining his early season form by beating Alec Taylor to 19 and for Peel Harry Kelly beat Colin Hinds to 19. Worthy of mention is the performance of Tony Carroon who beat local favourite Mike Thomas to 12.
Elsewhere Onchan’s B Team travelled to the Villa to play Douglas B and they former made it a good day for Onchan as they came away with a 6-2 win with Tony Creer and Bob Banning being the two winners for the home side.
Douglas A travelled to Peel to play Peel Sunset C and the ‘Westerners’ gave the men from the ‘Capital’ a good test with the Douglas side eventually winning 5-3.
Ballaugh B hosted Port St Mary B with the latter getting a 5-3 away win in a match that featured an epic struggle between Bobby Clayton and Steve Franks with Steve eventually winning 21-20.
The A Team of Ballaugh travelled to the south to play Castletown A with the Castletown side taking a 6-2 win in a match that saw a close battle in which Ron Williams beat Peter Graham to 20.
Castletown B travelled to Nobles Park to play Nobles B with the team from the south winning 5-3 while Nobles A took the journey to the Mooragh Park to play North Ramsey B and it was Nobles A who came away with a 5-3 victory.
Marown welcomed South Ramsey to Crosby and played out a 4-4 draw with a close game between Keith Watterson and Chris Walsh saw Chris running out with a 21-20 win.
In the remaining two games we saw Peel Sunset B losing at home to North Ramsey A and Port St Mary A beating Finch Hill 6-2 at Port St Mary.
As we came to Game 7 there was only one team left unbeaten in the League, this being Castletown B who hosted Douglas A on a very tricky Castletown Bowling Green. After the first four games the match looked to be all over for Castletown with the Douglas side leading 4-0 but then acting Captain for Castletown for the day Juan Kermode started a comeback with a 21-9 win over Pat O’Donohue and Dave Hollingworth and Alan Phair winning this could well have finished with the Southerners remaining unbeaten. Jimmy Sansom however showed he is made of ‘stern stuff’ and remained focused to see off a spirited challenge from Dave Ali so Douglas A came away with a 5-3 win feeling very relieved with the result.
Also travelling to the South of the Island was ‘high flying’ Peel Sunset A who played Port St Mary B with the boys from the South putting on a great display to beat the Peel side 5-3. There were some good wins here for some of the Islands ‘senior bowlers’ with Archie Callister beating Harry Kelly 21-12 and Ashley Qualtrough beating Jeff Oates to 13.
Ballaugh B fought out a 4-4 draw with Nobles B while Ballaugh A travelled to Nobles Park A and had a similar 4-4 result.
Castletown A took a 7-1 victory from Douglas B at the Villa with Arthur Ashcroft being the Douglas sides only winner defeating Derek Lewney 21-17.
Onchan A hosted Peel Sunset C and achieved an 8-0 victory with Peter Dawson being the closest for Peel C going down 21-20 to Brain Woodall. Onchan B went south to play Port Erin and lost 5-3 which was quite an achievement for the Port Erin side as they were a player short.
Port St Mary A did well to get a 5-3 win from a good Peel B side who play so well on their home green.
Finch Hill hosted North Ramsey A and the lads from Ramsey managed to get a 4-4 draw while back at the Mooragh Park North Ramsey B lost 5-3 to a strong Marown team.
So after seven games have been played with see the familiar sight of Castletown A at the top of the League equal on 12 points with Onchan A and Port St Mary A just one point behind. With only two points covering the top two places we have Nobles A, Marown and Port St Mary B all close behind on ten points.
Ladies’ over 60’s Tuesday 25 April
The weather was not kind on the morning of 25 April in the Trend sponsored over 60’s ladies’ league. At Peel the match coincided with the period of high tide, so the cold and strong winds were accompanied by the sea spray coming over.
For Breagle Gwen Tuck and Sylvia Maddrell mastered the conditions to take two games of the home side. Onchan recorded a maximum at Moorage Park, where just two of the home side managed to get into double figures, while at Douglas Jan Osborne spoiled the party for Port St Mary A, denying them a full house. Sue Caley almost added a second game for the home side, reaching 20 against Kath Looney.
Port Erin had a good win against Castletown, winning four games. All the Castletown players reaching double figures kept the final points difference to single figures. It was another close affair when Port St Mary B played host to Villa, the match ending level on games with the visitors finishing just ahead on points. Ballaugh and Nobles also tied on games, but with the home side winning two games to single figures compared to their opponent’s one they ended with a comfortable points advantage.