Merit has a new leader
The main news of the weekend occurred in the individual merit of the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League with some of the contenders not available to play and some of them suffering defeats.
2012 winner Marg Tasker (Louie’s Angels) took over at the top of the list for the Derek Killey memorial trophy after two close victories and former leader Kevin Quirk (Seven-Up) was not able to play.
Kevin’s team-mate Mark Kelly moved into second spot ahead of three players who lost a game apiece over the two days – Matthew Keggen (Angels), Jenny Moore (Outsiders) and Mike Thomas (Parkers).
On the team front current champions Outsiders, who are currently third in the table, started Saturday afternoon with victory over fifth-placed Louie’s Angels to extend the margin between them by 19 points.
However, that gap was reduced later in the session after Angels recorded a maximum 126 against basement side Castletown Corkers, whilst Outsiders could only manage 116 against the same opponents.
Results for Saturday, January 18: Outsiders 118 (4), Louie’s Angels 99 (2); Louie’s Angels 126 (6), Castletown Corkers 87 (0); Castletown Corkers 81 (1), Outsiders 116 (5).
The following day saw second-placed Seven-Up move within striking distance of the completion of their programme with only two fixtures left to play, however they slipped further behind the leaders due mainly to a number of their players not being available to play.
First clash on the card saw Castletown Cannons, who sit just above their stablemates, miss out on only their second victory in a five-chalk loss to Parkers.
Bowl Rollers meanwhile inflicted only the third defeat of the campaign on title challengers Seven-Up, the victors may have lost on games, but secured the all-important points win by just two.
The title contenders then got their challenge back on track by scoring the team’s fourth and the campaign’s 18th maximum at the expense of Cannons who now sit 16 points ahead of Corkers.
Rollers won the final battle of the weekend and did enough to move above opponents Parkers on average; they are now on 104.25 compared to Parkers on 104.17.
Results for Sunday, January 19: Castletown Cannons 105 (2), Parkers 110 (4); Bowl Rollers 105 (2), Seven-Up 103 (4); Seven-Up 126 (6), Castletown Cannons 87 (0); Parkers 96 (2), Bowl Rollers 119 (4).
A gang of 21 entered the latest midweek round robin and from one group of triples, Allan Kennaugh, Lil Smith and Peter Kelly emerged as clear winners ahead of Bryan Corner, Derek Allen and David Clucas.
Another round robin is planned for this Saturday afternoon as there are no league fixtures scheduled and entries are now open for the club championship which will be held towards the end of the season.