CAUGHT SHORT

14/5/22
Hugh Hornby County Merit Trophy
First Qualifying Round (At Lea Bowling Club)
v STEVE EDWARDS L 5-21

As expected, I got beaten up hard again in my second taste of tournament bowls. The final scoreboard might suggest that time and money is being wasted on such ventures and that I'm out of my depth.
Well, out of my depth? Yes. But a pointless exercise? No.
It's a challenge for me to turn up at a green I had never even seen before and with no practice allowed, take on an experienced First Division Frenchwood bowler who must've had more than a few rolls here at Lea over the years.
Steve's short game had me clutching at straws throughout and there was no let up. Rarely anything strayed enough to demand something other than excellence to break the cycle. Over and over the middle of this pronounced crown we trickled our woods on a tricky surface that was quickening all the time under a strong sun.
When I did briefly escape from his territorial stranglehold, I just didn't have the belief, somehow. I scored a really good two in a corner and then pegged down the side of the green trying to find some joy. There was potential over there, as Steve didn't adjust well to this change of scenery. I held on to the block another end before going short - twice - and allowing Steve back in with nothing special, other than getting past my weary two. A double error resulting from sheer tension I think and a lack of confidence at this level.
Back to his patch again then, and whilst a touch unlucky here and there, I wasn't aggressive enough to do even a bit of random damage and instead kept trying to find the perfect shots when, more often than not, Steve had already landed them.
Interestingly, he continued where he left off on the same short marks to beat a far, far tougher nut to crack, Pete Harris, in a similar vein and make it to finals day at Galgate. Steve will be joined by that talented lad next door Aaron Hayhurst, who (thankfully I avoided in the draw) came back from a slippery start in his first match and then got better and better to win his second round match convincingly. I've mentioned it before, the lad is on his way to the game's upper circles.
What I learned from my own match and subsequent exit was to try not to leave myself with too many regrets from a match. When deciding on what shot to play, to let instinct take over and particularly when up against it.
Here's a short list of key regrets...

1) Didn't ask for long tape, especially on Steve's first mark early on. That one was super-short. Wouldn't have changed the course of the game, mind you, but he might have stretched a bit further to avoid the disruption of further calls for a measure.
2) Not striking on such short marks all the time when Steve had two close ones. The one time I did, I was very close. I should've just gone for it!
3) Despite playing a match there, I still don't know much about the green at Lea! With Steve's toing and froing over the middle, there's at least 70% of it that I haven't played.