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2007 was a great year for Manx Cricket. The Island National sides played really well in European competitions and locally it was one of the most open seasons for ages.

Castletown retained the Standard Bank League title. Their final fixture was against second placed St Johns. Both sides had the same number of points, but the Town had the better net run rate.

In a dramatic afternoon, the game was washed out and the southerners took the honours. Although they didn’t land the Karran title, the Saints captured the MAC Financial Cain League and won the Tinker Cup.

Peel returned to the top flight with promotion from the Forrester One, piping Loaghtyn Rams by two points. After a shaky start, Jim Murphy’s team came good and they finished with style.

However Loaghtyn will still look back with satisfaction on only their second year in Manx Cricket. During 2006 they had won promotion from the Forrester Two and now only just missed out on going up again. To show their strength, the Rams won the Isle of Man Bank Blincoe Cup, beating St Johns in an excellent final.

Cronkbourne have invested heavily in their young players and it is now paying off. Last year they were bottom of the Standard Bank League, but this season they came third and won the League Cup.

Also their B eleven topped the Forrester Two. Next season could be an exciting time for the Tromode club.

Ramsey and Crosby both had their moments and plenty of young players appeared in their first elevens. 

The northerners recorded the highest team total in Island history – an incredible 451 for 4. This contained three centuries including a superb 182 not out from Ollie Webster. In a devastating innings, he smashed 21 fours and no fewer than 13 sixes.

Crosby also notched a record when Simon Watson and Ricky Kniveton had a stand of 249, the best ever opening partnership. In total Simon again scored more runs than anybody else. He has now done this in 12 of the last 14 years.

Valkyres were badly hit by the loss of key players to South Africa, Australia and Castletown. They struggled, but never gave up. Full marks to skipper Keith Brew and his team for one hundred per-cent effort.

The Lloyds TSB Junior Leagues saw Cronkbourne win the Under 15 Division and Castletown A take the Under 13 Group. This section was plagued by dreadful weather. On no less than four consecutive weeks, all the matches were wiped out by rain. In the main games were re-arranged and Castletown A won six of their seven fixtures. 

The Under 11 League provided some excellent fare. It went down to the very last match when Castletown A defeated Cronkbourne A after a tense struggle.

The Island sent four teams into international tournaments in Europe. The results show how much their playing standard has improved since the first ventures a few years ago.

The National side looked good in the European Division Three championships in Belgium. They were unbeaten and only one run away from getting into the final. During a dramatic semi, they tied with Spain, but the Iberian eleven went through as they had lost fewer wickets. The Island came home with the bronze medal.

And it was a similar story for the Under 19s. They finished third in the ECC tournament in the Channel Islands, losing just the one game. They did however return with two awards – the Spirit of Cricket Trophy and the Player of the Tournament prize to Danny Kniveton.

It was also third place for the Under 15s in the ECC Championships at La Magna. A very good performance and again just the one defeat.

The Island Under 13s had a tough time in their division, but persevered and came away with invaluable experience and ideas for future development.

So ends the 2007 season. Despite some very damp weather at times, it was a memorable year both at home and in Europe. There are exciting plans afoot for 2008 and announcements will be made shortly.