Many of my readers will have watched the top lawn bowlers playing sets on Youtube. There, in a tie breaker without exception, players who win the toss give the mat away and choose to have the last bowl. At the highest level, this is the best strategy, because there is little skill variation at different jack lengths and with different mat positions on an indoor carpet.
This is not the case outdoors, at the club level, and particularly with teams. This was poignantly illustrated in an in-club drawn triples match yesterday as we opened the bowling season in Canada. I had squeaked out a tie at the end of the regular ends. For the extra end, we flipped a coin to decide who would have the choice and my opposing skip won.
His team comprised an excellent second-year bowler, a steady and competent 7th year bowler, and himself. My team comprised a first year lead playing in his first game, a 7th year bowler who was trying out new bowls for the first time, and myself. During the previous ends my tyro lead had bowled remarkably well and was most particularly noticeable on short jacks. On full-length jacks, he was either short or in the ditch. My second was all over the place with her new bowls and on long jacks, she was frequently out of bounds and without exception short.
My skip opposite’s lead was inconsistent, both short and long, while his vice was in the head and more often than not behind the jack, even on long ends. Yet, with his choice, he gave away the mat and retained the last bowl advantage. In a singles match against me this would have been a reasonable choice since he is one of the club’s top bowlers; but, we were playing triples!!
Choose based on Team Strengths
When I lost the toss I thought I was doomed. Surely he would take the mat, call for a full-length jack and watch my colleagues flounder. But, as an automatic reaction perhaps, thinking of his own strengths, he took the last bowl and gave away the mat.
Overwhelmed, I called for a jack just a few meters past the hog line (to avoid my beginner lead delivering it too short); got it, and was rewarded with lead bowls close and behind the jack. Then my vice, because the length was less challenging, managed reasonably with her new bowls. Now my opposition skip faced a challenging head when he came to the mat. When the dust settled, my team had the three closest bowls in a situation where we only needed to get the one shot to break the tie.
My opposing skip is no dummy. He had won the club mens’ singles championship two years before; but, he made a quick and instinctive decision that would have been right for him at singles but was blatantly wrong for his team.
It’s more fun to learn from others’ mistakes than from your own! Take heed. Always consider the competencies of your team.
