BROWN TOAST

21/8/22

EAGLE & CHILD PRESIDENT'S DAY TROPHY: SECOND ROUND
v MATTHEW BROWN L 13-21 (Off +2 v -2)

I literally placed my bag down on arrival and hear my name voiced first out of the hat for the President's Day finals draw and Matthew Brown is the second name called. "See you later, Johnny", I joked, with reference to a probable early exit.
There was some truth behind the jest though. I just didn't fancy one of the fancied players first match. Not like me, I thought, but Thursday's spanking and a poor practice session yesterday must have knocked confidence.
No easy games in the last sixteen, but fair to say some games harder than others - such as facing this young maestro. Farington Cons player Matt has doubled up membership at the Eagle this season and along with Aaron Hayhurst and Jack Dickinson, are three excellent young players on our books in the Leyland area that I believe can go as far as their ambition in the game will take them.
I went for half an hour's run in the morning and was feeling nice and relaxed but once I heard the draw I knew at best I was on for a real slog to get something out of Matthew and immediately worried that I just wasn't going to be playing well enough.
The handicap system kindly started me with two on the card and an overall advantage of four, but I don't know what was up - I just wasn't buzzing positively enough.
I was doing ok early on though and there wasn't much in it as we both moved in to double figures, but Matt is a silky bowling machine and started to show his class as the game went on. I wasn't always finding my length and certainly not well enough against this chap's cracking woods.
One poor second bowl in particular got me seething with myself and I lost composure again which triggered the inevitability of my President's Day aspirations turning to toast.
As a rather self-depracating creature who doesn't think at all highly of himself, I need to find a way of self-forgiving, for as Harry Glynn described me afterwards, "Your own worst enemy."
Mrs S was present and was also rightfully unimpressed with my language (body and verbal) as the game went on, reminding me I've been getting a bit grumpy and stressed about daft little things in general of late.
I've got a case of the Victor Meldrew's going on, or summat like that. We've had enough holiday time lately, maybe that's the problem - returning to the ever decreasingly green and overpopulated spaces of my hometown/city suburb or whatever the classification is for this endless urban sprawl!
Back to bowls though and bad form cannot be turned around by bad attitude. Matthew finished me off with two perfect woods and the fact I struck at them twice was evidence of a hissy-fit in progress. Poor shot choices on many levels.
Real score minus the handicap: 11-23.
All this is no recipe for success with more tough matches ahead this week, climaxing on Friday evening in a big competition qualifiers. There's much work to be done on refreshing myself mentally and trying not to put so much ridiculous pressure on myself. I'm simply not good enough, not consistent enough to live up to my own over-expectations all the time.

MAKING PLANS TO BE LIKE NIGEL
Matthew made it to the semi-finals, only for the model of composure that is Nigel Tomlinson to pip him for a place in the final. Nigel is maturing in to a very good bowler and not getting at all rattled by anything is partly key in this game of concentration. He smiles and strides his way around the green that you can't tell if he's winning or losing. I could do to be more like Nigel and learn a thing or two. He's in the Winter Doubles team I've signed up for, so hopefully his bowling zen will rub off on me!
Nigel then gave pre-finals day favourite Chris Miller a close encounter in the last match showpiece until around the twentieth end, when Chris finally broke away to win 21-14. The President's Day winner had been superb all afternoon and his quarter final win over second favourite Trevor Bibby pretty much put a stamp on his intentions.