A GOOD NIGHT AT PENWORTHAM FOR ONCE

Thursday 24th August 2023

Leyland & District League Div-3: Penwortham Sports 'B' v Eagle Reds

v JOHN BIRCH W 21-7

A long overdue win on the road turned out to be an unexpectedly comprehensive one and finally tasting a victory from one of my favourite greens but least favourite venues.
I started the game very well and grew in confidence, putting John under a bit of pressure on a long and straight length in front of the seated stand. When I broke off elsewhere at 6-0, John knocked out my decent lead and on getting the block back straight away, got strict instructions from captain Harry to revert to the area where I was doing the damage.
Leading 13-2, John tried to rally and had a few more breaks, notably a corner to corner long twosome which he played well, but this was the only end that I played poor woods on really, rolling yards short on a mark I know damn well requires a good push.
Back in front of the stand again, round pegging was also working well for me and at 18-7 I played perhaps one the most satisfying ends in my 117 match career, bending a perfectly weighted toucher, followed by another resting on the back of my first bowl. What a beautiful sight. If only I could do that all the time!
Sometimes when everything clicks in to place, I'm not too bad at this game and tonight was one of those nights. Going on in the first four probably helps, turning up after a long day at work on Thursdays I can end up a bit jaded later on in the evening.

Looking up the stats after, John has been no pushover this season and particularly on his home green so this was another small step in the right direction.
In crown green teams, sometimes you get called 'Tony' and it can be good Tony or bad Tony, as in "T'ony winner" or "T'ony loser". I was the only (Tony) winner on the night. Good Tony on a bad night for the team as our place at the bottom of the table was further entrenched. 

TENSE EVENING AT TOP OF THE TABLE CLASH

Monday 21st August 2023
Chorley & District League Div-2: Eagle & Child 'A' 138-138 Penwortham Sports 'B'
v JENNIFER IDDON W 21-17

The stakes were high. An excellent result for our team could replace Penwortham at the top and make us strong favourites for promotion going in to the last match.
A reasonable result would still leave promotion hopes in our own hands.
A good result for Penwortham would see them book their place in Division One with a game to spare.
A poor night for our team would surely give second spot up to Mawdesley on this penultimate week, who were strongly fancied to score heavily at home to Hind's Head.
Captain Steve Marginson had tipped me off the previous day that I was in the team "at the moment", so I knew that could change very easily.
I turned up for practice without a clue if I was in or not and just cracked on regardless, rolling in hope!
Steve had also brought some extra big guns down from the club to bolster the squad on the night so it really wasn't clear at all what the starting eight was likely to be. Looking around, I'd resigned to being sidelined so put my bowls back in the bag when next news, Steve wants £1.50 off me for the sweep... Wow! I am actually in afterall!
Tension about wondering whether I was playing transcended in to tension about the fact that I WAS playing and in the most important game of the season so far.
There was no way I was going to shake the tension this evening so just had to play through it. Steadily I've been getting form back and just had to keep a bit of faith in myself. Not let the inevitable crap shots drag me down and just make sure I produced more good than I did crap.
To add to the tension overload, this turned out to be a very tight match against Jen who in contrast, seemed remarkably relaxed. There was no more than a score or two in it all the way to 16-16. One thing to my credit on the night was the ability to produce a winner when I really needed one. There was a period in the middle of the match when I sent a few howlers, but at least corrected enough times to spare Jen getting her nose in front.

At the business end then, after Jen rolled a well placed two to level those scores again, two well taken singles and then a tightly placed two took me to all-but. The first time daylight shone upon the scorecard. A good lead followed, but Jen knocked me out perfectly.
Thankfully for me though, her next lead bowl, on a tricky inswinging peg to the corner that she had taken a nice two from earlier, was this time high and wide. I nailed the land this time around and although running through perhaps a couple of feet, it was enough and a big relief to get over the line.
The whole match ended in a draw. Four wins each and level on chalks. Given we lost by just one chalk at Penwortham in the Spring, incredible that the statistics were so close over two matches.
Although not quite mathematically assured, Penwortham are essentially up.
Five points and a draw wasn't a disaster for us, but not quite a good result either. Mawdesley meanwhile, took nine out of a possible ten points to draw level.
The stakes for the final match of the season aren't complicated. Away to Hilltops 'B', who need a result to help stave off telegation, we have to score more than Mawdesley. Mawdesley visit Croston Subs 'B' and Croston themselves have an outside chance of sneaking up through the back door if they beat Mawdesley hard enough and our Eagle team have a total nightmare.
On paper, it's a tougher task for our West Lancashire rivals, but away games can be unpredictable. Our team have to just get what we can and wait and see.
I really can't envisage my inclusion in the line-up next week, even after a win because it's another green I haven't seen before and there's too much to play for. To be honest I was just so pleased to be included in this one tonight and also grind out the right result. A good experience to play with quite a bit of pressure riding on it for the team.

WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE

Thursday 17th August 2023
Leyland & District League Div-3: Eagle Reds 164-172 Farington St Paul's
v DAVID BRIDGE W 21-12

Even if the manner of defeat is acceptable, a run of them still becomes a bit disheartening. This home fixture had to break the cycle and I was very determined, but quietly cautious going in to the game.
Having played and seen enough of St Paul's to be well aware Dave would be no pushover, my opponent might also know that I can get hot under the collar and so I set out with patience, trying to slow myself down and make sure he knew I suppressed any frustrating feelings for self destruction.
Our green was running quite a bit for the first time in a while and this suited me more than Dave by his own admission. That didn't stop him being a tough nut to crack mind you. There was little in it after the first ten ends, but then I started to find good bowls more consistently, including a few very good two's which can do damage quickly in a match.
As our scorers checked in with each other to calibrate their cards, I could hear I'd got myself ahead by six or seven and in a good position. Dave had a run with the jack again but I limited his endeavours to singles and then got back on the front foot, finishing with a toucher for the match.

Although I sent a bit of rubbish at times, I played quite a tight game and certainly sent a lot more good than bad. I won't pardon the punned headline - recent defeats now feel like water under the bridge.
Not so in the team front though, with four winners on the night, this Eagle Reds team was closer than expected on the night against a decent St Paul's side, but life at the bottom of the bottom remains with only two matches left. We now have to fair better than Wymott on level points with us to avoid the wooden spoon. 

SHOULD HAVE PICKED UP A WIN

Friday 16th August 2023
Chorley & District League Div-2: Hoghton Bowling Club 140-108 Eagle & Child 'A'
v GEOFF PICKUP L 19-21

Another green I'd never seen before and another important game, rearranged from being called off after prolonged heavy rain a few weeks ago.
Still with bare bones of a squad remaining, I'm in at the deep end on a losing streak and with less confidence than a Manchester United fan in their team being the best in the city some time soon.
What a fabulous green it is at Hoghton. A beautifully kept surface, quite compact and with a big crown that spills off some very interesting marks.
After the first four ends against Geoff and a 0-5 deficit, I'm starting to wonder if Monday night is about to repeat itself.
Thankfully I started to send a few very good woods and was able to not only break Geoff's early dominance, but slowly nudge in to a lead. Too often I bowled one good one and one bad one, but after a 15-11 lead was recovered by Geoff, two very good looking and timely two's put me back in the driving seat at 19-15.
It remains a mystery why I didn't just wait to play the next end where I wanted to.  Instead I played diagonally off the crown and just overran with both bowls. Bread and butter for Geoff, who won two on the next end aswell as I rolled up a bit short and then won the game on a poor looking last end, with my final bowl to save having too much juice despite correcting the land.
I was disappointed to say the least, for myself and also the team as a win would have gained an extra point and secured four winners from eight. That would have been a very decent night at the office here.
As it was, three winners and second place in the table still secure and in our hands with a massive home game against leaders Penwortham next up.

DREAM TEAM NOT QUITE AS IT WOULD SEEM
Someone said to me recently that, "Trevor Bibby could start an argument in an empty room". I had to chuckle at that, but I actually think he could!
During our matches a little spat with Trevor was had and not for the first time since I joined the club.
It was hardly in the same league as David Batty and Lee Bowyer's infamous fracas, but there's probably some stuff between us that needs sorting out if we are to remain in the same team.
As much as an acquisition that his bowling abilities are to this team, I have to admit that I can let Trevor's presence grate on me a little at times.
On a personal front, I get the feeling he thinks I'm not good enough for this team and that, perhaps, he thinks he's too good for what he recently described as a "chip shop league".
From a broader observation, as well as being a grumpy bugger, as I commented similarly some time ago, Trevor's persona around the green can exhume male bravado, puffing out his chest with a fondness of the sound of his own loud voice and bowling cliché. There is a sense that he thinks a bowling green to be a suitable arena in which to secrete excesses of testosterone.

All that bluster for just a game of giant marbles played out on a contoured surface. It's a game of judgement and skill for sure, but I'm not sure where physicality and male hormones come in to it.
Team bowls is essentially a collaboration of individual performance, but critically as in any sport, a good team spirit of respect and camaraderie across the board is essential to maximise the potential of success. Tensions and cliques don't work.
Given that next season this team will potentially be in the top division, Trevor will still be in his comfort zone, whilst I'll be scratching around to get a game even further above my station and so it's a no-brainer who needs to leave the team if we can't play nicely together. Obviously though, I don't want to go.
I don't think our captain Steve would be pleased, but I'm sure he would agree that harmony in the camp is more important than any individuals.
Hopefully it won't come to that and we can get on like grown ups at some point. 

SUCK IT UP AND SEE

Monday 14th August 2023
Chorley & District League Div-2: Chorley Subs - Eagle & Child 'A'
v DAVE AINDOW L 5-21

Once again our Monday night promotion chasers were stretched in the staffing department. Last week's injury list remained and in addition, key player Trevor Bibby was already committed to picking his wife up from the airport.
As such, if only on the basis of availability, I was on the card again at a green I'd never played before at Croston Subs. Practice went well, not too many woods that I wasn't happy with and was getting a nice feel for the green. What could possibly go wrong?
Being drawn against Dave Aindow, it would seem.
I simply wasn't good enough against this chap. I didn't play badly, I put some good bowls up in fact, but not consistently enough and (obviously) not close enough. Dave was exceptional actually, absolutely bang on and opportunities to get going in the game were shut down by this nice and easy going fella that was a smiling assassin. 

Four of my five scores were excellent shots and had to be, otherwise even when I sent good ones Dave beat them every time. On the few times I had the lead bowl, nothing less than running up behind the jack would do. My good woods tended to sit to the side of the target and pretty as they looked, they would get mopped up. It was another evening of tough love in the local leagues of crown green bowling.
Three seasons in, it's this one that's turning in to one really harsh apprenticeship.
Dave was excellent throughout and as tough a game as I've had. There's a fair old way to go in dealing with matches like this and getting myself closer.
As I said when I came off, maybe it would have been a better idea if I'd picked Trevor's wife up from the airport!
On the night though, we still had four winners and only lost the match on chalks for four vital away points.
Fortunately our talisman Chris Miller soaked up my damaging deficit with a superb 21-4 win.
So yet another loss. Another heavy reverse on the scorecard. I've just got to suck it up and see if I can tidy my game up enough to stop the rot. 

PLEASED AND PISSED OFF IN EQUAL MEASURE!

Wednesday 9th August 2023
AUTUMN WATERLOO TROPHY
1st Qualifying Round
v DAN PETCHER (Derby) L 14-21 (Off 5-5)

Another trip to Fleetwood and once again, niggling doubts about what I'm doing here and why I'm doing it. 

Absolutely doubtless I was the only one of those thirty-two players present that day who felt so uncomfortable about their own presence.
What's gone wrong? I've come here before, even got through a round last year and then played quite well in this season's Spring Waterloo against the competition holder for crying out loud. 

It would seem the strong mentality and drive is not as strong as it was. These thoughts on the way to my latest visit to the new Waterloo qualifiers suggested that a confidence crisis is ongoing at the moment.

This season has been indifferent, I've had some tough and tight matches but lost more than I've won and maybe lost that ability to believe hard enough and push myself over the line like I did last year. I seem to get my knickers in a twist too easily.
Of course there's no pressure on me at all in situations like this, when it's a singles competition and I'm a totally inept rank outsider. It's all about absorbing the experience. But I wasn't feeling comfortable in my own shell somehow. 

I arrived expecting very little and my when seeing the draw, realised I was to face a top quality player here yet again. Having heard of my opponent and seen Dan's name at the business end of many a scoresheet posted on bowling social media, finalist in the Sandal Classic most recently I remembered... I knew I could be in for a brief and very rough ride. 
So relaxed was I though, starting the game extremely well. After winning the toss, I took two's from the first two ends and they weren't shoddy. I then went five ahead before a slack lead let me down. But I broke Dan straight away again with a cracking long round pegger that I was very chuffed with I have to say and the proverbial nosebleed was streaming with a lead of 11-6.                But Dan got back in and started to show his class. Shortish round pegs off the crown and wrapping two around the jack which started to get me a bit hot under the collar. One or two game efforts to break him were unlucky and I did produce two or three more very good woods to stifle his domination and on this note I had to be fairly pleased with myself. Later I discover Dan Petcher is currently ranked number eleven this year in all competitions.                              Unfortunately though, when it went wrong it went wrong. I sent at least half a dozen absolutely chronic shots that I would have deemed unacceptable when just practicing on my own, so to make a dick of myself in this arena was mortifying.                                

A real opportunity was spurned when getting the block back, with a simple enough straight peg in to the clubhouse corner. My lead was good weight but utterly wide, when unbelievably Dan rolls his first one off the green. Still reeling from that crap lead, I then went absolutely ridiculously short and wanted the ground to swallow me up.        Sadly it was along those lines I conceded the final end. Dan once again putting two quality ones up, with my first narrow and second one even narrower... and frigging short too! I'd tensed up, lost my bottle and the way I started the game to how I finished it felt like a different day, never mind the same match.
Much credit to my opponent though who was clearly an excellent player. Dan got through the next two rounds to qualify for finals day. That said, in some ways I hadn't disgraced myself at all. But some of the clangers I sent really were a disgrace and seemingly still haunt me a few days later when compiling this report. I can't help but be pissed off about that.
Physically, technically, I'm bloody sure I can play this damn game. Mentally though, flawed it would seem. Concentration breaks too easily and belief has now been compromised. For all my efforts to keep a level head, maintaining the right mentality during a game still remains the biggest barrier to break no matter who or where I play. 
All that said, there was only one thing for it and a good job I took some running gear to clear my head. A four and a half miler on Fleetwood front. The flattest and paciest run I've done for a while, in a stuffy 72° Fahrenheit. Knackered, but felt a lot better for it.

ONE FOR THE TEAM

Monday 8th August 2023
Chorley & District League Div-2: Eagle & Child 'A' - Hind's Head 'A'
v JOHN BILSBORROW W 21-9

Despite being down to the bare bones of eight players available due to injury and absence, our promotion chasing team were still looking for a maximum points haul at home to Hind's Head to keep the pressure up on our rivals.
The result was eight winners from eight and a job well done 
For the team's sake, it probably worked out well that I didn't get the toughest draw on the night. John had a few shots up his sleeve, but not consistently enough and after a tight first half dozen ends, I got in to a rhythm and began to break away.
Overall it was a decent performance actually and although John did send some occasional good ones to break my hold, he was chasing the game and generally found gaps or whizzed just by which was a relief after a few games of feeling I didn't get the little knocks going my way. 

FAVOURABLE DRAW GIVES ME A CHANCE

Sunday 6th August 2023

EAGLE & CHILD PRESIDENT'S DAY

2nd Round
v DAVID LISTER W 21-11 (Off 2-5)

After a repeat of the 2021 final last week, the second round draw produced a repeat of my semi-final that year too. As I may have mentioned in the past, David is a lovely gentleman and one of my favourite chaps at the club. Now approaching his 90th year, on the face of it he his in fantastic shape for his age. However, David struggles with his sight and unfortunately his condition has worsened recently.
He still plays veterans league bowls though and I can't imagine the extra difficulties of this game if vision is impaired over distance. 
David does pretty well though under the circumstances and as I said to him, he doesn't guess too badly!

Out of the last sixteen, this was a more favourable draw for me to get a game in, acclimatise to the green conditions and most likely do enough to get through.
I got in to a decent lead early on, but David had a good spell where he put some consecutive chalks on the board with some good bowls up that I couldn't match.
Just as I was sort of pleased for him landing a few good ones, I had to put my hard hat on to try and break him because I do know bowls is a funny old game and you can't give your opponent anything because momentum is a funny thing and can swing many a match. 
Thankfully at 18-11 I did break up another tidy two he had in waiting with a nice toucher and saw the match out from there.
Competition organiser Steve Wilson has tagged nicknames to all participants and David 'Green Fingers' Lister has been labelled as such having been gardener at both the Eagle and Fox Lane greens, where he was also a member for decades. Park keeping and other horticultural projects were his line of work too. A proper outdoorsy chap, he has walked many of the main coastal paths and Ways of the British Isles, climbed the Scottish Munroes, done some stuff in the Dolomites... not many places his feet haven't trodden. His brother was a handy fell runner for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers, racing on some very early Yorkshire Three Peaks races which David marshalled on the top of Ingleborough, cycling to Chapel-le-Dale from Burnley on a ninety mile round trip. Mr Lister's tales of his endurance and travels are always of obvious interest to me.

David said he wished he could have played me when he could see properly and was playing in his pomp and I agreed. Although I would most likely have been on the receiving end of a defeat from what I can gather.

'REAL DEAL' HAS ME ON THE RUN

EAGLE & CHILD PRESIDENT'S DAY

Quarter-Finals
v JACK DICKINSON L 14-21 (Off 2-2)

John 'The Running Man' Sutton was chasing from the off against Jack 'The Real Deal' Dickinson.
After winning the toss, I sent long and straight to the edge of the tricky far corner, only to find a good lead bowl beaten and that seemed to set the tone of things to come as Jack went on to win the next five or six ends with some very good bowling.
I didn't capitalise on the odd break here and there and Jack took up a convincing lead of 13-4. He looked like a young man on form with an eye on the prize.
Finally though, when I did get hold of the block and actually send something for Jack to think about, I had a decent run myself and put a bit of pressure on my opponent. But Jack's a good player and when there was a possible turning point in the match having clawed back to 14-16 with another possible two in waiting, he came through with perfect pace to tap the jack on for two of his own instead. Momentum swung back and I couldn't match 'The Real Deal' after that as he ran out to take a well deserved last four spot.

YOUNG LADS DOMINATE THE DAY

Within the bowling scene gossip you hear and read a lot of phraseology along the lines of, "the game is dying".*
Those who chuck that glass half-empty diagnosis around of all things crown green bowling should note that President's Day at our club this year was a reminder that any imminent death will be a much slower burn at the Eagle & Child with these lads on the books.
One eighteen year old and two twenty one year olds hogged the draw for the last four. Matt Brown was victorious on the day and became the youngest player to win the club's President's Day.
In the semi finals, Aaron Hayhurst and Jack Dickinson were denied at the penultimate hurdle by the eighteen year old champion and the last standing competitor of the old guard, Harry Derbyshire, who played superbly all day. Harry put up a fight in the final but was denied at 16-21 by Matt whose success was thoroughly deserved, showing his class to go all the way off a -3 handicap.

* "The game is dying..."

I don't know the world of crown green bowls in nearly enough depth, nor have I even played the game long enough to make bold statements about it.
What I do know is that progressively there are far fewer players, clubs, greens and leagues than say twenty-five years ago and beyond. Also there seems to be a consensus among bowlers that the sport's governing body have been neither use nor ornament in encouraging progress during that time.
Overall, it's probably fair to say the game is most certainly in decline.
To brutally state that "the game is dying" though, implies that it's death is both inevitable and imminent. Now that really is a bold statement. 

There are still enough people involved in the game now to push out another generation at least, slow the decline and maybe even mount a recovery. I might be talking complete bollocks, but if you enjoy the game why condemn it? 
"The game is dying" is an annoying phrase that does nothing to motivate or instigate changes needed to save it. Those that use the term regularly might ask themselves what they can do to help the game? Predicting it's demise from an armchair position will achieve nowt whatsoever. 

RUMBLED BY RELENTLESS RICHARD

Thursday 3rd August 2023
Leyland & District League Div-3: Eagle Reds 180-158 Vernons BC
v RICHARD FLYNN L 10-21

I already knew Richard as a friend of a very good friend. He started bowling not long before I did and I've seen a little bit of him in action here and there with good reason to think this would likely be a close contest. Even so, clearly I still underestimated the extent of this Penworthamian's capabilities upon his first match at the Eagle.
I didn't get off to the best of starts, taking a good few ends to find my length, but that wasn't to say Richard took the first five or six points on the cheap.
After that early wobble, although not as fluid as Sunday's game, I didn't play too badly really but my opponent was on it from the off and absolutely relentless.
Perhaps a touch of luck here and there over some close points would have pulled our scores a little closer, but basically I needed Richard to lose his way for a few ends to have any chance of getting near. As the game progressed though, a collapse or even just a lapse of any sort looked more and more unlikely. A blip was as good as he offered and on the odd occasion Richard blipped, I blipped too. As each end went by, so my belief began to drain a slow drip.

Excellent lead after excellent lead, failing that, very good corrections with his second wood. Any slack leads from me (sadly guilty of this cardinal sin again) were mopped up effectively. If Richard's consistency wasn't impressive enough, so was his guile and creativity. He was happy to explore the green with varied lengths and pegs rather than settle for repetitive marks to murder me on.
Even when I did send two round pegged beauties towards our smart new 'Town End' bench in the memory of Alan Marginson - who I like to think would have nodded his approval - Richard struck with venom and I had to be grateful he left me a single.
Bowlers often marvel at the small gaps a bowl can find, but the gap Richard's strike bowl zipped through after kicking up off the green at some velocity was most fortunate for our scorer Malcolm Jones. Somehow flying between the slightest of gaps between his legs and not cracking his shins, Malc had willingly mooched in to the line of fire for some reason and yet didn't seem phased at all by the near miss, turning around to retrieve Richard's wood from the undergrowth. It was only in retrospect that I considered the small mercies of fate in that split-second moment.
Back to the game and after hearing 4-10 called, it was 6-15 I think when I finally had two or three ends of minor joy.
Another insufficient lead was sucked up yet again by Richard though, and after another opportunity to claw back further was spurned at 10-18, Richard ran out with three more singles won over very slight margins but, that epitomised how difficult it was to beat his bowls.
Not ideal preparation for President's Day on Sunday I thought at first, but actually, yes. Perfect preparation! I'm really not going to get too much tougher a game than this to be honest. A bold statement when I look at some of the Eagles listed in the draw for the last sixteen. Nevertheless a fair testimony to Richard's game on here tonight. As good as anybody I've faced on home turf. 

Better fortunes overall on the team front, with only our second win of the season for Eagle Reds. Not quite enough to scrape us off the bottom of the table, but enough to give us a fighting chance of doing so before the season's end. 

FORM AND CONFIDENCE RETURNS OUT OF THE BLUE

Sunday 30th July 2023
EAGLE & CHILD PRESIDENT'S DAY TROPHY
1st Round
v ANDY SEXTON W 21-5 (Off +2 v -5)

Andy is still lumbered with a considerable handicap in this competition after his President's Day victory in 2021.
Starting the match with a large overall advantage of seven, I tootled down to the green feeling pretty good after a half hour run and second quadruple espresso of the day.
I considered the least of my ambition was just to keep things tight, prevent my opponent from any periods of dominance and that would be enough to squeeze through. The ideal scenario though, would be to win the game outright without needing the considerable handicapping to scrape through. .
Dark thoughts that it was my game to lose never really entered my head. I'd had a couple of chance practice games with the calming influence of Nigel Tomlinson yesterday and was feeling OK about my home game again.
This was the third meeting in club competition against Andy. In that final match two years ago, I'd run out of steam and was punching above my weight against the best player on the day and got spanked. Last summer we fought out a close game in the Members League, but felt I just about deserved the win. So there was reason to believe I had a good chance again if I played well enough.
The first few ends went either way but I felt I was rolling well and grew in confidence.
Confidence. A word not applicable to my bowling for a while. Out of the blue, I found some really good form.  

I had a decent little run with the block and put some good two's together which impacted some hurt on to the scorecard.
Hearing I was on eleven with Andy yet to get out of his handicap deficit, I felt in control and that I was only getting better as the match went on.
There was only one end in which I was disappointed with both my bowls. Most of my leads were good, which has been a bugbear of late, and generally hit a level I was very happy with. I played a less complicated game with more straight pegged ends and it seemed to work. 
Real score 19-10 in the end, so no reliance on the generous handicap. Although Andy was not on his game by any stretch, I played as well as I have done in recent times and didn't really give my opponent a chance.
With +2 on the card, if I can bottle up this level of confidence and performance for next week's finals day then I could be a pain on the arse for anybody. 
But it's all on the day, as they say.