Suggestions for where to stick it, please.

You'd think, having honed my bowls down to five basic principles, I'd be able to remember them during an important match. But no... this afternoon's quarter final mixed singles match was yet another where I could have kicked myself. Hard!

Best of three sets, each of seven ends, for once I wasn't the underdog. My opponent, an old squash friend, took up bowls a few months after me. But he's a seasoned ten pin bowler and has surprised everyone at the club with his accuracy. So I was under no allusions about the challenge.

The scorecard below shows it was a close match. About as close as it could get. On all but one end there was only a single bowl in it. I was getting my bowls near the jack, but not quite near enough. My opponent always managed to get one nearer or second. For both sets we arrived at the last end all square. Unfortunately I lost both.

So what did I forget this time? We followed the match with a four bowls triples game with our marker. I walked that 10 - 4 - 4. As we started I realised I hadn't been keeping a straight arm on the follow through. As soon as I did that my bowling became more consistent and I got much closer to the jack. If only I'd have done that in the singles match.

How many times in the heat of battle will I forget one of the basic principles? I'll have to keep the above note in a prominent place to act as a reminder. Any suggestions?

Still in the three singles and one doubles competitions. Still a good chance to make finals day. Here's the scorecard from this afternoon...