The semi-finals and final of the men’s over-60s crown green bowling Tower Insurance Cup were played at a very wet Finch Hill green in Douglas last week.

The four teams taking part had played 22 qualifying matches to get to this stage and it was hard to predict a winner before the start.

In the semi-finals, Onchan A beat Castletown A, while Douglas A got the better of Peel Sunset A.

The final started well for Douglas A, with Shaun Seal beating Colin Spence 21-14 and Keith Rise defeating Frank Watson 21-6.

But Onchan A fought back, with Mike Thomas triumphing against Jimmy Sansom 21-16 and Mike Alexander claiming a 21-5 win against Geoff Mayles.

This meant that, with half of the eight games played, the match was still evenly balanced and in game five Phil Kerruish beat Pat O’Donohue 21-5 to give the advantage to the Onchan side.

But this time Douglas A fought back by taking the next three games, with Kevin Firth beating Neil Dunwell 21-14, Stuart Garrett taking a 21-16 win against Derek Allen and in the last match of the day Willie Cowley defeated Mike Kelly 21-10 to seal a 5-3 victory overall for Douglas A.

The trophies were presented by Richard Hulme of sponsor Tower Insurance who must be thanked for the continued support to men’s over-60s bowls.

Thanks also go to Finch Hill Bowling Club who hosted the event so well and to John Ryder for running the event.

Ismay and Mini Cup

semi-finals

The first legs of both the Ismay and Mini Cup two-leg semi-finals were played on Tuesday this week.

In the Ismay Cup, Castletown B hosted Onchan A at the Crofts and it was the visitors, having played so well all season, that came away with a 7-1 win, with Alan Phair being the only winner for the home side.

The other Ismay Cup semi was between Port St Mary A versus Castletown A and this was a much closer affair which ended in a 4-4 draw, leaving all to play for in the second leg.

The Mini Cup semi-finals saw Ballaugh B travel to play Finch Hill A and the visitors produced a spirited performance to take a 5-3 win.

In the other semi, it was Onchan B who claimed a 7-1 win against North Ramsey B, with John Breen being the only winner for the northerners.

NORMAN KNEEN