IOMIBA

The Indoor Bowling resumed for the New Year with the Premier Pairs League Matches on January 7th with the seemingly invincible Dragon’s Team being severely tested by the Cheesemakers.

For those not familiar with Indoor Bowls, the Pairs matches consist of two games of seven ends with two points awarded for each game and in the match between League Leaders Dragons and Cheesemakers it was the latter team that drew ‘first blood’ by winning the first game 7-4. The Dragons however fought back in an epic match to reverse matters by beating Cheesemakers 7-4 making the overall result a hard fought draw.

Likely Lads drew with Spinners, Young Guns lost to Tee Pegs and Northern Nomads defeated Villans. The remaining match was a tough battle between Radical Heads and Jazz which ended in the third draw off the night.

This all meant that the evening finished with no change in League positions with Dragons remaining top on 40 points followed by Cheesemakers on 33 and Young Guns third on 29 points. Villans stayed fourth with 28 points with Likely Lads fifth with 27 points making the battle for third place a really tight one.

In the First Division Pairs there were some great battles with top team Terriers being held to a draw by PAL while second placed Orange Peelers played out a great battle to beat Enigma 4-0 in a match that saw some great bowls with both teams deserving praise for the quality of their bowling. Third placed Castletown Crofters lost 3-1 to Huff n Puff while Odds and Bob’s had their first win off the season with their defeat of Bowledly Going Nowhere.

This means that Orange Peelers take top spot with 33 points followed by Terriers on 32 points and Castletown Crofters third on 28 points.

The Tuesday Morning League saw leaders Villans held to a draw by Onchan Royals with second placed Maxums gaining ground by beating Cushags 5-1. Third placed Ellan Vannin defeated Ramsey Raiders 4-2 while Hillbillies also beat Castletown Crofters 4-2 and Thru the Gap lost to Early Birds with a similar 4-2 score line.

The League positions then after this is Villans top with 59 points, Maxums second with 56 points and Ellan Vannin third with 48 points.

The Premier Teams saw leaders Dragons inflict a heavy defeat on Saltire while Villans with a strong performance defeated QPR 5-1. TBC beat Birdies 4-2 and Ramsey Raiders also beat Spinners 4-2. This then leaves Dragons leading with 58 points, QPR second on 48 points followed by TBC and Villans both on 43 points.

Thursday night saw the First Division Teams compete in their League and leaders Maxums took a 4-2 win from Castletown Crofters while with the result of the night Flat Mats beat second placed DNA 6-0 which meant that Odd Balls 6-0 win over Smugglers saw the Flat Mats take overtake DNA and slot into the second spot. The final result on Thursday saw Bowledly Going Nowhere beat Mann Utd 4-2.

The Second Division Pairs saw leaders Odds and Bobs 2 march on with a 4-0 victory over Questionaires while second placed Reckless Rollers could only manage a 2-2 draw with Corrin’s Folly. Ramsey Raiders lost 4-0 to Outcasts and Flat Mats and Woodbourne Reds played out a 2-2 draw. This meant that Odds and Bob’s 2 still lead on 42 points with Reckless Rollers second on 32 points followed by Outcasts on 31.

The Isle of Man Indoor Bowling Association Championships begin on Monday 14th January and run for three weeks so there will be no League Matches with the exception of the Tuesday Morning League which will continue.

We will however be reporting on the Championships during the League break.