A BIT OF HOME COMFORT

Monday July 22nd 2024

CHORLEY & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-2:

Eagle & Child 'A' 160-123 Coppull 'A'
v ALWYN JONES W 21-11

As our home green at the Eagle begins to recover, there's more grass on there now than I've ever seen on it. It seems quite sensible to me that it's not being cut too often or too hard. Whilst this means it runs a bit stiff at times and arguably an easier green to for visiting players to adapt to, there would seem little point in undoing the good work and scalping it, especially with the first dry spell of the whole year imminent.
The surface is improving all the time and finally I'm starting to gain a bit of confidence on there again. It's only taken a few months!
This match started out a very close affair against left hander Alwyn. There was nothing in it for a long spell. I might have got to double figures first but my opponent had a good spell to come back and should really have punished me harder with his second bowl maybe three or four times. As such, I still had a point lead at 12-11 but then suddenly found good length and put a good run together. As I gained more belief, Alwyn's seemed to sap and it was a combination of a block of good consistent bowling from myself and Alwyn just not putting them up as well as he was earlier that helped me see the game out from that point.
With seven winners on the night, a crucial point scoring evening for the team in our efforts to stave off a relegation threat. 

WINNING THE HARD WAY AGAIN

Thursday 11th July 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3:

Eagle Reds 179-187 Ashton BC 'B'
v MICK CROSS W 21-20

For all the inconsistency and subsequent frustrations during this match, I shouldn't berate myself with the usual self depricating dribble and instead credit myself for somehow finding a way of winning it.
After the boost of coming out the right side of a close match two nights earlier, there seemed to be a bit of extra bite that's been missing this season when games have wound up to a close finish.
Mick played a very good game and didn't give me any freebies at all, I had to earn more or less every single point against him. Given that I wasn't playing as well as I wished, this made for an uncomfortable evening on the whole.

The old temperament chestnut did crack on the occasion when my second wood was foot-scooped off the green on to the concrete flags after the first one was sent nowhere near the land, sending me over the edge after a period of struggling to play to as well as I think I can.
I got the words, "Now, now, steady on lad" from teammate Arthur Parker, the most famous lollipop man in Leyland of twenty-two years just down the road from home, featured on BBC local News having now finally retired at a still spritely 87. 

I certainly didn't want to upset Arthur, but it was sheer frustration and for all my efforts to put a lid on being reactive, something still has to be released occasionally to settle down and get my game together.
It was at this point I trailed 10-16 and post-tantrum, could envisage little more than trying to get a decent score from the game and gloss over defeat as best I could.
Crown green never fails to prove itself a funny old game though because I then put together my first consistently decent run and suddenly put Mick under a bit of pressure. 
It was a typically chilly Summer 2024 evening again but I had stripped down to my short-sleeved shirt having got a bit of a cob on with myself and my opponent was quite visibly sweating up too. With the green now to ourselves, it got a bit tense out there.
Just as I got myself a point ahead and had two more good ones up in waiting, Mick produced a fantastic weighted effort to knock the jack up for two of his own.
It went down to the wire. I chose a fairly uncomplicated straight pegger and my lead was two feet short. Mick shot through by three feet. I corrected my second bowl very nicely indeed, a little wide of my first but knowing it would peg inside if the pace was right and it was.
This left Mick with a big headache for last bowl of the match. He came over and had a look at them. I'm not sure what I'd have done myself? Probably followed my last bowl with a bit more weight and hope to get lucky. Mick came in with weight but missed all and thankfully I scratched out a win from the jaws of defeat for a second time this week.
Not exactly happy with how I've been playing overall, but most of my losses this season have been tight affairs that could have gone the other way so it's been good to finish a couple of games a bit stronger.
Our team did well against one of the stronger sides in the division, losing the match only by a few chalks in the end. A great win from that man Arthur Parker coming back against their top block Peter Dyson 21-20. John Waddecar back on form and also Phil Donnelly, Judith Farrell and Alan Robinson taking victories to shore up a decent night of point scoring.
In a match I was scoring earlier in the evening, Barry Wright came back brilliantly against the division's leading bowler Joan Beer from 1-8 down to 13-12 up, but just lost momentum to see out an upset.

....................

Since the Ashton game, holiday time and a couple more short breaks ahead are set to affect my Monday nights in the Chorley league mainly, but a very busy bowling August ahead with four additional competitions on the horizon.
After eight bowlless days, I managed to tap up Aaron to put me through my paces and jolt me straight back to a competitive level. He did just that, two good games but beaten to eleven and fourteen. I couldn't touch him on his current form and there is now a small gap on our fireplace where the Hargreaves Cup has departed to the house next door. 

TIGHT MARGINS VERSUS MARGE

Tuesday 9th July 2024

PRESTON & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-4: Eagle & Child 'B' 161-189 Longton VM 'B'

v MARJORIE PROCTOR W 21-19

Another hot and cold performance was only just hot enough to get the better of impressive bowler Marge. 
With a couple of Mondays out of the picture for the very reasonable excuses of a stepdaughter's graduation ceremony and a week away, the offer to help out on a Tuesday in the Preston League was duly snapped up to keep up some match practice.
Coasting in to a 5-0 lead early was a very brief feeling of comfort before Marge made herself at home on the Eagle green putting up good leads on quite a few marks that her smaller woods took a distracting line that my larger ones didn't necessarily follow. Note to self to sometimes just concentrate on following the jack!
It turned in to a very tough match, nip and tuck going in to the late teens. Even putting some of my best bowls up wasn't enough as Marge had a habit of finding perfection if I had two good ones on.
At 18-17, I found perfection myself with two belters on a peggy mark near the north edge of the green. Even Marge couldn't mess those two up. But then I messed up myself next end needing just one to win.
Luckily, my opponent also missed her chance to lead out for the match and left me with a good yard to fill to both save and win it.
Marge will have been within her rights to feel disappointed at not winning the match, but as I said to her at the end, it was very close and could easily have gone either way.
I made the preconceived decision not to go chucking a veteran lady long. Especially after this Eagle team's vice-captain, club treasurer, caterer and general wonder woman Pat Lewis (5ft nowt and in her 82nd year) was taken to the corners - and the cleaners - by her younger male opponent, who at least had the grace to apologise for picking on his opponent not being able to reach.
Chalks are chalks, it's a team game and all that... but bloody hell. This is the fifth tier out of five in the Preston League. Nobody wins the proverbial town clock in this division.
Marjorie probably would have reached anyway, but I stuck to my purist principles and, well, almost regretted it! But the win feels better having tried to play bowls than just chucking.

The thing is, if I ever play the long game I want to be effective at it. Not just reach, but get close and consistent with it. I'm not there yet. I've probably rambled before about sending woods that reach and yet still two yards off the jack. It's not my idea of point scoring at any level.
Five winners each in this match, but Longton ran out on chalks. Chucking long against Pat actually did make a difference unfortunately.
I quite liked the vibe in this new Eagle 'B' team, of a few seasoned vets I've already teamed up with, quite a few keen crown green beginners and the potentially precocious talent of junior player Henry Hoyles. Henry has a much more controlled game than when I paired with him in last year's Spring club doubles. He's playing a lot of bowls matches now and that can only help him grow further in the game. 

ANOTHER AWAY WIN SO MUSTN'T GRUMBLE

Thursday 4th July 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3:

Longton VM 180-160 Eagle Reds
v GRAHAM JOHNSON W 21-12

A game of good ends and bad ends on Longton's lush main green that was running beautifully.
Fair to say I scored more good ends than bad ends which reflected in the scoreline.
Graham looked as if he was going to be a very tough opponent early on, with a nice delivery about him, but too often his length let him down. Neither of us had a particularly long stretch with the jack, although I did have a decent run along the bottom section of the green which Graham surprisingly just wasn't getting his head around despite home advantage. This seemed to be where a decent lead was built. Despite the hot and cold nature of this performance, I seemed able to pick a good bowl out when I had to. Besides, an away win is never to be baulked at so I shouldn't pick too many critical holes in myself, even though I want to. This season my results continue to be better on my travels more than at home on the Eagle. 
Our team result wasn't a total disaster with three winners on a big tricky green. 
What a bowling facility at Longton. Last season when I visited here, the second green next door to the main one had gone to pasture. Now it looks in fine nick, just like the main one.
Two greens with lots of character and lovely surfaces side by side, social club bar and plenty of sheltered spectating. A good sized car park too, what a bloody good venue. This may sound like a review for a spoof 'Crown Green Visitors Guide', but Longton VMSC is one of quite a few local gems going strong. 

HALF A JOB JOHN

Monday 1st July 2024

CHORLEY &DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-2;

Black Horse  'A' 164-129  Eagle & Child 'A'
v GRAHAM ALTY L 19-21

Affectionately and not with malice (I hope!) my colleagues in the workplace would occasionally call me "Half a Job John".
I mean, I think I do actually do my job, whatever that may be because I haven't really got a description as such, but occasionally I can get distracted by other arising tasks and forget to backtrack... therefore leaving half a job.
In my defence, said colleagues can be overzealous in their condemnation, for literally I cannot do two things at once.
But that is the legend of Half a Job John!
Half a job is becoming something of a habit on the bowling green too, as personified by letting yet another lead and potentially benchmark win slip away.
I started the brightest against form player Graham, whose record proves he has been a difficult player to beat this season. The home player's initial sloppiness might have contributed in the first few ends, but I began to lead well and was full value for a 13-4 lead, after just getting the block back straight away with two absolute crackers on a long peggy mark over the crown.
I knew Graham was not going to meekly concede though and consistently led out well to go on a run. Although managing to mainly restrict him to singles, he ground himself back in to it very well and lead 14-15. 

From there, ownership of the jack changed hands regularly and three or four times when I got back in I didn't manage to lead well or take off from where I had left off earlier. This proved to be my downfall. There must have been four or five occasions when I let myself down and just didn't put Graham under pressure when I had the chance. Knocking him up when going for a two didn't help, but I scrapped away and still got to 19-19 with jack in hand.
I tried as simple a straight mark as I could, but the wonderful green at the Black Horse in Croston doesn't do many simple straight marks. My first bowl drifted from the straight jack line and my second found the road but shot through.
Pretty fed up with myself at that, there was more than enough room for Graham to take the match and deservedly so because I had my chances and fluffed them.

I think perhaps I can't concentrate for long enough in a match and I need to address that.
Now three of my five defeats in the Chorley league this year have seen leads of nine, ten or more overturned. I got off to handy starts in two of my three losses in the Leyland league too. 

It's not so much a worrying trend, for it's been against good and experienced players... so just getting in to that leading position in the first place is a measure of progress. Needless to say though, it's a bit annoying.
Most of my league losses this season certainly might not, or should not have been. I've never been able to state that before, so whilst half a job it may have been, at least it's a good half!
Only one winner for our Eagle team on the night as our SOS man Geoff Bibby salvaged a point. It's looking like a tough second half of the season to stay up.
First day of July and it's still not warm enough to play an evening out in just one layer. Definitely the coolest Summer I can remember for over a decade. I've known cool and wet ones before, but it's certainly a chilly breeze for the time of year.
Excellent running conditions, but not condusive to pottering around a drafty bowling green all evening. 

RUNNING ON THE BACKBURNER

Good running conditions it may be, but, same old story and another period of a month or so without running has gone by.

Not injury or illness thankfully, but having recently taken on a big domestic job (a massive job and certainly not half a job) it's been pointless committing myself in a half arsed manner.

To be fair to the bowling side of things too, I've not been practicing much and just playing my league matches.

Not running can also affect my bowls I think, from a psychological point of view anyway. Getting a bit of running pain through the system and those endorphins flowing improves endurance for concentration and could also be the gateway to arouse that little bit of extra belief and spirit to get a close game won. 

We'll see. Running shoes definitely back on shortly when I go on holiday.