Manx Short Mat Bowls Association

Laxey Minors top Cherry Orchard League for the first time

Laxey Minors took up the top spot in the Cherry Orchard League last Sunday at the NSC after a convincing 7-2 victory over Erin Elite.

Archie Collister got the Laxey side off to a good start with a 21-5 win over Sheila Durcan. Bernie Durcan continues his impressive start to the season with an 11-8 victory against David Cottier for Erin Elite before Wyn Collister won 17-5 over Alison MIllard who was standing in for Steve Durcan. Laxey Minors then added the triples game with an 8-6 victory to take the match 7-2 and sit top of the Cherry Orchard League.

Douglas Bay Pirates remain close behind however after beating Colby 7-2. Sylvia Maddrell beat Tom Kelly 17-5 in the opening singles game for Colby but Stephen Gale leveled things up with a 13-6 victory over Ann Hollingworth before Michael Collister put the Pirates into the lead with a 23-5 win over Rita Woodworth. In the triples the Pirates ran out 12-5 winners to stay second in the table, just 4 chalks behind Laxey Minors.

Ronaldsway Blockbusters drop down to third after a 6-3 victory over Douglas Townies. Josh Ffrench beat Bernie Kaighin 16-10 before Chris Holland had a 25-0 victory over Stephen Bradley for the Blockbusters. Jayne Smith managed to get 2 points back for the Townies with a 12-4 win over Seamus Whelan. The Blockbusters looked like they were going to take the triples, leading 8-2 but a late comeback from the Townies saw them level the game at 8-8 and finish the match 6-3.

In another close match Douglas Destroyers & Ballaugh played out a 4-4 draw. Harry Minor took the opening singles with a 12-8 victory over Richard Faragher before Ann Gale beat James Teare 16-8. Tony Quine then beat Eddie Brew 9-8 for the side form the north. The Destroyers hit back in the triples to win 11-6 but that meant the chalks were level so no bonus point awarded and the match was tied at 4-4.

The full table after round 2 is:
[standings league_id=2 template=extend-bowls logo=false]

Next week is the 2 Bowl Pairs open competition. Any players wishing to take part should contact Stephen Gale on 462424 ASAP.