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Top Teams Dominate
Port Erin A Mens Team - 2017
Back (l-r): Stuart Gale, Harry Minor, Bernard Thackarah Front (l-r): Seamus Whealan, David Cain, Dave McCabe, Steve Durcan, Bernie DurcanThe league table is getting a familiar look about it following the second set of fixtures played on Monday evening, with what most bowlers consider to be the top two teams Marown and South Ramsey both winning 10-0 with the opposing teams failing to reach the 100 point mark.
Marown stormed to a convincing home win against Port Erin (pictured), who having sat out the first round of fixtures last week were unable to capitalise against a Marown team who were missing a couple of regulars.
South Ramsey A got over the disappointment of two dropped points last week with a convincing win at Ballaugh.
Onchan were a solitary point away from a maximum, with Jimmy Samson being the only winner for Douglas B over Jordan Cain.
Port St Mary got their first full house of the season with a 10-0 victory over North Ramsey who almost picked up a point, with Gary Merrill just losing out 20-21.
Castletown continued their confident start to the season with an assured 9-1 result over their B Team with Dave Faragher the lone winner for the B Team.
All eyes were on newly promoted Peel with three players coming up against the Douglas team they played for last season. This did not stop their season from getting up and running with a 7-3 victory over the visiting Villa side with Keith Rise holding off the challenge of former team mate Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly with an assured 21-16 win on a green that Barney is notoriously tough to beat on.
In the second division Marown B are proving their title credentials having now played both teams relegated from the first division last season, this week winning 8-2 over the visitors Noble’s A.
It is not looking so good for Finch Hill A, who suffered their second straight 9-1 loss of the season, this time to Onchan B.
Port St Mary C lost 5-3 on games to Peel B, but just edged the aggregate by a solitary chalk to obtain a draw overall.
Onchan C were unable to hold off the strong challenge of Port St Mary B who came away from the Park with an 8-2 victory.
Newly promoted Port Erin B will have been pleased to have taken the spoils from a Douglas C Team that got promoted with them last season, with an 8-2 win having edged the aggregate by two chalks. The home team were unfortunate to not get over the line in two or three of the games.
In the third division Marown C visited a much improved Ballaugh green, but were unable to get to grips with it on the night, with the home team winning 8-2.
South Ramsey D played their first home fixture of the season, with the result being 4-4 on games and the visitors Ballaugh B taking the overall victory 6-4.
South Ramsey C visited Noble’s C, with the visitors taking a comfortable 7-3 win.
Castletown C were convincing 9-1 winners over the newly formed Douglas D Team, who for many of their players would have had their first experience of playing on an away green. I am sure this season will give the team a number of ups and downs.
Upcoming Opens
Sat April 23 – Douglas – Association Singles
Announcement
Sun April 23 – Peel Sunset will now hold a Mixed Doubles Competition The Lancaster Cup. This competition replaces the South Ramsey Team 4s competition which has been moved to September due to the extensive work being carried out on the new club house & surrounds.
Monk’s Have a Happy Easter
Douglas Mixed Doubles Winners 2017
L-R: Janet Monk, Norman Kneen, Robert MonkNorth Ramsey held their first open of the season on Good Friday, the Ken Parker Trophy having recently returned to Mooragh Park following a seasons break from the green due to extensive work carried out over the past year.
The competition was played as an any combination doubles and attracted an entry of 34 pairs, with the field having a strong northern based look about it.
Losing quarter finalists were Chris Price and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary), Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey), along with homegreeners Caroline Parker and Adam Yates, Geoff Porter and Brian Colquitt.
The first semi final had homegreeners Helen Martin and Allan Callow up against Alan Moore and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey), with the latter storming to a 21-8 victory.
In the other semi final mother and son pairing Janet and Robert Monk had their work cut out to beat southerners Dave McCabe and Derek Allen (Port Erin) with the Monk’s booking their place in the final with a 21-18 win.
The final started with the Monk’s taking the first few ends, before Moore and Kelly then won a few ends to close the gap. From there the Monk’s took control of the game, using all their knowledge and experience of the green to take a comfortable win 21-13.
The presentation was made by Caroline Parker on behalf of the Parker family with thanks expressed to all those who helped make a success of the competition.
The following day Douglas held their first mixed doubles competition of the season with an entry of 31 pairs taking part.
The Monk’s once again paired up to storm to their second victory in two days. Douglas seems to have become a favourite for the Monk’s, having had a number of victories on the Villa green over the past few years.
Losing out in the final were the Port St Mary pair of Margaret Tasker and Ken Karran, who did well to shake off the strong challenge of Amanda Lawler and Jordan Cain in the semi final. Chris Price and Dido Kelly also dipped out at the semi final stage.
Losing quarter finalists were homegreeners Jimmy Samson and Pauline Cowley, Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey, the Husband and Wife pairings of Caroline and Steve Parker, along with Philippa and Alec Taylor.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by club chairman Norman Kneen, who thanked the club for running the competition.
Ladies’ over 60’s Thursday 13 April
After their maximum on Tuesday Nobles were brought down to earth again on their visit to Douglas on Thursday 13 April, where Sylvia Kennaugh was their only winner, to deny their opponents a full house.Port St Mary A travelled North to Onchan where their match was drawn on games. Wins to single fgures by Val Macfarlane and Margaret Tasker gave the visitors a comfortable win on points. Maureen Lacey spoiled the party for Castletown, her 21-20 win over Barbara Young denying them a maximum, while at Peel it was Philippa Taylor, for Marown, who prevented the home side registering a full house. Port Erin also had a 5-1 win on games, Jenny Cain being the lone winner for Breagle. Ballaugh had a full team for the visit of Villa. They posted a 4-2 win on games with Peggy Griffin winning to single figures.
Ladies’ over 60’s Tuesday 11 April
Nobles posted the first maximum of the season in the Trend sponsored over 60’s ladies’ league against Mooragh Park who had only two players, Moira Anderson and Peggy Freeman, reaching double figures. For Onchan, Rita Callan and Libby Andrade, who came through 21-20 against Joy Stephens, denied Castletown a full house although they did register the second highest total of the morning. Breagle hosted Douglas in a match where both teams passed the 100 points, but the visitors had the better of their hosts winning 4-2 on games, although some of the games were very close, Hesba Skelly once again featured with a 21-19 win over Kath King, balanced by Jan Osborne coming through against Kay Primrose-Smith by the same score, while Brenda Williams pipped Sylvia Maddrell 21-20.Pauline Worrall edged out Joyce Kelly 21-20 as Port St Mary B beat Peel Sunset by 5 points, while the match at the Villa was drawn on games. Although Kay McKiernan won to single figures, so too did Carole Kaye and Jackie Elliott for Port Erin giving the visitors a good points advantage. Ballaugh were unfortunately a player short for their visit to Marow the home side winning three of the five games played, the two winners for the away side being Voirrey Oates and Ann Gale.
Ladies’ British Merit Qualifier
There was a field of 13 for the British Crown Green Merit Qualifier played at Finch Hill on Sunday 16 April. The afternoon started in fine weather and it was hoped that the early morning heavy rain had passed and gone. However things went downhill weatherwise at the semi-final stage.
The two semi-finals could not have been more different, as Fiona Kennish, who had played so well in her previous game, could not come to grips with either the weather or her opponent, while in the other, Helen Martin pegged back a deficit of 9-18 to come through and win 21 -20.
Semi-finals: Lyn Bolton 21, Fiona Kennish 3; Helen Martin 21, Elaine Moore 20.
Lyn made the better start in the final, leading 9-2 after ten ends, at which point Helen took six of the next seven ends to level at 10-10. The points were shared to 13 across when Lyn, with a run of four ends, stretched to a 20-13 lead, before Helen closed to 18-20 after 30 ends. A very tense final went to Lyn with a single on the next end, giving her the win 21-18.
Lyn will now represent the island at the Individual Merit competition at the Leyland Fox Lane Sports Club on Saturday 8 July.
Association president, Rosie Winckle, thanked Finch Hill bowling club for the use of their facilities and for providing the refreshments. She also thanked all those who had helped in any way with the smooth running of the afternoon.
Ladies’ Night League Wednesday 12 April
On a dry but cool evening there were few surprises in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league, although despite every team passing the 100 point mark, there was a big disparity in the scores in several of the matches.
The closest encounter saw Mooragh Park come through 163-141 at Marown. Two games went all the way, Pat Withers coming through 21-20 against Aalish Haworth being balanced by Helen Martin edging out Mary Alderson by the same score. It was a similar scoreline at Purt le Moirrey, with the away side winning 163-139. Tracy Moore won to single figures for the home side as did Sylvia Kennaugh for the visitors. Onchan had two winners on their visit to Port Erin in Marilyn Ellison and Jo Smith, but Port Erin were ruthless in winning 5 of their 7 games to single figures. Although Peel Sunset fought hard, they were only able to take one game of South Ramsey, courtesy of Mary Moffatt, while Douglas managed to take two games of Port St Mary, their winners being Paula Garrett and Brenda Williams. Five of the champion’s wins were to single figures. Christine Macdonald and Voirrey Oates were the two winners for Ballaugh at Castletown, with Pat Mason getting close to adding a third, reaching 18 against Kim Foy.
Ladies’ Night League Wednesday 5 April
The ladies’ night league, sponsored once again by C Tarleton Hodgson, had it’s first matches, in fine weather, on Wednesday 5 April. It is nice to see Onchan fielding a team, but it is a pity that luck was not with them when the fixtures were made, as they started their campaign against Castletown, at Castletown – a start that no team in the league would welcome !! The home side posted a maximum with only three of the visitors reaching double figures. Re-building is never easy, as Mooragh Park can confirm, but perseverance will bring reward in the long term. Douglas were another team to struggle as they played host to South Ramsey, who will surely be contenders again this year. The visitors won eight games, seven of them to single figures, the sole winner for Douglas being Paula Garrett. Champions Port St Mary were on fine form against their near neighbours, Purt le Moirrey, winning 6-3 on games with none of their players scoring less than 17 points. It was a strange match at Noble’s, with most of the games being a little one sided. The home side won 6-3 on games and a large points margin. The only close game saw Mavis Franks come through 21-18 against Paula Firth. Marown had the better of Ballaugh in a low-scoring game, winning 5-4 on games with three wins to single figures, while this year Peel have made a cagey start with a game that could so easily have been a draw, winning by one point and 5-4 on games with Maureen Lacey (Wright) so nearly reversing that as she reached 20 against Rose Corfield.
Ladies’ Night League Friday 7 April
It was Noble’s turn to score a maximum as Onchan, still finding their feet, had only one player reach double figures. Marown have started strongly, losing only one game against Douglas, with Paula Garrett once again spoiling the party for the opposing team, while Castletown showed the value of fighting for every point as they dropped just six points in losing three games. Ann Gale and Christine Macdonald both won at Port St Mary, but their having to give a game away and the home side winning four games to single figures meant Port St Mary ended with a large points advantage. Caroline Parker spared Mooragh Park’s blushes winning their only game to single figures, as South Ramsey won the other eight games, five of them to single figures. Peel Sunset continued as they left off on Wednesday, sneaking a win 5-4 on games and a margin of 7 points. Rose Corfield came through 21-20 for the second time of the week, this time against Phil Dobson.
Ladies’ Over 60’s Thursday 6 April
The ladies’ over 60’s got under way on a fine morning, with seven teams passing the 100 point mark.Reigning champions, Port St Mary A, played host to Castletown and took 5 of the 6 games. The lone winner for the visitors was Ann Hollingworth who won to single figures, although Barbara Young came close to adding a second game reaching 19 against Win Collister. Douglas also finished with 114, winning four games, the featured match seeing Moire Turner edging out Margaret Corlett 21-20.Sylvia Kennaugh and Flo Price, winning a close game against Libby Andrade, were the two winners for Noble’s at Onchan where the home side ended with a big points advantage, while Hesba Skelly made experience count when she just pipped Anne Chapman 21-20 in Breagle’s win at Mooragh Park. Marown had a successful journey to Port Erin, finishing with a good points victory in a match that ended 3-3 on games. The closest result of the morning was at Ballaugh, where despite, being a player short, the five who played dropped only one point between them when Ann Gale just lost out 20-21 to Edwina Reid. Another close match-up saw Voirrey Oates come through 21-20 against Brenda Hawkard.
Over 60’s Games 1 and 2.
Game 1
The much anticipated start to the 2017 Men’s Crown Green Bowling Season was on Tuesday 4th April with the first shock being the 6 -2 defeat of last years runners up Port St Mary A by Onchan B at Onchan Park.
The performance off the day in this match has to be the 21-9 defeat of Ron Maycox by Peter Wallis but there were steady performances by many of the Onchan Lads with a good win for Gary Lee over Brian Lowe being worthy of mention as Gary only took up Crown Green towards the end of last season.
Last years winners Castletown A travelled just a little farther South to Port Erin and came out winners by taking five of the eight games. Unfortunately Port Erin were a player short so Castletown had one walkover and with Derek Cadamy only losing 21-18 to Mike Hargraves and Ken Horsley losing 21-17 to George Peach there was always a chance that the team from Port Erin could have picked up at least one point.
Nobles A with a very strong team this year had an 8-0 victory over Peel Sunset C with the nearest of the Sunset City Players to a win being Steven Bradley who only just lost out 21-20 to Roy Murphy. I mentioned Nobles A last week as being a possible strong contender this season and I certainly think that they will finish in the top three.
Elsewhere South Ramsey had a 5-3 home win over Nobles B with Chris Penketh being top man there beating Tony Jones 21-1. At Port St Mary the Ports B Team beat Peel Sunset B 5-3 with Tom Wilson winning the battle of the ‘Wilsons’ by beating Jeff Wilson 21-19.
In Douglas the Douglas A Team beat the League’s newest Team Ballaugh B 7-1 at the Villa with David Quirk of the Douglas side performing very steadily in only his second league game in Crown Green before eventually losing 21-16 in a good game with Ray Parry.
Peel Sunset A had a battle with Marown with the Westerners running out 5-3 winners but a close battle between Phil Parker and Alan Kennaugh which ended 21-18 in favour of Phil could easily have made this a draw. Ballaugh A lost 3-5 to Onchan A and the Finch Hill match with North Ramsey B ended all square at 4-4 and finally Castletown B beat Douglas B 6-2 with the well known ex local Football Referee Willie Cowley making his debut for Douglas B but sadly he was shown the Red Card by Dave Ali of Town who managed to beat Willie on this occasion.
Game 2
Thursday 6th April saw the second games of the Season for the over 60’s and saw the League’s newest Team Ballaugh B gain their first victory by defeating Finch Hill 6-2 in a match of mainly very close games with Ray Parry of Ballaugh continuing his good form with a 21-5 defeat of Kevin Skillicorn.
As expected Castletown A are still a force to be reckoned with as shown by their 8-0 victory over Port St Mary B whilst the Castletown B Team drew 4-4 with North Ramsey B at the Mooragh Park.
Douglas B hosted Peel Sunset A at the Villa but found the men from the West too strong as they took an 8-0 victory back home to Peel although there were some valiant performances from some home players with three games being closely contested.
Port Erin travelled to Marown and although there were some close games Marown ran out 6-2 winners with Bernard Thackrah and Seamus Whelan being the two winners for the Southerners.
Ballaugh A travelled to Nobles Park B and not to be outdone by their new B Team they also came away with a 6-2 win John Clague and Tony Jones being the only ones to be successful against the men from Ballaugh.
North Ramsey A travelled from the Mooragh Park to Onchan Park to play a strong Onchan A Team with the home lads gaining a 5-3 victory in a match that saw Norman Radcliffe now back playing this year for North Ramsey beat Mike Alexander 21-5, Mike Thomas of Onchan beating Jimmy Moffatt 21-6 and his team mate Colin Hinds beating Mike Skelly 21-6.
Peel Sunset C lost 5-3 at home to Onchan B and Peel Sunset B drew 4-4 with a very strong Nobles A with Roy Murphy of the Nobles Team having a 21-3 win over Ted Cain.
Last years runners up Port St Mary A who lost last game to Onchan B were back on form defeating South Ramsey 7-1 although the Northern Team were one player short with Chris Penketh being the only winner for South Ramsey.
So with Douglas A having the bye in Game 2, the League Table sees four Teams at the top each with four points, these being;
Peel Sunset A, Castletown A, Onchan B and Onchan A