Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

The top two teams in Division One over the past 10 years Marown A and South Ramsey A clashed at Crosby on Monday evening in ideal bowling conditions on an excellent surface.

Last season the Marown men did the double over South Ramsey in the league. The draw looked to be extremely well matched between the two teams. In the first half of the match David Bradford held onto the jack all game, as he defeated fellow island player Neil Withers 21-0, without doubt a first for the Marown man to not score a single point. Marown captain Paul Dunn hit back with a 21-10 win over Peter Collister, with the latter fighting back from a 1-14 deficit to close the gap to six chalks at 10-16, only for Dunn to get back in and finish the game over the next four ends. The top two players over the past 30 plus years Colin Kelly and John Kennish took to the green once more to battle it out with Kennish winning the first end then trailing all game, going five behind at 13-18 only for a strong finish from the 12-time Manx Champion to beat seven-time Champion Kelly 21-19, thanks to winning five of the last six ends scoring three doubles on the way to victory. Another colossus battle saw Jones and Clark go head-to-head, with the game being tight all the way through with the South Ramsey man edging ahead by three chalks at 17-14, the biggest gap all game. Jones managed to level the game up at 18-18 after 30 ends, with Clark rallying once more to see the game out 21-18. At the halfway point South Ramsey led 3-1 and by a margin of 15 chalks, this easily recoverable with one or two good wins for the home team.

South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves was next off with a 21-8 win over Dean Kipling, which made the score 4-1, gave an unassailable 28 chalk lead, with the remaining games on the green all into double figures. Tom Kelly got back to winning ways with a solid performance winning 21-14 against Dido Kelly, having trailed after three ends once he got in front he never let the lead slip. A third win soon arrived with Paul Kelly holding off Jordan Cain 21-19, having trailed 11-15 and 14-18, the Marown man only conceded one more chalk to seal his comeback. Comebacks from losing positions were the order of the night, as James Teare trailed Glenn Boland 9-15, only to edge in front at 18-17. Boland scored two singles, on the following end and was counting for one only to hit in Teare’s short bowl. The South Ramsey man took full advantage of this to win the next two ends and seal an unlikely 3-7 win for his team as South Ramsey hit top spot for the first time this season, to put daylight between the two teams.

Whilst South may think it might well have been a 2-8 victory, Marown will think what might have been had all the close games gone in their favour, it would have resulted in a 6-2 victory on games, with the aggregate still likely to have gone in the visitors favour to leave a unusual 6-4 victory.

Onchan A claimed their first league win of the season, as they beat Douglas A 8-2 at home. Kevin Quirk won 21-3 against Mervin Sayle, whilst Mike Alexander and Peter Slinger had to battle for their 21-20 and 21-18 wins over Ian Moore and Andy Cannell respectively. For the visitors Nick Firth is quickly adapting to life in Division One, as he picked up another win, defeating Will Penhallurick 21-15, whilst Dave McCabe beat Reg Temporaza 21-9.

Peel A suffered another home defeat, this time 4-6 at the hands of Marown B. Phil Kelly had to scrap for his 21-17 win over Andy Mackie, Peter Greenlees returned to his old stomping ground to beat Paul Quirk 21-7, whilst Juan Killip impressed with a 21-14 win over Stevie Kelly. Dave ‘Costa Del Barney’ Kelly returned to the Island to see off John Gelling 21-19, with the pair no doubt discussing their recent adventures, whilst David Proctor beat Brian Lindsay to the same score.

South Ramsey B picked up five valuable points at home to North Ramsey A to keep themselves ahead of the Mooragh men in a true 5-5 draw, as both teams won four games and shared the aggregate (138-138). Winning for the home team were Tony Dugdale, Eddie Carlyle, Toby Hart and George Brew, whilst Tom Collins, Rob Monk, Paul Allison, and Steve Walmsley responded for the visitors.

Breagle Glen A hosted Castletown A, with the teams evenly matched on the night, however the home team managed to secure a 6-4 win, taking the aggregate by nine chalks (151-142) in a high scoring match, however they missed out a possible three extra wins as Steve Durcan, David Cain and Dan McCabe lost 18, 18 and 19 to Jordan Drewett, Ian Watson, and Nathan Cooil respectively. For the home team their closest game was Wayne Roberts’ 21-17 win against Andy Clark, whilst former Town player Chris Lever beat Dean Kinley 21-16.

In Division Two Ballaugh A reached top spot thanks to a 9 -1 home win over Onchan B, missing out on the whitewash by four chalks as Mark Dimsdale lost out 17-21 to Derek Allen. The Onchan men will feel hard done by having lost three games to 17, and a further two games to 18 and 19.

In a rearranged fixture Noble’s B had their toughest test of the season at home to Marown C (report to follow)…

Noble’s A came away from the Crofts with a 4-6 win over Castletown B. The visitors won 5-3 but couldn’t edge the two-point aggregate as this was shared (137-137). Ron Williams returned to the B Team having turned out for the C team the previous week, went on to win 21-8 against Stephen Corkill. For the visitors Kevin Moore was the best winner as he beat John Holden 21-11, whilst Jim Callister held off Patrick Cooper 21-18.

Finch Hill A kept up their good form with a 9-1 home win over Breagle Glen B, with four of their wins to single figures. Peter Hulley ensured the Breagle men didn’t go home empty handed with a 21-11 win over Kevin Stannard, with Seamus Whelan closest to picking up a second point for the visitors losing out 19-21 to Pat Maher.

Douglas B lifted themselves off bottom spot, jumping two places as they beat opponents Peel B 6-4. Single figure wins were secured for the Villa men from Paul Cowley, Kevin Firth, and Steve Cook, with Dougie Allan returning the favour for Peel with a 21-6 win over Paddy Murphy. Both teams shared a 21-20 win with Willie Cowley holding off Harry Kelly, whilst Andrew Cover got over the line against Bob Callow.

In Division Three Breagle Glen C picked up their best result of the season drawing 5-5 at home to Noble’s C, winning five games, but losing the aggregate by six chalks (118-124) due to being a man short. Mike Caley was the lucky recipient of a walkover. A blast from the past saw Terry Collister return to crown green bowls after an absence of 13 years, he shown he hasn’t lost his touch with a 21-3 win over Pete Bass. Hitting back for the visitors was Andrew Bell, who beat Mark Pendlebury to the same score.

South Ramsey C picked up a solid 3-7 away win over Ballaugh C, with Ian Moore stepping in to beat Ray Corlett, whilst Franz ten Donkelaar beat Simon Clarke 21-4. John Kneen managed to win 21-19 against recent open winner Paul Routledge despite not having a good start to his evening by turning up at the wrong green!

Noble’s D won 7-3 at home to Ballaugh B, with 14 chalks separating the two sides (142-128). John Andrew and Michael Johnson both won to single figures for the home team, whilst Gordy Moore won 21-7 for the visitors.

Marown D hosted North Ramsey B at Crosby, with the home team preventing the Mooragh men from hitting top spot with a 7-3 win. Winning close games for Marown were Steve Walters, Eddie Rough, and Jay Waters against Paul Cannan, Lee Christian, and John Corteen respectively.

In Division Four South Ramsey D hosted Finch Hill B, it was the visitors who went away the happier of the two teams with a 3-7 victory. Elsewhere Peel D edged the aggregate by a solitary chalk (135-134) to seal a 7-3 home win, with three of the wins being close. Noble’s E beat Douglas C 7-3 at home, with nine chalks separating the teams (153-144). Onchan C maintained their lead at the top with a 3-7 away victory over Douglas D as all four league games finished with a 7-3 scoreline. The Park men missed out on a whitewash by eight chalks with Roy Corlett losing out 17-20 to Clark Kelly, Marcus Avery was defeated 18-21 by Dave Jones, whilst Paul Callister was pipped at the post 20-21 to David Manley.