Ups and downs

It's round 1 of the Tatman Cup this evening, an inter-club knockout competition organised by Eynesbury Bowls Club. Same format as Men's Fours, except the winner is the team with the highest total bowls, If equal, one rink plays an extra end. We're away at Yaxley Broadway, who play in the Northants Bowls League.

The green looks like it comprises several types of grass. There are tufts all over. Bare patches and a couple of holes in the middle mean it's going to be an 'interesting' evening's bowls. Doesn't seem to bother me, though. As I prepare to bowl my first as skip on a long jack, we're two down. Somehow manage to draw both my bowls up to the jack to make it two to us!

After the first three ends it looks like we're going to have an easy evening. We're ahead on all three rinks. But it's rare for a bowls match to go one way and this evening is no exception. By end 15 we're losing on all three rinks. Biggest worry is rink 5, the score 14-23. In total we're 13 behind with only six ends to play.

Magically, we pull things back bolstered by a magnificent performance on rink 6, where we score 16 in five consecutive ends. Rink 5 narrows the gap to just 6. Our rink is the last to finish and the opposition needs to score 6 to win. A three to them means a win to St Ives, 62-59.

Struggled for a few ends after my surprising start. The green was so bumpy, a few inches off the line spelt disaster. Got back on track after focusing the aiming point a few yards from the mat rather than further up the green. Here are the scorecards.