Skipping the game " from the Mat"

Here in New Brunswick, Eastern Canada, the bowls game of "Fours" is not played other than to qualify for the Canadian Nationals.  When administering a head the skip attempts to build a structure of bowls, both defensive and offensive, which will guarantee winning points.

AThinkstock.com photo

Standing in the head, and directing bowls to different locations on the green around the jack may be a rather cruel method of building a head, because the lawn bowler on the mat can only guess at the actual location which is wanted.   Unless, you have bowled together as a team for several years and have a common understanding of what constituted a good head.

The reason I mention the games of "fours" in the above paragraph is that when the four bowls of the "lead end" are thrown by two individual bowlers, it is possible to define what the role of each bowler is preparing that head. Second, when there are two players doing the lead, the players will talk together and explain different options.  Also, each of the two leads in "fours" can be occupied to collect different information about the greens or the opponents.

photo bucket photo

Does the opponent lead have double sides draw ability, which hand, forehand or backhand, do they favor when given a tight draw to the jack.  When the green has a good draw side or a fast (narrow) side, what is the advantage of closing that side to the opponent.  Also there is the control of the mat.  Moving it a bit to save the greens or provide a good "Bowl receiving area". The area directly in front of the mat where your bowl makes initial contact with the green when doing a perfect delivery.

I have seen games of Bowls where at the end of 14 ends, I was surprise to discover that the skip did not know that the opponent had a left handed player. As lead, and as a left-handed bowler, I must be aware if the opponent are left or right handed. In a singles qualification tournament against a left-handed opponent, I did many of my bowl deliveries from a "off-step" stance.  Remember, every bowl that the opponent waste in finding his green and weight is an advantage and maybe a point for you.

 All bowlers learned from the opponent delivery, even if they don.t follow the same line. As we attempt to read difficulties in the green, as a good lead, I  should attempt to make the delivery to the jack as hard as possible for his opponents when placing the mat or jack.

Then there is the possibility that the skip has given the lead (leads in "fours") certain liberties like moving the mat or placing the jack at what the lead feels is an best offensive (or defensive) distance.

Remembering the greens and the advantages in the two directions can be a full time task, although many "fours" leads (or seconds) will say it is dull only bowling two bowls.

When bowling a short mat in the  direction of a closed background (clubhouse or fence trees) it is a different feeling than a short mat in an open background direction. A brought forward (to the hog line) mat creates a different feeling and challenge of a short jack with the wind behind then when the wind is in front of you.  So, as lead there is a lot to watch, learn, study and incorporate into the game. (if you are skipping (or team captain) from the mat). 

Never dull !!   even as a Lead because the building of the head starts with the your first 4 bowls of a "Pairs" lead and these 8 bowls (Opponents and  yours) create the way that whole rest of play will be played. Certainly, the value of a good lead is well known to skips or "team captains" after seeing how a early bowl has developed the game.

  At the Atlantic Bowls tournament last weekend ( Sept 5th) at the Sherwood LBC in Prince Edward Island, I saw Nova Scotia with a Pairs team , which was skipped from the mat.  This can be noticed as the lead bowler communicates (yells to the opponent skip in the head or goes to the head) to discuss something . Remember, certain game rules still apply as to when the lead can go to the head during a game. (after their third bowl).

In "Triples" Bowls which I played at the Atlantic Bowls it is a bit more difficult to skip the game from the mat. But us Canadians have seen this structure, for years in our national "Bowls like" game of Curling. Here, the team captain is  not the the last to deliver his "stone". In Curling for years, the team captain has continued to be the third (in the fours) and has been able to administer their game without difficult.  
  

Other end of green  (NB Flag, center)

In the game of Triples, it was more difficult. First, to advise the opponent skip that as team captain you are skipping from another position.

 I found that this was best done during the Trial End. After the flip of the coin and going to the mat with the opponent skip,  I had Laurance, whom would be in the head as skip on the mat as lead.

 

  As I walked up the green , or stood in the head with the opponent skip and received the trail end bowls, I said. 

 

 " Rule 37.8 requires me to tell you of any delegated responsibilities which I have given to players, which are normally my responsibility".  "Laurance, who is on the mat will be in the head as skip and delivering the skip bowls". This of course cause some strange looks until I finished with " As team captain or "Skip" if there are any problems of 37.1 (rules of Play) or 37.2 (Disputes) it will remain my responsibility". 

 

Following the Trail end bowls, Laurance went to the head as skip. 

 

In all six games played last weekend (of which I skipped from the head 2 games) there was no difficult. During the game, when necessary, and after my lead bowls were finished, I went to the head to help with the "second's bowl" and relax Laurance if it was necessary.

The reason for this play arrangement was that Laurance can get rather "hyper" in the head and it has happen that certain opponents find this weakness and attempt to work it into the game. (unnecessary Mind Games).  This is not very sportsmen like for those skips who play such mental games, but to some the winning of the game is the most important. 

 Of course, not all skips have the same mental strength. It does not help when after making a great shot, which Laurance is capable of doing,(why it is a good position for him) that he gloats about how good it was. It is not surprising that opponent skips become annoyed and find it necessary to say something. "Oh leave it alone, a bit" is common.

I have seen him get upset when the opponent skip said to him. " Until my bowls stops you are not permitted in the head and that includes talking to my bowls"  His excitement may have been  comments like.."stop. Stop.."  or "Fall over... Fall"  but the opponent skip comments of him talking to the bowls was enough to kill his entire game and calm. For the next several ends, he would go off mumbling to himself or be throwing things.  (A character fault which has improved over the past years)

Example of Head with all bowls in front

Actually, in one of the Atlantic bowls games, at about the 7th or 8th end the opponent skip said to me as we passed in mid-green.  "I hope you have medication for him as I think he is going to have a heart attack if he take the game any more serious". We laughed and I said.. " Thanks, I will spend more time in the head for the rest of the game"

In closing this Blogs, I will leave the reader with trick or message of picking up several points.  The rule of thought is " When you're Down  remember to have bowls up in the head ".  This rule suggests that if you have Bowls behind the jack which are not balanced by the opponent's, the jack may be rolled back to them and collect several points.

However, I discover a tight head collection, as I collected a total  seven points from what I call a " easy to draw delusion ". The distance from the jack which would win shot was easily a couple of feet, but a bad run in the green seem to kill any chance of the bowl arriving around the jack. 

 "There seems to be a hill around the jack" was the skips comment. 

 But remember, the jack is placed on the spot by hand not rolled to that spot and this sort of jack placement can happen.  "King of the Hill" jack placement .

  Of course, our first bowl was not on the jack but close enough and then delivered by a style of bias retained bowl. (When a bowler throws a bowl off-bias and it does not catch or actions it bias until the last few feet) When I immediately asked for a catch bowl out at 1 o'clock jack position,  the opponent skip felt it was possible to arrive closer to the jack than our shot, and continue to have his players attempt to draw to the jack.  The mat had been moved forward and the jack placement by hand was such that the green's irregularities  prevented a clean draw line to the jack. 

With only one Bowls behind the jack, and only one bowl on the jack, we built our head with Bowls at 15 to 18 in. in front.  The opponent feeling they could easily draw around the front Bowls and pickup the shot; therefore continued to attempt such a easy draw. 

As I came to the mat with the other skip, all our Bowls were around the jack with the exception of the one back bowl at 1 o'clock.  However, the opponents Bowls all over at the 11 o'clock position counting third or fourth but at quite a distance.  My first bowl was directly onto the frontal guard, raising it and its neighbor  bowl into the count.  The Second bowl was correctly on the center line about 3 ft. in front.  Preventing a runner into the head. 

As we had last bowl, I first thought that I would have to remove the opponents  bowl from being in the count.  However, an opponent's bad delivery had missed his  collection of bowls at 11 o'clock and removed his only counting bowl. therefore, my last bowl raised the left-handed guard at 7 o'clock; giving us a total of seven points.

This interesting collection of points was possible because with only one back bowl the opponent was attempting to draw into a large head and simply cut down the total count. Of course, his mistake takeout of his own bowl did not require me to do the take out.  Remember, always two bowls in the head else a surprise when the bowl counting third is removed. 

Of course, a lack of communication is to partly blamed because the opponents would certainly have made a change in strategy had they known they were down five or six points before playing that bowl.  Sometime, we see this lack of communication and it is a strategy  as skip,  to say nothing except to indicate to players  that their bowls are 18 in. are 2 ft. in front.

Next Blog,  Lead as ChessMaster.