ANGER MANAGEMENT

21/4/22

Leyland & District League Div-4: Eagle Reds 168-179 Farington St Paul's

v DAVID TATTUM L 17-21

The new season started with a defeat and for one reason or another, perhaps the hardest to take yet. I was seething with myself and most particularly pissed off about my final two deliveries. 

Random statements of self deprecation come easy to me, but as I stomped off the green, even I was suprised when I declared myself a "total bell end" to a large contingent of teammates leaning over our clubhouse railings. Nobody disputed it though!
My opponent David Tattum is a good bowler and I had no rights to beat him, nor to think I should. He had the upper hand on the from the off, but to throw away the match by repeating the exact same mistake had me raging inside and on the verge of throwing a very serious tantrum in the public domain.
Have I not learned anything in crown green? What's the point in carrying on? Let's just concentrate on running and sod these bloody stupid giant marbles for a game...
But then, when the red mist finally cleared (some time during the morning after) I put it down to just one of those nights. I didn't play well for long enough periods and I got caught out by an opponent who kept it together on our rather tricky, parched green that changed pace whilst we played as the sun dipped and temperature succumbed to a nippy Eastern breeze.
After a good start, David soon got back at me and forged ahead as I started over-thinking against the left handed Faringtonian. I've still not beaten a lefty.
It wasn't an all out poor performance, I did win some good ends, but not enough to be in the match I thought until suprised to hear the score was 16-18. I was actually still in it with all to play for. 

I won the next end, but was livid with myself to send my second bowl short when a two should have been mopped up without too much complication. It's silly really, for I should have been happy with the one, cleared my head and concentrated on the next end. Instead I was still shaking my head and whittering to myself when I lost that next end.
Then came my double dose of short and narrow on a mark I know perfectly well enough to have done better on and that's it, it's handshake time.
Trying to muster a positive, I'd say a player like David would have beaten me quicker and easier last season, but at least I scrapped and did enough to make a game of it. Those extra points count in the team game, but we were just short in the end against a good St Paul's line up.

Practice matches: 

19-21 and 3-15 v Aaron Hayhurst. In the heated aftermath of that Thursday night loss I briefly considered cancelling the following evening's roll with the hot shot next door. I mean what's the point? What's in it for him? I'm shite. It will be an embarrassment...

Glad I didn't though, in an excellent game I played as well as I ever have and came closest yet to temporarily tipping the balance versus Aaron. At 19-18 I was holding two good ones when he stole in with an incredible bowl and then finished me off with a perfect lead next end. 

Still on a high from having made such a very good account of myself, just time for a quick 15-up straight after - and it was quick - 3-15! I didn't do too much outrageously wrong really, but he was ruthless. A reminder of who is boss!

I very much appreciate young Aaron taking the time out to teach me a lesson every now and again. The lad has got bigger bowling fish to fry than putting up with me for an hour or so. He may not know this, but I feel on each occasion I get to share the green with him, it's a privilege. 

21-8 and 15-7 v Lee Dalton (At Penwortham Sports) Last summer Lee upped his game and I couldn't get near him the last half dozen or so matches we played. On the back of some good bowls the night before against Aaron though, I played quite well and seemed to understand and enjoy the green at Penwortham much more than my last visit there. In fact I would feel much more confident on that excellent surface there than my home turf just now.

 MIXED EXPECTATIONS

This evening the league season starts for me in the Thursday night Leyland & District programme as we host Farington St Paul's. A tough opener for our team.
I've got a bit more confidence going in to this new campaign. There are more games I should and could have won last season in this league and feel that ought to be the case this time around. The ability to control my nervousness and temperament (with the exception of that exceptional encounter at the New Waterloo last week) will be key to this.
In contrast though, a place in our Monday team in the Chorley league will be an even tougher nut to crack this term.
In a mid-term divisional reshuffle, last season's third place turned out to be enough for promotion and captain Steve Marginson has reacted accordingly with new recruits including the notable acquisitions of Trevor Bibby, Colin Proctor and a chap called Chris Miller Jnr who, I am informed, is an excellent player.

For me personally though, my place in this set-up feels rather like a door closing than an opening one.
It's now a very large squad of decent, steady and experienced bowlers who have known each other for years - so maybe not the environment for a raw wildcard such as myself just now.
Of course if I do get a chance I'll be determined to seize the moment, but it feels like an added pressure somehow and with a holiday booked a month in to the new season, it's difficult to see how I'm going to get much opportunity for match experience with team Monday this Summer.

Recent practice matches: Continuing to record these for my own bit of future reference.
17/4/22 v Steve Marginson 14-15, 15-14 (from 7-14 down!) Close games but didn't feel I perhaps did enough to impress skipper for a Monday night place.
19/4/23 v Graham Whittle 21-19, 16-21 (from 1-11 down in that first match!) Punching above my weight against a Bretherton first teamer. 

AWKWARD FRIENDLY

14/4/22 
Pre-season Friendly - Eagle & Child v Bretherton
v MICK HAWORTH W 21-6 (Off 3-3)

The return leg at home of the two-legged roll-off friendly against the villagers of Brethertonia. Playing against Bretherton as much as I have in my short stint in the bowling leagues (this was the seventh time in a year) there was an inevitabilityI would match up against Mick Haworth at some point.
I was hoping this meeting might come about, not just because I've known of my opponent on and off for about 20 years in various circles of work and recreation, but because I thought it would be a tight match played out with some good humour. As it turned out though, it felt like an awkward game as a fairly straightforward win came about. 
Mick, who beat my sparring partner Sloany in the reverse fixture last week, didn't play well at our Eagle green and I soon got in to a lead without really bowling consistently well myself. So by the time I did get my act together, the game was sewn up quite speedily.
The win was comfortable, but somehow the nature of it wasn't. It's a friendly, I know the chap, you just hope for a decent match and I suspect this one will be soon forgotten by both of us. 

FIRST CLASS LESSON

13/4/22
THE 43RD SPRING WATERLOO TROPHY
First Qualifying Round
At Fleetwood Bowling Club
v LEE JOHNSTONE (Warrington) L 7-21 (Off 5-5)

It was a day of firsts for me in this first set of qualifiers at the famous Waterloo Trophy's new venue.
My first tournament match, I was first out of the hat in the draw, first match on, rolled the very first bowls of this competition's new history at Fleetwood, actually won the very first end... and needless to say was first to be knocked out! 
Not knowing what the crack was at these occasions, I was happily practicing away and enjoying the green when I started wondering when the draw was going to be made? Then I thought maybe I should refer to the matchday programme that I had earlier paid an extra quid for, and sure enough the draw was there in black and white... number one, John Sutton, versus number two, Lee Johnstone... Lee Johnstone!
Wasn't sure I knew the face but certainly knew the name. Even being extremely modest on his behalf, Lee Johnstone is a top player. 

I knew there was a sniff of getting one of the really big boys, but to actually get the gig put me on edge a bit after managing to stay pretty relaxed about the whole occasion until then.
After Lee lost the toss, I managed to win the first two ends and surprisingly without bowling anything brilliant. I'm on the mat thinking, "Shiiit! I'm two up against Lee Johnstone..." and then proceeded to completely lose the plot.

I didn't really stop, breathe and think about where I sent the next end and flung the jack on a tricky round peg from corner to middle that neither of us did particularly well on, but Lee did enough for a single and the rest is history.
He sent us on repetitive diagonal marks across the middle of the crown on this deceptively long green and got better and better, closer and closer and there was nowt I could do. He was brilliant.
A continuous succession of two's saw the game out pretty quickly for my illustrious opponent.There's little point in dwelling too much, Lee Johnstone is an absolutely first class bowler.
My pre-tournament ambitions were to get on the scoresheet and play well. I did the scoresheet bit, but I didn't play well. It wouldn't have made much difference to the score anyway, but I was disappointed that the old habit of getting the jitters returned and just couldn't find the lines I was aiming for, and if I did, then didn't throw far enough.
More bravery was required. When your opponent is holding two, that second bowl HAS to reach and more often than not it didn't. Do I never listen to my Thursday night captain Harry Glynn? He would have shaken his head in dismay.
That was that, a great experience though and good to stick around a while to watch other matches.
Lee continued to send his next victim over the same marks as me when he could and breezed through the next two rounds - albeit not quite as easily as against me - to make it to finals day. I hope the master bowler from Warrington goes all the way.
Ten miles south in Blackpool, The Waterloo stadium is still intact but gathering dust and weeds with no sign of bowls returning there. It's a very sad situation. But more important even than the bricks, mortar and playing surface itself where generations have bowled for well over a century; the Waterloo competitions themselves. Whilst the original venue dies a seemingly slow death, enough commited people with a plan have been working very hard to make sure the competitions don't die with it.
The new venue will be undergoing development to improve further and whilst history will never forget the original Waterloo, the saviours who brought it to Fleetwood should be lauded in the game and in time, I'm sure they will be.
My experience on it's first day was a smooth, impeccably organised afternoon of bowling on an excellent green. Cheers.

A SIGN OF IMPROVEMENT, MAYBE

7/4/22 
Pre-season friendly: Bretherton v Eagle & Child

v BOB COUPE W 21-10 (Off 3-3) 

After plenty of practice, much of it on my own, it's been difficult to assess whether or not I have improved. I didn't particularly think I had, but it turned out I just needed a game to bring out some positive signs. My opponent Bob, who I beat narrowly in a home fixture last year, is perhaps a couple of weeks behind me for practice after his own home green only recently opened again. But equally I played quite well in this pre-season warm-up and there were few ends that I could say I played sloppy on.

At last I did actually feel that my game had improved. I lost the first few exchanges but kept my cool and my concentration to come back and win fairly comfortably. Bob had to send good ones to take the points he did and kindly commented himself that he felt I had moved on from our previous meeting.
Prior to this friendly match opener, some pre-season practice games with fellow clubsters over the last few weeks started with an impromtu bout against the smooth delivering Nigel Tomlinson, who put me to the sword 12-21 and cast much doubt over the belief that I had improved much at all. This game was critical though, in that I found my 2.10 high density bowls just rolling on a little further than Nigel's all the time and I got myself a pair of 2.8's the very next day. (Nige himself was sporting a shiny new pair of 2.8 hd's!)

Now I wouldn't say I've not looked back since, but I have found to have just a little bit more control since this switch of weight.
A return to winning ways against Jimmy Sloan followed. Then a challenge against the maestro next door, Aaron, ended in losses of 8-21 and 15-21. But always looking to wring out some positives from the drenched rag of negativity, after a dreadful start in that first game's thrashing, of the last fifty points contested during those two games, I trailed Aaron by a most respectable 21-29!
Last night I had a chance encounter with another very good bowler, Trevor Bibby* after I asked him if he fancied a few ends to fifteen. I got battered. This was a timely reminder about concentration before tomorrow's debut in tournament bowls.
I'm in the first pot of qualifying rounds at the new Waterloo competition in Fleetwood and this is how it feels to be an amatuer side mixing it with the big boys in the FA Cup I suppose. Intrepidation about being completely out of my depth, mixed with an air of excitement.
The other 31 players on my qualifying day is a list stacked with excellent bowlers. Without doing disservice to the guys I haven't heard of that are probably very, very good, I could name at least eight that I have heard of on the circuit that win stuff, including one of the pre-tournament favourites, Greg Smith. Ridiculous to think I could be playing him or even anybody half as good tomorrow, but that's the beauty of open competition.
As far as expectations are concerned, if I play well I should be good enough to get at least a few points on the board against anybody. Ultimately that's the very height of my ambitions.

*Previous references to Trevor Bibby in these pages have been less than complimentary following shenanigans at last year's President's Day! I still think he was a bit out of order that day. But having heard he's not a bad chap beneath the grumpy guard of his game face, Trevor seemed happy enough to have a practice roll at my request, discovering that he's a very decent bowler. At 1-9 down I think we stopped scoring and just carried on for a bit!