A quality field of 29 pairs of all ages entered the MannMade Men’s Doubles competition at Noble’s number two green on Saturday.

The women competed on number one green, with the weather holding out for the duration of the tournament.

Losing out at the quarter-final stage were Evan Leece and Glenn Boland (Noble’s). Playing in one of his first competitions, Evan won two games and produced some great bowls before losing out to the Marown pairing of Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly.

The Castletown duo of Sam Clague and Nathan Hamilton lost out to Finch Hill’s Dave McCabe and Zain Abideen. The latter is fairly new to the game but is getting himself around the open competitions to gain experience.

Marown’s Paul Dunn and Neil Withers lost out to Onchan’s Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk, while Alan Moore and Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey) ended the challenge of Colin Kelly and Juan Killip (Marown).

Falling at the semi-finals were Dave McCabe and Zain Abideen 13-21 to Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk, while Alan Moore and Ryan Hargraves lost out to Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly 15-21, despite a strong start on the first end with 12-year-old Ryan trailing the jack to count for three. Young Ryan’s game is definitely moving in the right direction and is one to watch.

With both finalists off a handicap of +3, it was nip-and-tuck in the early stages. Both finalists went with the tactic of playing a long length, but neither pair were able to get away from the other with the scores finally balanced at 11-11 after 10 ends.

Cain and Quirk took control over the next three ends scoring a single and a four, compounded by a three to jump into a 19-11 lead. Both pairs played some good bowls during what was an entertaining final, but Cain/Quirk then took a single to lead 20-11, before conceding one on the next. On the final end the Onchan pair took a single to take a 21-12 victory and claim a deserved victory.

The presentation was made by Alison Keggen, secretary for Noble’s, who thanked everyone for entering and assisting throughout the day. Tina Hampson, from sponsors MannMade Group, was then introduced to present the prizes.

Special thanks go to the sponsor and everyone who helped make the competition a success.GLYNN HARGRAVES