On a lovely Spring afternoon at Finch Hill, 21 teams competed in the Newsbeat Men’s Pairs competition on Sunday.

At the quarter-final stage there were comfortable victories for Karl Parker and Juan Killip (Marown) 21-15 over Dean Kinley and Nathan Hamilton (Peel/Castletown); Colin and Tom Kelly 21-9 over James and Brian Kelly (all Marown); and defending champions Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (Marown ) 21-10 over Noble’s pair Michael Johnson and Ciaran Broad.

The final game went the full distance with Les Brookes and Eddie Carlyle (Finch Hill/South Ramsey) narrowly getting the better of the Finch Hill pairing of Dave McCabe and Paul Dougherty.

In the semi-finals, father and son Colin and Tom Kelly were in front early on, but Parker and Killip battled back well to edge 15-13 ahead. A late rally saw the Kellys clinch their place in the final 21-15.

The other semi was nip-and-tuck throughout and, after 16 ends, Brookes and Carlyle were ahead 19-18. Dunn and Withers showed their mettle on the next end where they picked up a three to make it an all-Marown final.

The father and son duo was always in control in the final and took full advantage of the three-chalk handicap advantage, running out comfortable winners 21-10.

Brian Murphy made the presentation on behalf of sponsors Newsbeat.

Colin Kelly thanked the sponsors for supporting the event and also the women from Finch Hill for their excellent catering throughout the afternoon.

Brian Murphy