The second round of the Plumbmaster Rayner Shield & the first round of the Rayner Plate took place this week, with a mixed bag of weather. Monday was particularly wet with heavy rain throughout the afternoon into the evening, with home advantage lost for all teams who were drawn to play at home.

After their 6-4 away defeat to Marown A in the league last week South Ramsey A hosted the Crosby men five days later. This time out in completely different conditions, as the home team raced into a 3-1 lead at the half-way stage, with Bob Clark beating Neil Withers 21-15, Glynn Hargraves won to the same score against Colin Kelly, while David Bradford beat Tom Kelly 21-13. Hitting back for Marown Paul Dunn finished the game strongly holding off Stefan Kelly 21-19.

In the second half South Ramsey ensured their names went into the draw for the next round as James Teare beat Dean Kipling 21-15 to make the score 4-1 with a 24-chalk lead. Pulling a game back for Marown Glenn Boland overturned a 16-20 deficit against Jordan Cain to win 21-20. Dido Kelly picked up win number five for the home team as he beat Paul Kelly 21-14, then Peter Jones ensured it wasn’t a heavier defeat as he won 21-17 against Peter Collister. The match ended 5-3 to South Ramsey with 26 chalks separating the teams (161-135), with the home team dropping just seven chalks.

The closest game of the night was between Onchan C and Port Erin A at the Park, with the game ending 4-4, this was decided on chalks which went in favour of the Onchan men by four chalks (140-136).

North Ramsey A hosted Ballaugh A at Mooragh Park, with the home side seeing off their opponents 6-2, helped by three single figures wins from Paul Allison, Rob Monk, and Jimmy Moffatt. Winning for the visitors were Richard Hainge, who beat Steven Waters 21-13, whilst Mike Spooner won 21-10 against Gary Merrill.

Castletown A didn’t have it all their own way with their 5-3 victory, as they faced Division Two side Noble’s B at the Crofts. For the home team Nathan Cooil and Dean Kinley won 21-8 against Grahem Moore and Alex Hampson respectively.

Marown B played Noble’s C at Crosby, with the Division One side progressing thanks to a 6-2 win. The Noble’s men did put up a good fight, with Kevin Moore beating Matthew Keggen 21-19, Sam Colquitt beat Karl Parker 21-20. Alex Colquitt just lost out 20-21 to Harry Barton, whilst Roy Moore got to 17 against Brian Kelly.

Onchan A are now the second highest ranked team left in the competition, they took a convincing 1-7 away victory over Castletown B on a much nicer evening (Tuesday), with the home team scoring just 78 chalks as the Onchan men won five games to single figures. The lone winner for Town was Peter Oates who beat Jamie Clague 21-13.

Bottom of Division One Team – Marown C will be hoping for another good run in the Shield, they took on the team that sit top of Division Two – Peel B at Crosby, with the home team running out convincing 7-1 winners.

Peel C reached the quarter finals with a 2-6 away win over North Ramsey C.

In the Rayner Plate handicaps were awarded based on league position, along with whether teams were drawn at home or away.

South Ramsey C (+60) visited Ballaugh C (+55) with the away team coming away win a win by 14 chalks (182-196). Marown D (+70) came away from Peel D (+65) with a convincing win by 36 chalks.

Port St Mary B (+55) upset their higher ranked A Team (+15) as the match ended 4-4 on games which gave little prospect for the A Team to recover 40 chalks as they lost by 28 chalks on the night (187-159).

Onchan B (+35) overturned a 35 chalk deficit against South Ramsey D (+70) to win by 36 chalks (198-162) at the Park.

Second Division side South Ramsey B (+30) had just a 15 chalk start on Peel A (+15) to hold onto, however the men from the Sunset City managed to win by six chalks in a high scoring match (171-177).

Douglas B (+30) couldn’t use home advantage to overturn a 35 deficit on Ballaugh B (+65) as they lost by 22 chalks (168-190) despite winning 5-3 on games,

Finch Hill A (+30) comfortably turned over a 45-chalk handicap at home to Douglas C (+75) winning 8-0 on games to win by 27 chalks (198-171).

North Ramsey B (+40) hosted Noble’s A (+55) at Mooragh Park with the match finishing 4-4 on chalks, with the visitors holding on to progress, with the handicap coming into play as they won by seven chalks (174-181).

A top of the table clash took place at Crosby in Canada Life International Division One on Wednesday evening as league leaders Marown A hosted South Ramsey A on a night which had plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Marown captain Paul Dunn set down a marker for the home team as he beat John Kennish 21-14, swiftly followed by Peter Jones who defeated Glynn Hargraves 21-13. Colin Kelly recovered from a 1-9 deficit against Bob Clark to win 21-16. South Ramsey’s Peter Collister got over the line 21-19 against Neil Withers with a great last bowl, to secure a first point for the visitors as the latter failed to count two on the last end with the game finely poised at 19-20.

In the second half of the match David Bradford secured a resounding 21-9 win over Paul Kelly, as he took the only single figure win of the night. James Teare battled well to be level with Tom Kelly at 16-16, however a strong finish from Kelly ensured a fourth win for the home team. With the last two games on the green heavily in Marown’s favour as Glenn Boland led 18-13 against Dido Kelly, the latter dug deep to score four doubles over the last five ends to win 21-20. This left Dean Kipling on the green with Jordan Cain, with the Marown man leading 9-1, 14-4, and 20-15, it looked like a game that couldn’t be won by the South Ramsey man, however a huge effort saw Cain get over the line 21-20 to secure a fourth win of the night, as the home team ultimately won 6-4 and by nine chalks (152-143).

South Ramsey will have been mightily relieved to escape with this defeat, as the Crosby men could just as easily have won 9-1, which would have put them 10 points ahead, instead of the four point it now stands at.

Peel A made the most of the top two clashing as they closed the gap on the top two, as they beat North Ramsey A 9-1, as the visitors hit 100 chalks despite suffering four single figure defeats.

Onchan A sit in fourth place as they won 9-1 at home to Port St Mary A, with Paul Skelly the lone winner as he beat Jamie Clague 21-10. The visitors lost one game to 17, two games to 18, and a further game to 20, the Port men will have felt hard done by on the night.

Castletown A slipped to a heavy 2-8 home defeat against Marown B, with former home greener Sam Clague recovering from a 9-20 deficit against Andy Clark to win 21-20.

Douglas A won 8-2 at home to Marown C, with James Kelly stepping up from the D Team to beat the previously unbeaten Gordon Wynne-Smythe 21-16. Winning close games for the Villa were Jimmy Sansom, Andy Cannell, Stuart Garrett, and Dave McCabe.

In Division Two Noble’s A picked up an impressive 7-3 home win over early league leaders Douglas B, in a close match with 12 chalks separating the two teams (149-137).

South Ramsey B took full advantage of the defeat for Douglas B, hitting top spot for the first time this season, as they beat visitors Onchan B 10-0, with James Evans making his first appearance of the season for the home team, as he secured a 21-6 win over David Tait.

Peel B were once again the only away winners in Division Two as they beat Ballaugh A 4-6, helped by winning the aggregate by a solitary chalk (151-152).

North Ramsey B also won 6-4, as they beat Finch Hill A by just two chalks (140-138). Castletown B remain winless after five games, as they lost 8-2 to Port Erin A at Breagle Glen.

In Division Three Nobles D went into second place ahead of Noble’s C, as they came away from their game with South Ramsey D with a 2-8 victory.

Ballaugh B were the biggest winners on Tuesday night as they beat Castletown C 9-1 at home, whilst South Ramsey C came away from Marown D with a 3-7 victory as they sit just four points off top spot, whilst Peel C managed to see off Port St Mary B 7-3, despite Trevor Quayle turning out for the B team, as he won 21-3 against Peel captain Kevin Murray.

In Division Four Ballaugh C sit in top place by 10 points as they beat the new bowlers from Noble’s E 3-7 away from home.

Douglas C matched them Ballaugh C with their own 7-3 win at home to North Ramsey C, with 15-year-old Robert Tomlinson the last game on the green with Paul Arthur, the junior bowler held his nerve to seal a 21-17 win.

Elsewhere Finch Hill B beat Castletown C 9-1 at home, with James Drinkwater the lone winner for Town as he beat John Smith 21-1.

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Association Non-Winners’ Cup on Sunday afternoon with the competition open to those who had never won a Men’s singles open previously, with 40 players entering to take their chance to win their first open, a significant increase on last year’s entry of 25.

Losing quarter finalists were Steve Parker (Onchan) who lost 20-21 to clubmate Will Penhallurick. Marown man James Kelly beat North Ramsey’s Joe Kneale 21-9.

In the other half of the draw Nigel Tebay (Ballaugh) took a comfortable 21-12 win over Les Brookes (Finch Hill), whilst Dave McCabe (Douglas) lost out to 11-21 to Brian Lindsay (Peel).

In the semi-finals Penhallurick booked his place in the final with a 21-16 win over Kelly, scoring six doubles on the way, whilst Tebay got the better of Lindsay with a 21-11 win, as the latter scored in just four ends.  

The final got underway with Tebay carrying on where he left off in the semi-final as he kept Penhallurick down to scoring four chalks over four ends to secure a well-deserved 21-8 win to claim his first Men’s open title.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Association Competition Committee Officer Steve Moore who thanked Noble’s Bowling Club and its members for hosting the competition, everyone who entered, and those who came to support.

Week four of league fixtures took place in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One on another blustery Monday evening.

Castletown A picked up the only whitewash this week as they beat Marown C 10-0 at the Crofts, with the Town men picking up more points in Monday’s fixture than they had previously all season, going from nine points to 19 points to help their cause, whilst leaving the Crosby men three points adrift at the bottom.

Port St Mary A came away from Crosby following their game against Marown A with an 8-2 defeat, however the result could have been worse and better for both teams with the home team winning three close games and losing out in two close games. Big wins arrived from Colin Kelly, Peter Jones, and Dean Kipling. The close games won for Marown were Glenn Boland winning 21-18 against Wayne Roberts, with the latter leading 18-13 only for Boland to run out, Paul Dunn won to the same score against Paul Skelly, whilst Tom Kelly edged home 21-20 against Robbie Cooil. Winning for the visitors were Trevor Quayle 21-20 against Paul Kelly, with the latter leading 18-13, whilst Dan McCabe inflicted a second league defeat of the season on Neil Withers 21-18.

South Ramsey A safely seen off Marown B to pick up their biggest win of the season with a 9-1 home victory. Phil Kelly spared the whitewash with a 21-13 win over Stefan Kelly.

Peel A beat Douglas A 7-3 at home, with Pip Pemberton ‘pipping’ Paddy Murphy 21-20 in the closest game of the night, with the home team winning two games to single figures.

Onchan A recorded an 8-2 home win over North Ramsey A, with the home team also winning two games to single figures. Winning for the visitors were Paul Allison 21-16 over Will Penhallurick, whilst Rob Monk beat Neil Dunwell 21-17.

In Division Two Douglas B and Finch Hill A were the odd teams out on Monday evening, with their match being the only fixture that didn’t finish 7-3, as the Villa men used home advantage to beat the Finch men 8-2.

Peel B were the only away winners in Division Two as they beat Noble’s A 3-7.

Recording home wins were North Ramsey B over Onchan B, Port Erin A won 7-3 against South Ramsey B at Breagle Glen, whilst Ballaugh A just edged the chalks (140-137) at home to Castletown B, as the Town men remain winless and firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.

In Division Three the teams who finished in the top two last season Nobles C (who were the D team) hosted Port St Mary B, with the home team missing out on a 10-0 win by 9 chalks, with defeats to 17,18, and 19 for three of their players.

Nobles B march on at the top as they beat Onchan C 3-7 away from home, with just seven chalks separating the teams (138-145).

An even closer score on chalks arrived as South Ramsey C came away from Ballaugh B with an impressive 2-8 win, as just four chalks separated the teams (157-161) in a high scoring match, with the home team dropping nine chalks as they agonisingly lost three games to 20, one game to 19 and a further two games to 18. The home teams two wins arrived from Gary Griffiths who beat Paul Routledge 21-15, whilst Richard Green got home 21-20 against James Moore. South Ramsey picked up their second away win of the season, as they still await their first win in a home fixture this season.

South Ramsey D suffered a 3-7 home defeat to Peel C (pictured), with the home team picking up their wins from Frank Feeney, Austin Hart, and Alan Moore.

Finishing off the run of away victories in Division Three were Noble’s D who came away from Crosby with a 3-7 victory over Marown D.

In Division Four Ballaugh C head the table following their 8-2 away win over near neighbours Peel D, whilst Noble’s E continue to impress as they picked up their first true win as they beat Castletown C 6-2 on games, also winning the aggregate by 47 chalks (156-109) to seal an 8-2 victory. Rounding off the league action Douglas C beat Finch Hill B 8-2 at the Villa on Tuesday evening.

Port Erin B announced that they had pulled out of the league after struggling to field a team for some time now, this has resulted in all their results being voided. This has result in two teams having a bye each week, with this in mind the competition secretary is looking at options to schedule additional matches.

Peel Bowling Club hosted the Lancaster Cup men’s doubles on a fine Sunday afternoon, on a green that is improving year on year as 25 pairs entered the competition.

Falling at the quarter final stages were Castletown pair Kieran Krypner and Nathan Hamilton who lost out 9-21 to Andy Clark (Castletown) and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), whilst an all Marown clash was won by Neil Withers and Paul Dunn 21-12 against Colin Kelly and Juan Killip.

Also progressing were South Ramsey’s John Kennish and David Bradford as they beat Marown pair Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly 21-15, with an all-Peel contest being won by Stevie Kelly and his father Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to the same score against Dougie Allan and Gordon Corrin.

The semi-finals were straightforward for both pairs that went into the final as Withers and Dunn beat Clark and Hargraves 21-11, whilst Kennish and Bradford put paid to the challenge of the Kelly’s to the same score.

The final got underway as Withers and Dunn won the first four ends to lead 9-3. Kennish and Bradford worked their way back into the game to level up the game at 10-10, with 10 ends played. Despite the Marown pair going a few points ahead at 14-11 the game was nip and tuck, with the South Ramey men taking their own three-point lead at 17-14. From there Withers and Dunn dug deep to turn the game around as they scored three doubles over five ends with their opponents being kept to two singles. A single on end 22 was enough to secure a 21-19 victory and secure the title for a third consecutive time.

The presentation was made by Peel Bowling Club Chairman Dougie Allan, who thanked the sponsor David Lancaster Limited for their continued support, the team who have worked on the green to improve the surface, those who helped run the competition and all the club members who had helped throughout the day.

Week three of fixtures took place in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One on another blustery evening, with Peel A coming away from Crosby with a 3-7 victory over Marown B. Winning close games for the Peel men were Stevie Kelly, as he beat Phil Kelly 21-19, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat John Gelling 21-18, with Sam Clague responding for Marown as he beat David Proctor 21-18.

South Ramsey A had a tough home game with Onchan A, in a keenly contested game as the home team won 7-3. John Kennish stepped in for the home team, with his 21-5 win over Will Penhallurick sealing the two points for the aggregate. Winning for the visitors were Phil Kerruish, Jamie Clague, and Matthew Quirk.

Port St Mary A picked up their first win of the season, as they beat Castletown A 6-4. Robbie Cooil beat Aaron Richardson 21-6, with Nathan Hamilton responding for Town as he beat Tim Williams 21-4.

North Ramsey A played their first home fixture of the season at Mooragh Park as they won 5-3 on games against Douglas A, however they lost the aggregate by two chalks (139-141) with Stuart Garrett helping the visitors cause with a 21-9 win over Joe Kneale to seal a 5-5 draw.

Early leaders Marown A played their lower ranked C Team on Tuesday evening under much improved conditions as the A team won 9-1 to extend their lead to three points over South Ramsey A. Preventing the whitewash was C team captain Stephen Rundle as he beat Neil Withers 21-17, with Dan Smith the next closest to picking up a point as he lost 17-21 to Paul Dunn.

In Division Two South Ramsey B inflicted a third straight defeat of the season on Castletown B, as they came away from the Crofts with a 3-7 victory, as just 11 chalks separated the teams (137-148), with Ben Dugdale and Tony Hart both sneaking home 21-20 against Alan Phair and Ross Moore respectively.

Ballaugh A also won 3-7 away from home by the same margin of chalks (140-151) against Douglas B at the Villa. Mike Spooner helped Ballaugh’s cause with a 21-8 victory over Willie Cowley, whilst Nigel Tebay won 21-19 against Andy Foster, with Richard Hainge edging home 21-20 against Steve Gregg.

Finch Hill A won 7-3 at home to Port Erin A, whilst the two biggest wins of the night went in favour of league leaders Peel B who beat North Ramsey B 9-1, with Onchan B inflicting a heavy defeat on Noble’s A to the same score.

In Division Three Noble’s B, C and D head up the table in that order, as the B team (pictured) won 8-2 at home to South Ramsey D, Noble’s C caused an upset as they beat South Ramsey C 3-7 away from home, whilst Noble’s D beat Peel C 7-3 at home.

Ballaugh B came away from Port St Mary B with a 2-8 victory, whilst Marown D got their first win of the season under their belt, as they came away from the Park with a 3-7 win over Onchan C.

In Division Four Noble’s E sit in joint 2^nd place as they picked up their third consecutive 6-4 victory of the season, this time beating Douglas D at the Villa, taking the aggregate by eight chalks (135-143), proving once again that every chalk counts.

League Leaders Ballaugh C stretched their lead at the top to seven points, following their 9-1 home win over Douglas C. North Ramsey C played their first home fixture of the season, as they matched their result in their first fixture with a 9-1 home win over Finch Hill B. Peel D were awarded a 10-0 home win over Port Erin B who were unable to field a team.

Rearranged fixtures from match week two saw Port Erin A slip to a 2-8 home defeat to Peel B, whilst Noble’s C beat Onchan C to the same score.

The first official men’s singles competition of the season was held on Sunday, with a healthy entry of 39 taking part in the Ken Williamson Cup, with entries higher than when the competition is traditionally held in June.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Nathan Cooil (Castletown) 19-21 to home greener Matthew Quirk, Dave McCabe (Douglas) 15-21 to Bob Clark (South Ramsey). In the other half of the draw another home greener Mike Kelly got the better of clubmate Will Penhallurick, whilst an all Marown contest was won by Jamie Joughin as he beat Sam Clague 21-17.

The home green hopes were ended at the semi-final stage as Joughin breezed through to the final as he beat Kelly 21-14, whilst Bob Clark recovered from a slow start to see off Quirk 21-18, as the South Ramsey man crucially kept his opponent down to a single two, whilst scoring five doubles himself.

The final saw Clark start as favourite, as he looked to retain the trophy, whilst Joughin was appearing in his first final of a men’s singles open competition. The Marown man took two of the first three ends, to lead 8-4, with Clark soon getting into his stride as he scored five doubles, and kept Joughin to just three more singles as the South Ramsey man ran out a clear 21-11 winner to lift the trophy for a third time.

The presentation was made by Kevin Quirk with thanks given to Dave Tait for running the competition and to the ladies for putting on refreshments. Ken Williamson’s niece Diane Crossley was then introduced to present the prizes.

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Charity Cringle Fours men’s open competition on Saturday attracting 16 pairs to compete for the trophy.

The quarter finals saw James Teare and Alan Moore (South Ramsey) beat Noble’s pair Paul Moore and Lee Price 21-14, Glynn Hargraves and Bob Clark (South Ramsey) won 21-12 against another Noble’s pairing of Dave Naughton and Mark Bradshaw. In the other half of the draw Jordan Cain and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) eased home 21-11 against Collin Holland (Castletown) and Shaun Seal (Douglas), whilst John Kennish and David Bradford (South Ramsey) came through 21-17 against Brian Kelly and James Kelly (Marown).

An all South Ramsey semi-final took place as Hargraves and Clark dominated to win 21-8 against Teare and Moore, whilst a low scoring affair in the early stages saw a tight game in the other half of the draw Kennish and Bradford eventually pipped Cain and Kelly to the post 21-18.

Hargraves and Clark made the better start as they raced into a 12-6 lead, however a mistake from Hargraves as he sent the jack off the green allowed Kennish and Bradford to work their way back into the game. A strong finish from the latter pair on a shorter mark saw them run out with a 21-16 victory.

The presentation was made by Phil Taubman, who thanked Murray Cringle for sponsoring the competition, with £132.50 being raised for Sight Matters.

The second round of fixtures took place in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One on a wet Monday evening, as early leaders Marown A maintained their lead at the top of the table with a 7-3 victory following a 7-3 home win over Onchan A, with 18 chalks separating the teams (152-134). For the home team Neil Withers came through a battle with Matthew Quirk 21-19, Colin Kelly recovered from a 6-10 deficit to win 21-15. Impressing for the visitors were Neil Dunwell, who beat Paul Kelly 21-13, Reg Temporaza won 21-15 against John Gelling, whilst Peter Slinger used all his experience as he came back from 13-17 to edge home 21-19 against Glenn Boland.

Castletown A welcomed South Ramsey A to the Crofts, with the visitors 4-0 after the first four games, however this didn’t tell the whole story. Dido Kelly and Jordan Cain prevailed 21-17 against Nathan Cooil and David Quayle respectively, whilst Glynn Hargraves trailed all game against Nathan Hamilton, then finished strongly to win 21-19. In the second half of the match Bob Clark returned to the fold as he won 21-6 against George Foy. Town then picked up three wins with captain Jordan Drewett leading the way 21-9 against Peter Collister, Aaron Richardson held off a fightback from James Teare to win 21-17, with Ian Watson pulling off the most impressive result of the night as he beat David Bradford 21-13, resulting in a 3-7 victory for South Ramsey with 13 chalks separating the two teams (131-144).

Peel A got their first win of the season as they beat Port St Mary A 8-2 at home, with three close games as Dave Saxon beat Mike Ashmole 21-20, Tommy McMeiken had enough in the tank to hold off Trevor Quayle 21-17, whilst George Gadsby beat Wayne Roberts 21-19.

Douglas A took on Marown B at the Villa, as they played the closest match of the week as the home team edged it 6-4 on the night thanks to taking the aggregate by three chalks (138-135).

North Ramsey A came away from Crosby with a 4-6 victory on Tuesday evening as they took the aggregate by 14 chalks, helped by Steve Walmsley’s 21-9 win over Peter Kelly.

In Division Two South Ramsey B got their campaign up and running with a 9-1 home win over Finch Hill A, with Brian Aspden preventing the whitewash with a 21-17 victory over Eddie Carlyle.

Onchan B inflicted a 9-1 defeat on Castletown B, as the Town men sit on three points after two games.

Douglas B sit on 17 points at the top as they won 8-2 at home to North Ramsey B, whilst Noble’s A rearranged their game from Monday evening to Tuesday as the visitors Ballaugh A came away with the spoils following their 3-7 victory.

In Division Three South Ramsey C bounced back from their opening day defeat to beat their lower ranked D team 10-0.

Home wins to a 6-4 score line were the order of the evening, as Peel C, Port St Mary B, and Ballaugh B beat Noble’s B, Noble’s D and Marown D respectively.

In Division Four Noble’s E (pictured) continue to impress, as they won 6-4 at home to Peel D, with eight chalks separating the two teams (143-135). Douglas C managed to see off their D Team 8-2.

Elsewhere North Ramsey C took a 1-9 victory over Castletown C in their first fixture of the season, having sat out the first round of fixtures, whilst Ballaugh C went on to beat Finch Hill B 2-8 away from home.