Lawn Bowling Triples: Maximizing Individual Skills by Having your 2nd Best Player Lead!

 

According to Law 40.1.10 of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls Fourth Edition, Skips can, at any time, delegate their own powers and any of their own duties (except those described in law 40.1.7 which all pertain to the scorecard) to any other members of the team as long as they tell the opposing skip immediately. 

In spite of this, I have seen without exception that skips place their least skilled bowler as the one who delivers the jack and the first bowls for their side. 

Why do they do this? The answer: because they believe, incorrectly, that if they put this less skilled bowler to deliver bowls in the second position, that person will be required to measure, count shots, and direct the head when the skip goes to the mat. 

But as Rule 40.1.10 paraphrased above acknowledges a skip is completely entitled to have his/her best teammate center the mat, deliver the jack, bowl first for the team, supervise the head when the skip goes to the mat, do the measuring, and report the score to the skip. The skip can then have his/her weakest bowler, bowl in the second position, and do the raking! All the normal lead and vice duties can be switched! All that is mandated is that such a skip must inform the opposing skip immediately.

There is an efficiency in doing this. Usually, as the two most experienced players on the team, they can communicate more deftly with signals to move the mat forward and backward and then get the mat aligned on the center line more quickly.

Then come the strategic benefits. The skip’s best teammate now gets the opportunity to deliver the jack to the length the skip indicates. Not only does this make more precise jack lengths more likely, but it also reduces the times the jack is too short, out of bounds, or in the forward ditch.

Advantages arise in the play as well. Because your best teammate is leading the way against what is usually the other side’s weakest bowler, your team is more often holding shot after the first six bowls have been delivered. Your best teammate has had unobstructed or minimally obstructed draw shots toward the jack. Your side has a reduced risk of playing those too-short-blocking bowls.

But now your weakest player must deliver alternating bowls with the other side’s vice. Well, if short bowls come now they may be blocking a head where your side is already more likely shot. Or maybe all your side needs is protection behind the jack. These are lower-skill assignments. Get the weight right and don’t be narrow.

This strategy has worked very well for me in inter-club competitions and above. Your teammates need to understand the reasons for the change.  It needs to be clear to your number two that the change augments both his/her responsibility and authority. The person who now delivers the 4-6th bowls for your side normally will immediately feel greater responsibility has been assigned to him/her even though the nonplaying duty is still raking.

I do not recommend this change for social games or other club roll-ups. The newer players who so often play lead need some opportunities to learn mat placement and jack delivery. Besides in open draws the person playing skip does not know the other team members so well.