New leader in Merit table
There was just one day of league fixtures over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling Club calendar and along with the leaders, there were three teams jostling for places in the lower half of the table.
Bowl Rollers were the latest side to be on the wrong side of a six games to nil result against top outfit Jacks Off, who took their tally of maximums to nine and the overall total so far to 23.
Erin Porters (seventh) and ninth placed Govags were also competing on a very blustery afternoon and even though Porters won four games, they lost out by six points, which meant that Govags gained revenge for the last time these two clashed.
Also turning an earlier defeat into victory were Bowl Rollers who dropped just two chalks in a five games to one success over western rivals Govags.
Porters fought hard in their final fixture to try and maintain a slender advantage over Rollers and Govags, but they slipped down below them both after defeat against Jacks Off.
They did win one game and what an important outcome, especially in the battle for the individual merit; as it was a second loss for leader Stefan Kelly, who could only manage a score of 13 against Wayne Roberts, this means he now drops behind team-mate Matthew Keggen in the standings.
As for the league battles – Jacks Off just need to average 106 points from each of their last four fixtures to ensure they cannot be caught at the top.
Rollers meantime now occupy seventh on a score of 105.39, next are Govags, and they are on exactly the same average as Porters, both have 105.06.
Results for Sunday, January 28: Bowl Rollers 87 (0), Jacks Off 126 (6); Erin Porters 105 (4), Govags 111 (2); Jacks Off 118 (5), Erin Porters 93 (1); Govags 106 (1), Bowl Rollers 124 (5).
Two round robins were held prior to Sunday’s fixtures, with the midweek session having an entry of 29, which had some close results.
In the doubles, three pairs completed the contest with the same amount of points and after a roll-up the victors were Mark Kelly and Derek Cadamy; second went to Bernie McPhee and Bryan Corner and missing out in third spot were Doug Allan and Peter Kelly.
Triples was the order of the day for the other group and coming out on top were Elaine Moore, Terry Bates and Bernard Thackrah; in second after another roll-up were Rita Callister, Lil Smith and Kevin Firth, with the trio of Lynda Cadamy, Ken Karran and Jeff Wilson just missing out.
There was another gathering on Saturday, but just 17 braved the windy conditions, the groups were re-drawn after the first session and the individual top three were Philippa Taylor, Steve Crampton and Alec Taylor.