Thursday 2nd April 2026
Leyland & District League Division One: Lonsdale (182) 7-5 Eagle & Child Blue (155)
v SUSAN HOLDEN W 21-15
As crown green bowling goes in Central Lancashire, the Preston League has already got going with cup matches, but as ever it's the Leyland & District League that is first to get the actual league business underway.
It was probably a favourable time for our team to visit Lonsdale. There's more advantage to the home side during the drier months when it's likely to run quick, although it was still running quite well for the time of year. It's a cracking green and despite it finding me out with some glaringly awful bowls this evening, it's a lovely surface to play on as I remember well from my first encounter here last year.
My opponent Sue was a very lively character and refreshingly so, who doesn't refrain on the green either. Poker-faced bowlers are in plentiful supply and especially at this level, so anyone who shows a bit of personality on the green I tend to take more notice of. Sue plays to win, but she plays to enjoy it with equal dosage and there's something to learn from that, even in the fairly serious domain of this division.
I started the match by cockily taking on a tricky round peg mark off the crown and completely ballsed it up with two chronically short efforts. Then I landed a toucher backed up with a very good second to even the scores and this paradox of "ridiculous to the sublime" became the theme of an extremely inconsistent start to the league bowls season.
Sue blew hot and cold too, so it was a rather unpredictable game all in all. There wasn't much in it early on and I remember my opponent running one of our best players Phil Bradshaw to the wire here last year, so was taking nothing for granted despite feeling I should have enough to get the win if I could get my act together. Although the bad ends remained more prominent in my post-match memory bank, I probably did play more good ends than bad ones to be fair, stretching out to a lead of 18-10. Holding two to go all-but, Sue played through and took the jack out with a great bowl to which she shouted, "Get in!!" with a fist pump. Everyone within sight and earshot loved it and so did I despite being on the recieving end.
A few ends later it's 20-12 and I decided to play to the very centre of the green with some false confidence I could send an unbeatable lead bowl to wrap the game up. My first one was short, as too many lead bowls had been all night. Sue did no better missing the land. I then put too much in my second one - just missing the saving grace of tapping the jack up - but then rolling, and rolling off the top of the crown leaving two embarrassing bowls not fit to win any match at any level. I'm actually relieved when Sue manages to get one nearest and keep herself in it.
Back to the corner from where we came from and I roll both bowls off the green. What on earth? Four horrendous bowls over two short marks and Sue's back in it at 15-20. To her own frustration, she then rolls the block off next end, so I went round peg in front of the clubhouse. Sue came up a bit short and true to weird form, I then landed a toucher which didn't get disturbed.
Over the line at last with the win. A sense of relief after too many wayward woods that leaves a cause for concern going in to the next game, but more importantly another point on the board for the team. It was a good evening overall for Eagle Blues with five winners on the night which is probably more than we anticipated and a positive start to the new campaign.
Following a good season maintaining Division One status last year and with some good results along the way, our young captain Aaron has strengthened the squad with the additions of the quickly improving and super keen duo of Matt Hoyles and his son, Henry, along with the vastly experienced Chris Thompson. Increased competition for places can only be a good thing and introducing a few fresh faces keeps things lively.
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