The men’s open age night crown green bowls league got underway last week, with much warmer and drier weather than we are accustomed to in early April.

With 38 teams entered for a second successive season, there are 10 teams in the top two leagues, while Divisions Three and Four have nine sides.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, Marown A got their league defence up and running with a good start as they won 2-8 at the Crofts.

Winning for the home team were Aaron Richardson who beat Neil Withers 21/18, while Dean Kinley won to single figures 21/8 against Dean Kipling.

Three of the wins for the visitors were to single figures, with Peter Jones having to battle for his 21/18 win over Ian Watson, while Paul Kelly was pushed even closer before getting over the line 21/19.

Peel A will have been delighted with their 3-7 away win over Onchan A at the Park, as they edged the aggregate by only four chalks (133-137).

David Proctor was the best winner for the Peel men as he beat Peter Slinger 21/7. Stevie Kelly had a tough game against Onchan’s star man Matthew Quirk, with the former prevailing 21/18.

Rob Middleton stepped up from the B team, battled to a 21/17 win over Mike Alexander.

Douglas A hosted newly-promoted South Ramsey B and, while the Villa men won 6-4 on the night, the visitors will have been pleased to pick up four wins on their travels, with Ben Dugdale, Christian Caley, Eddie Carlyle and Lee Dawson all picking up wins.

For the home team Andy Cannell and Keith Rise both won 21/7 against Toby Hart and George Brew respectively.

Marown B won 6-4 at home to North Ramsey A, with Kevin Kelly winning 21/5 against Ray Beattie, while Peter Greenlees made his home debut with a 21/6 win over fellow left-hander John Cannan.

Rob Monk ensured the Mooragh men went away with four points on the night as he crept home 21/20 against Phil Kelly.

South Ramsey A hosted the newly-formed Breagle Glen A, with three players featuring from the old Port Erin team and five from Port St Mary.

Under the new floodlights, the Breagle men gelled well as they took three points off the home team in their 7-3 defeat.

Winning for the visitors were Trevor Quayle who beat Glynn Hargraves 21/12, Dan McCabe finished the game strongly as he held off Bob Clark 21/18, while Wayne Roberts pulled off a stunning 21/2 win over Dido Kelly.

DIVISION TWO

In Division Two, Marown C made their intentions clear for the season as they beat Douglas B 10-0, with the Villa men normally in the mix in the top half of the table.

Highest scoring losers for the visitors were Geoff Mayles who lost 17/21 to Dan Smith, while Willie Cowley lost out 18/21 against John Kelly.

Finch Hill A occupy second place as they kept the visitors Castletown B to under 100 chalks following their 8-2 home win.

Four of the home team won to single figures, with Pat Maher picking up the biggest win as he beat Rob Sayle 21/2.

For the Town men junior bowler Sam Quayle continues to improve as he beat Paul Dougherty 21-8, with the latter returning to Finch Hill after a season at Onchan. John Holden started the season strongly as he beat 2024 Division Two merit winner Stephen Oates 21-13.

Breagle Glen B had a tough start to their campaign at home to Ballaugh A. The visitors took home a 3-7 win, with three of their five wins to single figures.

For the visitors, Richard Hainge had the closest game of the night as he managed to get over the line 21-20 against Ed Benson.

Noble’s A hosted Onchan B and it was the hosts who took the spoils 7-3. Two 21-8 wins from Kevin Moore and Dave Naughton ensured the aggregate went to the hosts, while Mike Thomas was the best winner for the Onchan men as he beat Phil Salmon 21/9.

Peel B may struggle to challenge for promotion this year with three players missing from the team that turned out for them last season.

They lost out 4-6 at home to newly-promoted Noble’s B, with the ever-improving team ‘fresh’ from their weekend trip which included some friendlies against UK clubs and a trip to Elland Road to watch Leeds United.

The Noble’s men will be hoping for a similar league position to their beloved football team.

DIVISION THREE

In Division Three, North Ramsey B had a relatively short trip down the road as they faced Ballaugh B in a high-scoring encounter, as the Mooragh men came away with a 2-8 win on the night.

Peel C are joint top with North Ramsey following their 8-2 home win over Marown D, while South Ramsey C claimed a 7-3 home win over Breagle Glen C, with the visitors unable to muster up a full side on the night. Three of the home team won to single figures, with Breagle scoring only 83 chalks.

DIVISION FOUR

Division Four got underway with North Ramsey C coming away with a solid 2-8 away win over Noble’s E, with both teams now in their second season of league bowls.

The scoreline was somewhat distorted as only five chalks separated the sides (137-142).

Onchan C won 8-2 at home to Peel D, with the visitors still managing to field a full team despite the movement of players to higher-ranked teams over the winter.

Castletown C took a 6-4 home win over Douglas D at the Crofts, with the result going in favour of the Town team. With the Villa men being a player short and losing out by only seven chalks (130-123), this proved to be costly.

It was great to see the Town team featuring three junior bowls again, with Zac Bowrey the lucky recipient of a walkover, Jacob Robert lost out 7-21 to fellow junior Robert Tomlinson and Freddie Palmer fell at the final hurdle 20-21 to Les Gale.

Douglas C claimed a 6-4 win over Finch Hill B at the Villa. With 13 chalks separating the teams (148-135), the aggregate was secured with Dave Corkish winning 21-3 against Samson Smith.

GLYNN HARGRAVES

Marown’s Karl Parker won the first official open of the 2025 season, with a 11-10 victory over Bailey McMullan (Mooragh Park) on Saturday.

A field of 46 competitors took part in the Haldane Fisher Mixed Singles Competition at Douglas Bowling Club. With a new format, it ran seamlessly with brilliant weather on their side.

In the quarter-finals, junior Bailey McMullan (Mooragh Park) tied 13/13 with Ballaugh’s Nigel Tebay, the former prevailing with a bowl off to settle the match. Ballaugh's Mike Spooner progressed as he managed to get past Peter Greenlees (Marown).

In the bottom half of the draw Crosby man Karl Parker won 11/6 against Nathan Hamilton (Castletown), while home greener Paula Garrett won to the same score against Clare Cooper (Marown).

The semi-finals consisted of McMullan playing Spooner and Parker playing Garrett, with McMullan and Parker getting into the final with 16/5 and 11/7 wins respectively.

McMullan started well with Parker eventually catching and beating her to win by one point 11/10.

ANDY CANNELL