Harry Roscow Trophy round 1

Hard to find anything positive in a 21-6 stuffing from my brother Andrew this evening. But ever the optimist, here goes...

Found it hard to adjust to the green at Scone Recreational Bowls Club. It's not that the green is unpredictable or slow. Anything but. Flat as a pancake. Grass so close knit it looks like artificial turf. The best I've yet encountered. And therein lies the problem. Similar issues arise when adjusting to indoor bowls. Everything is so perfect it takes a while to get your brain round it.

After just five ends Andrew was half way to victory. And his knack of rolling his first bowl right up against the jack had me on the back foot. He could even claim credit for the two I'd won in the fourth end. Aiming to draw with my last bowl to reduce his three advantage. Andrew suggested a better shot would be a drive into his bowl resting against the jack. With three of my bowls lying at the back I was likely to turn the end around. Played the shot perfectly. Two to me and no more advice from Andrew!

And the positive? From end six onwards at least he didn't score more than two in any end. And the score for the remaining eleven ends was a more respectable 10-4 to him. That's about the most positive thing I can find!

Since Robert isn't playing this time around, we've decided to make the Harry Roscow Trophy the best of three. Need a miracle before the next leg on Sunday! Here's the scorecard...