In lawn bowling, the most common strategy in singles play is to hang on to the mat and keep bowling the same winning length until your opponent recovers the mat.
The presumed basis for this strategy is that your most advantageous length is the one that won the previous end. However, this may not be true. Particularly, if your weight is controlled by your rhythm speed, your advantage may be maximized by changing the jack length continuously, from end to end, since only you have the opportunity to set your rhythm speed by using the same delivery as you have just used delivering the jack. Your opponent, in contrast, will need to first estimate your jack length and then base bowl velocity on that.
Remember: maintaining the same jack length when you win an end assumes that your advantage at that length will persist even after your opponent gets experience at that length. Your opponent may improve faster than you. If the length is always changing, you will have the advantage of delivering the jack to guide his weight.
That's a very useful thought. I've often changed length significantly in singles games with the thought that I could adapt quicker to the change.... but I think it's quite reasonable that that adaptation is assisted by casting the jack. It'd does make me think more about my jack casting mechanics vs. my bowl delivery. I have the sense that i use my wrist in varying jack length - while that doesn't really come into it on the bowl delivery. I should probably try to use the same mechanics in both.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely you should use the same mechanics for both the jack and bowl delivery. My coaches have advised and my experience confirms that delivering the jack and then the first bowl immediately afterwards copying the rhythm speed get that first bowl closer to the jack.
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