Club competition match this evening, Men's Handicap. My opponent is playing off 5, me 4. So he has to get to 22, me 21. An A Team member, county player and umpire, I know I'm up against it. Been warned he likes to fire, so aiming to play lots of long ends. But it's his jack.
My bowls rolled close to the jack on the trial ends, but from the start my length is all over the place. First short, then long, just can't get any consistency. The line is fine, but it's all I can do to restrict my opponent to ones and twos. I'm losing 0-6 before I score. A couple of lost threes means I'm losing 5-14 by the fourteenth end. Beginning to get closer, but my opponent has straight bowls and is very accurate.
Then I remember about counting on my backswing.
Suddenly my length improves dramatically. Bowl after bowl is rolling within a foot or so of the jack, sometimes closer. I gain 15 points to my opponent's 3 over the next twelve ends. I'm leading 20-17!
Suddenly my length improves dramatically. Bowl after bowl is rolling within a foot or so of the jack, sometimes closer. I gain 15 points to my opponent's 3 over the next twelve ends. I'm leading 20-17!
He gains one on the twenty-seventh end. 20-18. On the next end his first three bowls are so accurate they're surrounding and just about touching the jack. I've not got the option of getting second bowl to reduce his score. All I can do is fire. Fortunately his last bowl is wayward, otherwise I'd be firing my last bowl to stay in the match. Again, I narrowly miss. Score is now 20-21. Whoever wins the next end is victor.
No surprise he bowls a short jack. I'm thinking maybe he's bowled too short. Although the jack is past the distance marker, he's placed the mat some way up the green. But I'm not sure enough and let it go.
My first bowl is shot. He rolls his second and third just past the jack, but he may have shot. My third goes in behind the jack to take shot bowl. His last bowl is wayward. One bowl to me and I'm through to the quarter finals!
Pretty calm throughout the match, in spite of being some way behind at the start. The great thing about this format is, until your opponent gets to 21 (or 22 in this case) you've still got a chance to win no matter how far behind. Here's the scorecard.
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Is there an earlier post in which you talk about this one, two aaand three? If not why do you think your length control suddenly improved? What error were you making during the time you fell behind?
ReplyDeleteAt my blog 'greenbowler' I am interested in transmitting solutions to delivery problems.
The post I talk about this is at the link below, Clarke. I started this method of judging length because without it I tend to backswing without enough thought. This method of mentally slowing the process and making me concentrate on the elements of the backswing certainly help. Regards, John
DeleteLink to post : http://bowlingforgold.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/signs-of-improvement.html