A Proposed Improvement in the Rules for Bowls Sets Play

Contested to the End

Increasingly, lawn bowls at the professional indoor and even club levels has moved to sets play. Two sets of anywhere between 9 and 11 ends are played. If one team wins both or wins one and ties the other, that team wins the match. If each team wins one of the two sets, there is a 3 end tie-breaker. This is scored as best bowl wins the end. The side that wins two of these extra ends wins the match.

What seems to me to be unfair is that the choice of which side either has possession of the mat or the last bowl in the first and third ends is determined by a coin toss. I feel it would be an improvement if this advantage went to the side that had the best overall score when the two sets are considered together. For example, if side A wins the first set 11-2 and losses the second set to side B 10-11. The overall score is 21-13 in A’s favor and it should receive the choice in ends 1 and 3. If the overall score is also tied then a coin toss would be appropriate.

This modification of the rules would have another advantage. A team that is seriously behind in the first set would need to continue to play hard to narrow the gap they lose by to try to preserve an increased chance if the match ended up in a tie-break. As the rules now stand, a team losing the first set badly can give up the first set before it is actually over and just start preparing for the second set.