SLEEPING EASIER AFTER A HOME WIN

Thursday 13th June 2024 

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3: 

Eagle Reds 156-176 Vernons BC

v CHRIS JONES W 21-9

It was good to put Monday's match behind me and take a comfortable win. David Green's comeback was put to rest and I could peacefully nod off fairly quickly and avoid another day in the workplace hanging on to yawns in such a desperately goosed state as Tuesday.
It wasn't altogether pretty against Chris, but thankfully enough to keep me on track as I try hard to rekindle the purple patch of form a few weeks ago.
Chris played some ends extremely well and showed what he can do, but struggled in some areas of our green and got himself rattled by his teammates not circulating around the green for support. (More on that later)
My opponent took the first three ends, which I'm thoroughly used to now at the Eagle, but I came back with two decent twos and then had a good stretch of success over the middle of the crown to take further advantage.
When Chris did break my progress, they were very good woods but he just couldn't keep me out for more than an end after his handy start.
I sent some good ones up, but not enough to be truly satisfied with myself. Good twos were hard to come by and whilst I did score quite a few doubles, often it wasn't the prettiest second that nevertheless counted.
It's the return fixture at Vernons next week as tonight marks the halfway mark of the Leyland League season.
Our team have enjoyed much better results than last season when we were propping up the table for much of it and currently lie ninth from twelve and outside the bottom three. Four winners against fifth placed Vernons tonight was a decent effort. Vernons have an outside chance of promotion with five or six solid players who win regularly. A
Nine wins from eleven so far and my form away from home has been the real game changer this season. Four wins out of five on the road in this league and five from seven including Chorley League - both defeats at 20-21 and should've bloody won them.
Some tough games to come, even tougher I suspect. I need to tap in to the form I showed not long ago with a bit more consistency and if I can repeat the second half of the season with another seven, preferably eight or nine wins then that would cap off a much improved season very nicely indeed.

CHRIS CROSS WITH TEAMMATES
My opponent Chris got himself distracted by a lack of support around the green from his Vernons teammates.
He was quite vocal about it so I'm sure he wouldn't mind me mentioning it. I thought his frustrations were understandable, but was surprised he let it affect his game so much. If teammates know he likes someone around the green for him, then there should have been. Earlier on Chris was busy giving information, coming on to help measure and the rest of it, so to have nobody seemingly interested in his game (even his scorer stayed putt under the visitors end roof) it became a bone of contention.
Sometimes when Chris wanted information, there wasn't a Vernons player even near enough to shout over to, so just played his wood anyway and then got more annoyed when he lost the end.
I guess we are all teams of individuals and probably some more than others.

What team players are expected to do or don't do around the green when they're not playing appears to be quite subjective and that's why there can be disharmony about it I suppose.

I sit with a very centre ground opinion on this because personally I prefer to play a game without constant information or advice which I can find distracting. I'll ask nicely if I want to know. Encouragement is great, obviously, and I'll take that. Clichés and statements of the obvious can drive me mad, but I politely absorb them because it's part of the game and I know it's just folk just trying to help.
Off the green, if scoring on a match say, on a Thursday night when I'm left to my own devices, I generally follow that match around so I am there for any questions, but trying to avoid being noticed or in the line of play. Sometimes I might get chatting and stay in the same place for a few ends... whatever goes really.
On Mondays though, our captain Steve gives us zonal areas to cover. I try my best to comply but it isn't entirely practical all of the time and especially when we have a small squad. Steve gets frustrated when someone's not at their post, such as when I was sorting drinks out with my opponent in the clubhouse last Monday and then ended up embroiled in a number of short conversations. You can't be in two places at the same time.

Competitive bowling it certainly is, but certainly at the level I play at it's undeniably also a social thing and I still want to have time to talk or have the crack with people, otherwise the whole evening is just too intense and takes away some of the enjoyment.