South Ramsey A begin the defence of their Division One title with a visit to Crosby to take on newly-promoted Marown B tomorrow evening, Wednesday.

The hosts will be looking to make a strong start to the season as they have several players bowling in the top tier for the first time.

I am confident enough to predict that Marown B will retain their top flight status this season.

Marown A have one addition to their team this season, Paul Kelly from Douglas, with the Crosby men looking to close the gap to the top and build on last season’s Rayner Shield success. They start with a trip north to take on South Ramsey B.

The northerners will have their work cut out to prove they have the hunger to win the league for only the third time in their history.

Onchan A will be looking to improve on last season’s third place, kicking off their season when Douglas A visit them at Onchan Park.

Peel A have strengthened with the return of Tommy McMeiken. I can definitely see the westerners building on last season’s sixth place finish and making the top four, while also having the firepower to damage the top three on their own turf.

Douglas B will have a fight on their hands to stay in the top tier this season, having narrowly avoided relegation in 2017. The Villa men host North Ramsey A on Wednesday.

Port St Mary A start their campaign with a derby against local rivals Port Erin A, who will hoping to make a better start to the season than they did in 2017 to avoid getting dragged into a relegation fight for another year.

In Division Two there are three A teams sitting outside the top tier, Ballaugh who got relegated last season, Finch Hill and Noble’s who were both relegated in 2016.

Out of these Ballaugh are best-placed to make an immediate return to Division One, with Noble’s having the potential to do so if they field their strongest eight players in their A team.

Also looking to bounce straight back up are Castletown B, while Onchan B - who finished runners-up last season - will be keen to build on that position.

At the other end of the table, Peel C will be hoping to stay up after winning Division Three last season.

In Division Three, Marown C now have the benefit of two years’ league experience behind them and they will be confident of building on their third place finish in 2017.

Douglas D look to have retained their fourth team for another season to give their new players the opportunity to gain vital league experience and improve on last season’s points’ total.

Finally I hope you have all wintered well and wish everyone an enjoyable season.

World Club

Championships

Following their success in retaining the Division One title last season, South Ramsey A have the opportunity to compete in the World Club Championships at Fox Lane, Leyland this Sunday.

They will take on Holme of Cumbria in a competition played in groups of four teams on a straight knockout basis.

The other two teams in the group are Wharton Cons of Cheshire, who take on Eccleston of Merseyside.

The winners from each game in the group then play off to qualify for the finals day on Sunday, April 22.

First league reports next week.

Glynn Hargraves