An education

'We might cause an upset this evening' I whispered to my partner. Our club pairs competition match over eighteen ends, up against some serious opposition. The club's best bowler and past winner of many County competitions. His partner the club's coach.

Fancied our chances... if we were both on form. Unfortunately my partner wasn't at his consistent best. I only found form in the second half of the match. Our opponents cruised to an easy victory. The only upset caused was to our self-esteem.

And the club's best bowler? Yes, he bowled an occasion wide or short bowl. But almost all his deliveries were in the zone. With a crowded jack, he had an amazing ability to squeeze his bowl in.

I also noted how he studied the head before walking away to bowl. You'd think with his degree of accuracy he'd draw to the jack every time. But if a better shot was to wick off another bowl or push one of his own team's up, that was the shot he played. On one end I tried this by playing on to a pair of our bowls lying short when we were two down. Bingo! One up to us!

Also got some feedback from the club's coach. I bowled narrow when bowling backhand on some ends. He said this was because I was twisting my wrist outwards at the last second. Must keep this in mind.

Here's the scorecard.