Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

Windy conditions hindered bowlers in Canada Life International League Division One on Monday night as runaway leaders South Ramsey A bounced back from the previous week’s defeat to Marown A to establish an 11-point lead the top, as they beat Marown C 10-0 at home. For the home team David Bradford was the only winner to single figures as he beat Jamie Joughin 21-4, whilst the highest scorers for the visitors were Kevin Kelly and Steven Rough who lost out 14-21 to Bob Clark and Glynn Hargraves respectively.

Strugglers Castletown A had a tough game on their hands as they hosted Marown A at the Crofts. At the halfway stage of the game it looked like a huge upset could be on the cards as the Town men led 3-1, however a good performance from the Crosby men in the second half secured a 3-7 win for Marown. Winning for the home team were Nathan Cooil who beat John Gelling 21-15, this was matched by captain Jordan Drewett as he beat Paul Kelly, whilst Ian Watson held off Glenn Boland 21-20.

The second half saw single figure wins from Marown captain Paul Dunn and Peter Jones against Alan Phair and Ron Williams, with Phil Kelly and Colin Kelly completing the comeback with wins against George Foy and Aaron Richardson respectively.

Onchan A came away from Crosby with a well-deserved 2-8 win over Marown B. Matthew Quirk was the best winner for Onchan with a 21-2 win over James Kelly, whilst Will Penhallurick was fairly comfortable with a 21-17 victory over Marown captain Darren Kerruish. Responding for the home team were Brian Kelly with a 21-15 win over Jamie Clague, whilst Harry Barton beat Neil Dunwell 21-3.

Port St Mary A did themselves a huge favour to give themselves some breathing room at the bottom of the table as they beat fellow strugglers South Ramsey B 9-1, with the visitors now eight points adrift of safety they look to be heading towards an immediate return to Division Two. Tony Hart prevented the whitewash as he beat Paul Skelly 21-16, with captain Ben Dugdale the highest scorer for the visitors as he lost out 17-21 to Robbie Cooil. Winning to single figures for the Port men were Tim Williams, as he beat Austin Hart 21-3, with teammate Trevor Quayle winning 21-4 against George Brew.

Peel B picked up a valuable four points to stay outside of the relegation spots, following their 4-6 home defeat to Douglas A, as two single figure defeats cost them the aggregate. For the visitors Jimmy Sansom held off Dougie Allan 21-20, Gordon Wynne-Smythe won 21-6 against Andy Mackie, whilst Villa captain Merv Sayle beat Mick Kavanagh 21-8. Winning for the home team in close games were Paul Quirk, who beat Andy Cannell 21-19, Robert Middleton held off Shaun Seal 21-18, whilst wins from Brian Lindsay and Gordon Corrin over Keith Raise and Gary Conwell respectively were comfortable.

North Ramsey A were due to host Peel A at Mooragh Park, however this fixture has been rearranged to a later date due to the Manx Grand Prix road closures.

In Division Two Finch Hill A are making a huge effort to return to the top division after a lengthy absence, with their last appearance back in 2016 as they beat Onchan C 10-0 at home, as they kept the visitors to just 90 chalks. Four single wins from Dave McCabe, Paul Dougherty, Tony Epifani, and Mark Taylor ensured low chalks for the visitors, with Neil Taylor coming closest to picking up a point for Onchan only to lose out 19-21 to Stephen Oates.

Douglas B beat Noble’s A 8-2 at the Villa, as Martyn Hobson lost out 20-21 to Geoff Mayles, Jim Collister also narrowly losing out 19-21 to David Pease. The best winner for the home team was Steve Cook as he beat Stephen Hampson 21-4. For the visitors Juan Qualtrough won 21-15 against Bob Callow, whilst Alex Yates got the better of Willie Cowley 21-18.

Noble’s B drew 5-5 at home to North Ramsey B despite losing 3-5 on games they edged the aggregate by just three chalks (142-139). Home team winners were Jay Elliott, Mikey Cooper, and Stephen Corkill with the latter beating Joe Kneale 21-6. For the visitors three wins were hard fought as Ray Skelly beat Noel Ash 21-18, with Tony Smart and Brian Colquitt both winning their games 21-17 against Alex Hampson and Phil Salmon respectively.

South Ramsey C won their home game against Port Erin A 7-3 by a solitary chalk. Winning for the visitors were David Cain who beat David Corkill 21-12, Bernie Durcan eased home 21-7 against Ian Moore, whilst Ed Benson won 21-11 against Andy Morgan. Winning for the home team were Paul Routledge, Greg Barlow, Richie Davies, Jay Moore, and Anthony Kelly with the latter pushed hard before winning 21-19.

Second placed Ballaugh A rearranged their home game with Castletown B to a later date.

In Division Three Port St Mary B now have a six-point lead over the teams chasing them as they won 8-2 at home to Douglas C. The home team wins were all comfortable, with Nicholas Peterson beat pushed furthest by Juan Readshaw with his 21-17 win. For the visitors David Caley beat Will Cain 21-20, with Greg Tomlinson beating Peter Lowe 21-16.

Noble’s D (3rd) went level with visitors Ballaugh B who occupy second place, thanks to an 8-2 victory for the Noble’s men. Winning to single figures for the home team were Andrew Bell, Kevin Moore, and Junior bowler Sam Colquitt. For the visitors Gary Griffiths impressed with a 21-8 win over Terry Bates, whilst Mike Buckeridge beat Charlie Bell 21-19.

Marown D won their home game with South Ramsey D 7-3, as the Crosby men won the aggregate by a margin of 16 chalks (151-135). For the visitors Franz ten Donkelaar beat 2022 Division Three merit winner Jay Waters 21-15, Steve Kelly was the joint best winner on the night as he won 21-11 against Phil Dunn, whilst Geoff Collier just edged home 21-20 against Andy Sykes. For the home team Alan Gault played a great last bowl to beat Ryan Hargraves 21-20, Stu Mason beat Frank Feeney 21-13, whilst Ryan Holdaway beat Chris Brown 21-11.

Another game brought forward was between Ballaugh C who welcomed Finch Hill B. Despite the home team winning 5-3 on games, they lost the aggregate by a solitary chalk (134-135) with Sam Stannard-Duke winning 21-2 against Tim Merriman, this helped the visitors to draw 5-5. Other winners for Finch were Peter Woods who beat Steve Bassil 21-10 and Tom Waterworth 21-17. For Ballaugh Ken Harding won 21-20 against Guy Smith and Jamie Kelly beat Tony Jones 21-18.

Elsewhere Noble’s C came away from Peel D with a 3-7 win in a high scoring contest (144-150), whilst Douglas D won 8-2 at the Villa against Port Erin B.