Bingo!

Just knew it. With one more match to go before the indoor season is over and I played out of my skin tonight in the league match against our B team. Went home with the Captain's magic words ringing in my ears...

Been playing so poorly all season, seemed there should have been fireworks exploding in celebration. At last I was able to more than hold my own, and after close scoring in the first half of the match we pulled away to a comfortable victory.

How come the change? First, the daily practising of the swing has been suspended. If I haven't sorted the tendency to pull my arm across after three months, never will. More importantly, I employed a couple of small preparatory swings to get the right line and length before launching the bowl with a final swing. Seemed to make a huge difference. Didn't bowl a single narrow line all evening, and not a single bowl in the ditch. Got almost all my bowls in the target area. Couldn't believe it!

By now I must have tried every variation of backswing, follow through, grip, foot positioning and anything else going. Maybe, just maybe, I've finally hit upon what works for me with just one month to go before the Club's opening day, and a summer I've been looking forward to more than any I can remember.

Final indoor match against Sawtry in a fortnight. Here are the league positions before the results of tonight's matches.