The Isle of Man Crown Green Bowling Association Cup competition took place at Peel Sunset Bowling Club on Sunday.

The defending champion was among the 35-strong field vying to add their name to the illustrious roll of honour which are engraved on the magnificent silver cup which has history going back to 1928.

The bowling surface at Peel showed significant improvement thanks to the efforts of the greenkeepers. The weather was somewhat kind but the cold breeze persisted, although this did not detract from the terrific play on the day.

There were many hotly-contested encounters during the early rounds and the quarter-finalists had to work hard to get to the last eight stage.

In the first quarter-final, Tom Kelly - playing his fourth game - just lost out 21-16 to the persistent Pete Jones who cemented his place in the semis with six twos to race to 18-8 in the first half of the game.

The second clash saw Peter Greenlees use his Peel green knowledge to fine effect to eventually squeeze home 21-19 against Onchan’s Reg Temporaza.

The third quarter-final was between two home green players, Peel A's Stevie Kelly facing Matthew Venables, an emerging talent from the Peel C team. In the end, Kelly had too much for his opponent and ran out a comfortable 21-13 victor.

The final last-eight match was between another excellent home greener in Tommy McMeiken versus last year's winner, Marown’s Neil Withers.

After quite a struggle, McMeiken emerged the victor 21-18 thanks to a game-changing spell of six winning ends from seven, scoring nine points in that spell to get to a lead which he maintained to the end of the match.

The semi-finals were then Stevie Kelly versus Tommy McMeiken (both Peel Sunset) and Pete Jones versus Peter Greenlees (both Marown).

The first semi-final was a close affair with the two heavy hitters from Peel slugging it out at 10-10, 12-12,14-14.

Then, at 14-16 down, Kelly produced a mini break to get to 19-16 and from there went on to secure his final spot by prevailing 21-19.

The second semi-final was a more straightforward affair for Jones who raced to a 15-8 lead and a seven-point gap which he maintained until the finish, giving Greenlees few chances to score, although he had many super woods during the match. Another relentless performance from Jones to reach another final.

The final kicked off with Jones getting out of the traps quickly and sprinting to a 9-5 lead. Kelly then countered with five points of his own, exploiting a treacherous short mark over the crown.

They drew level at 10-all and again at 13 after 13 ends before Kelly then edged ahead again this time using a shortish mark across the middle towards the wall to lead 18-14. The pair then traded singles where Kelly led 20-15, only for Jones to hit back again to tie the match 20-all.

The final end saw Kelly emulate his father Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, taking the 25th end and adding his name of cup winners, becoming the first Peel member to win since 1991 (Derek Norris).

Many thanks go to Peel Sunset BC for hosting the event and providing refreshments, plus everyone who helped during the day.

BRIAN KELLY