Bowls Tactics: When you are Ahead in the Last End but Have the Mat

Fall 2020 Willowdale LBC

 

Introduction

Lawn bowls is a game where consistency is rewarded. It is not how close a particular single delivery is to the jack; it is how often your bowls finish close to the jack. Throughout most of a match, no-one should fret if an opponent builds up a big lead beating your own close deliveries. So long as your side consistently bowls well, the law of averages should be trusted to even out the difference.

When the final ends come around, however, such faith is no longer warranted. To win the match the team that is behind must act in ways that might be imprudent any other time and the team that is leading must be aware of this and take appropriate counter-measures.

The more shots a side is behind, the sooner these more daring tactics need to be invoked. As the side in the lead, remember that in this situation it is the opponents that must take lower-percentage riskier shots to catch up. 

The Specific Tactical Problem

The specific tactical problem for the side still ahead but with the mat is that your opponent(s) will have the final bowl of this last end. To be secure your side will need to have in the head at least two bowls that will reduce the other side's potential count to less than is necessary to win the match. If you do not have these two bowls, the opposing skip can potentially knock your single protector out of the head and may score enough to gain a multiple and perhaps sufficient to win the match. Furthermore, these two bowls must be disposed far enough apart that they cannot be removed together by this last shot. Moreover, though less dangerous, all your bowls should not be disposed such that this last opposition bowl can trail the jack to a position where your opponent would score sufficient shots to win. In particular, your opponent should be prevented from ditching the jack with that last bowl and scoring sufficient points to win.

Now, trailing the jack is much harder than knocking out a single bowl so getting two bowls into the head is much more important than protecting against a trail. So, when both dangers threaten, protect by placing the two bowls in the head! 

The Psychological Problem

Since your side won the last end (that is why you have the mat) in one way the psychological pressure will not be as severe as in the end just finished. Your side is at least one point further ahead and the opposition has one-half as many ends to catch up. Nevertheless, your advantage may be as narrow as a single point. If you are not playing singles but are the skip of a team, you should meet with your team before the end begins. This is your right— you have possession of the mat—don’t let your opponents rush you.

 

Nervous Inexperienced Lead

If your lead is nervous, inexperienced, or both, encourage him/her to try to deliver a jack of a length that feels most comfortable. This is usually the lead’s natural length. Then, explain that you will help in setting the mat so that when the jack gets delivered about that length it will end up about 1 meter short of the forward T. Then explain that for that first bowl, you will indicate with your shoe a point about 1 meter behind the jack and your lead should visualize getting the bowl as close as possible to your shoe. Without actually warning your lead not to be short you are asking him/her to aim for this shoe target behind the jack.

If you are playing in an intra-club tournament and your lead has hardly ever competed, do none of these things. Rather, with the mat where it is most commonly placed, call for a jack at exactly the same length as in the last end. Be as relaxed and casual as possible.

 

Under all circumstances, no matter how that first delivery goes, you, as skip, should call for the next delivery on the same hand just adjusting weight as necessary and continuing to reach to your shoe. Do not, except for the most extraordinary circumstances, ask your lead to change hands for the second bowl. Also, if your lead delivers a short first bowl do not show any irritation or frustration, just encourage an appropriate adjustment. At this point, your outward demeanor is as important as your lead’s skill.

Influence of the Rules of Play

What to do with mat and jack, when you are ahead in the last end and have the mat, can depend upon the rules in play.

Closed End 

According to the rules that formerly were in force in Ontario Canada, for example, all ends were closed with an allowance that each team could kill one end in the match after which the next dead end caused by that team counted as an end played with one point awarded to the non-offending side. In this situation, it matters strategically whether your opponent(s) have already killed an end before this final end. If they have, you do not need to worry about a kill since it would only increase your lead. On the other hand, if they still retain the right to kill an end, you need to preferably place the jack close to the front ditch making it more difficult for the jack to be driven out of bounds. If your preference is a short or medium jack, this can still be achieved by moving the mat up the rink so that the jack can still be kept near the forward ditch while the jack length is as you prefer.

 
Last End Open

When the last end is open, an opponent can burn ends that are not favorable without limit. Because of this, your side should prefer a long jack in most circumstances.

 The mat should be at the T line and the jack should be rolled full length. This maximizes the difficulty of burning the end. It is harder to strike the jack the further it is along the rink. At the same time, the closer it is to the front ditch the more likely it is to enter the ditch and be still in play rather than to shoot off at an oblique angle and exit the side boundaries.  Since you are defending a lead, keep count of how many points the other side would rack up if they trailed the jack into the ditch. Matching bowls is a good strategy  in this tactical position.

Re-Spotting (No burnt ends)

With re-spotting in effect, it is important to deliver the jack as close as possible to the re-spot location. The more possibilities there are to score, the harder it is to defend. The most common re-spot position is two meters from the ditch on the centerline. The best position for defense is to have the jack centered three meters from the ditch. So that if you can place your first bowl 1 meter behind the jack it will be sitting on the respotting position. This way you combine the merits of finishing behind the jack and covering the respotting position. You arrange for your preferred length by moving the mat up the rink. It should be set to the lead’s natural distance. The lead should try to place his first bowl one meter behind the jack on the re-spot position. It is particularly important not to be short. The more bowls behind the jack, the better the defense prospects. The first person to get a bowl close to the jack will have tremendously improved prospects. 

Bowls Tactics: When you are Behind in the Last End but Have the Mat

 

Introduction

Lawn bowls is a game where consistency is rewarded. It is not how close a particular bowl is to the jack; it is how often your bowls are close to the jack. Throughout most of a match no-one should fret if an opponent builds up a big lead beating your own close deliveries. As long as your side maintains a consistency of excellent bowling, the law of averages can be counted on to even out the difference.

When the final ends come around, however, such complacency is no longer warranted. To win the match the team that is behind must act in ways that would be inadvisable tactics any other time in the match and the team that is leading must be aware of this and take appropriate counter-measures.

The further a side is behind, the sooner these strategies need to be invoked. In a group of blog articles I am considering these last-end situations.

 

You are Behind in the Last End but Have the Mat

You have just won the penultimate end of your match; but, you are still behind. They have the last bowl. Your side gets to place the mat and roll the jack. Very few skips make good use of these choices. It is all you have to work with. You want to choose the conditions that make their side as uncomfortable as possible relative to your side. You need to squeeze out every particle of advantage from the situation.

You have won the end just finished. If it is obvious from the previous ends what to do now, just do it. If it is not obvious how to proceed, choose what is radically different. This may throw off your side even more than your opponents but remember: you want an end that scores a multiple and a mat position and length that makes both sides uncomfortable is most likely to do that. You must just hope that your side is the side least upset!

A theoretically good choice, if you have nothing else to go on is to deliver a medium jack from partway up the green. The logic is this. It will be harder for the other side to properly estimate the jack length but because your side has delivered the jack your lead bowler will have a better initial  ’feel’ for the correct length. You do not want a long jack because you might need to try to ‘kill’ the end (if the rules allow) and the closer the jack is to the front ditch the less likely you can drive it out of bounds rather than just putting it in the ditch. Alternately (If you are playing with re-spotting) you do not want the jack to be on the forward T because you might need the extra choices arising from re-spotting to a distinctly different position that would provide increased possibilities for the multiple you seek.  

As you can see, strategically, it is significant whether the last end is open or closed. That is— whether the end can be killed and replayed, or the jack must instead be re-spotted if it is driven out of bounds. It is advantageous to the trailing team if killing the end is allowed. If your side has delivered a very close bowl that also widens the head, your opponents will be assessing the possible benefit from attempting a ‘kill’. This is what you want them to be forced to attempt because if they miss, that bowl of theirs cannot score. 

Finally, of course, it is important by how many shots are you trailing? To be trailing by even a single shot when the opponents also have last bowl is a considerable disadvantage. No matter how badly the end develops for them, they will have that final chance to turn it around. You can do nothing about their last bowl. There is no rejoinder.

Since they do have last bowl, the best situation you can aim for is to be sitting match in hand when the opposing skip comes to make that final delivery.  This will apply psychological pressure. You need to make him/her choke!  You want to make that shot as difficult as possible.

Bowls Tactics: When You are Behind in the Last End and Don't have the Mat

Fall 2020 Willowdale LBC

 

Introduction

Lawn bowls is a game where consistency is rewarded. It is not like the high jump in track and field where setting records is important. It is not how close one particular bowl is to the jack; it is how often your bowls end up close to the jack. Throughout most of a match, no-one should fret if an opponent builds up a big lead so long as they are beating your own close deliveries. As long as your side maintains a consistency of excellent bowling, the law of averages can be counted on to even out the difference.

When the final ends come around, however, such peace of mind is no longer warranted. To win the match the team that is behind may need to act in a way that would be inadvisable tactics any other time in the match and the team that is leading must be aware of this and take appropriate counter-measures.

The further a side is behind, the sooner these strategies need to be invoked. In a group of blog articles, I will consider these last-end situations. 

You are Behind in the Last End and Don’t Have the Mat

The situation is that you have just lost the penultimate end of your match, and you are behind. There is a bright side- you will have the last bowl in this the last end! This is a very palpable advantage. So much so that you might have considered accepting down 1 in the previous end just to get it! In fact, the team with the last bowl under nearly all circumstances has a significantly better likelihood of scoring at least +1 on the end. 

The opposition has the mat and has the privilege of determining both the mat location and jack length; however, very few skips make good use of these choices. Most likely they will go with whatever length they had when they just scored or the longest jack possible. These are the commonest choices although not necessarily the smartest.

Strategically, whether the last end is open or closed has some importance. That is, whether the end can be killed and replayed, or whether the jack is instead re-spotted if it is driven out of bounds. It is advantageous to you, the trailing team, if killing the end is allowed. If at any point in the end, the opponents deliver a very close bowl that also widens the head, your side should assess its potential usefulness for attempting a ‘kill’.

In the final end, it becomes increasingly important to consider the situation from the perspective of the opposing side. Have they already won the previous round in the tournament? Are their points-for sufficient to keep them in contention to win the tournament? …or to be in-the-money? 

If it is a tournament you may have a better chance to overcome a lead if your opposition has not lost any preceding match. This may be contra-intuitive but when your opponents have a chance to win the entire tournament if they both win all their games and have a large shots-for total they may be even more interested in trying for a big final end themselves than defending against your bowls. You could even comment to their side, in a friendly way, “Yu-know, if you get a multiple in this end you will have a stab at winning the entire tournament.” This gives you in turn a greater chance to score a multiple. Your best chance to score big occurs when they try for a big end! On the other hand, a team that has already lost once in a tournament will be more interested in just defeating you, even if only narrowly. Such a team is more likely to try to match bowls with your side in a last end, blocking a big end for anyone. 

Your opponent(s) must deliver the first bowl of the end and you will get to see that result before you deliver your first bowl. You are unlikely to score more than a single unless your opponents at some point make some sort of mistake. It is your job to apply enough pressure to increase that likelihood. Fortunately, It is much easier to apply pressure in the last end, even while trailing, than at any other time in the match! To illustrate with an example, during most of a match having two of your bowls in the same catching position a meter behind the jack would not much worry an opponent (trailing the jack is a low probability event), but in the last end, the possibility of such a successful low-percentage shot will oppress opponents’ minds. It is not the unlikeliness of your success that dominates their thinking but the clear visualization of its possibility! When an opponent can visualize his own dramatic loss, that opponent will feel pressure.

 

If the opposing side’s first bowl finishes short of the jack, they increase the pressure on themselves. This is a very encouraging outcome for your side. It is even more encouraging if that bowl also finishes blocking their line on that side of the rink. Your opponent can now easily visualize a second bowl of theirs hitting that first one so that both end up short. Thus do such short bowls increase the pressure for that next delivery. “Should I change hands?” is the thought bedeviling their minds. 

When your opponent’s first bowl is short, your side’s first bowl must be behind the jack, even if that means it finishes between 1 and 2 meters behind. Any bowl behind the jack will increase the pressure. Responding with a short bowl will relieve it. When down, all of your bowls need to be up! None of your bowls should be short! Your best chance for a big, winning end occurs when your side’s bowls are all behind the jack and some of the opposition bowls fall short.

No matter where the opponent’s opening bowl finishes you must anticipate that your bowls will need to be grouped together somewhere behind the jack if you are to score a multiple. 

You do not need to protect against the opposition scoring a big end; if they score at all you lose the match. An advantageous head development is one where they group their bowls to one side of the jack and yours are on the other. Then, towards whichever side the jack gets diverted, that side benefits.  If luck favors your side, you could easily score enough to win the match. If not— well, you were heading towards a loss anyway!

The situation you trying to realize is for the other side to have no more than one bowl close in the head when you go to the mat for your last bowl. Then you will at least have the opportunity to remove that single bowl and stay for your multiple.