BOWLS

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 57, 1 December 1926, Page 9

BOWLS

(By

No. 3.]

So far this season wo have had three Saturdays marked oft' tor inter-club pennant and shield matches. On the lirst of these three play, was' possible if not very pleasant; on the second lain fell cucertniuly, with the result that only half the games were played out; and the third—Saturday last was so uncompromisingly wet that play was altogether impossible. This is extremly unfortunate, as the centre has laid It down that all postponed games must w’ait until the end of the season; in other words, that the printed programme must bo rigidly adhered to. This arrangement will carry pennant play well to the normal end of the season, even if the weather, which has been execrable during the past month, should behave itself for the rest of the season, of which we have no guarantee. In my notes last week 1 happened to mention in connection with the method of scoring adopted in the inter-club matches that a suggestion was made by a delegate from the Centiftl iPetone) Club that results should be recorded on the individual performance of each rink rather than by each team of rinks from a club. That, I find, was scarcely the .correct interpretation of the Central Club’s idea. What was suggested was that instead of counting group wins on games first, and if games were .® v e®> on points, it might be more equitable to take the games individually (and not collectively as at present), and award one point to each rink scoring a point, which would make the >' e ®“ n decisive in each game played. 1 be idea strikes me as far more equitable that the present system, and one that would make for tremendous keenness in play. As it is two rinks on a green belonging to one club might go down, but the club, might register a win through the other two rinks playing on the opponents’ green winning their games, perhaps bv the narrowest margin of points. As there is no sued thing as a drawn game in bowls (an fcxt ra head settles the result), there would be a definite win or lose in every game played, and clubs would count points in their favour only by actual wins of individual rinks. The idea is one that deserves every consideration at hands of the centre when the subject crops up again. , Camaraderie among bowlers is not bunkum. It often reveals itself in acts that are not blazoned forth to the world, but show just as clearly as a coloured poster the kindly feell “K ““g generosity that exists among devotees of the game. On a recent occasion the death of a bowler belonging to a city club caused general regret. i.t ,vas .? 1 ' covered a little later than the widow had not been left in the happiest circumstances from a monetary point Ct view. How to help, without giving offence' was the question. It was solved bv one bowler who proposed to rattle the bowls of the deceased player, with the result that entries for the raffle totted up to JMO-a very welcome realisation of a forgotten asset, the success of the rafi'le was due for the most part to the enterprise and hue thought of a fellow-bowler, who shall bei nameless? but is none the less highly thought of on that account. n f To get the best out of a game of bowls and todo himself full justice the player should be a little b’t particu ai in his attire. .One p ayer will come on to the green with nothing to fit him for the game but a blazer and a pair of thin yachting or beach shoes. inat player is at once at a disadvantage. In his dark trousers, stiff collar, braces and deficient footwear ho is psychologically “not in tile spirit of the game ; invariably such men do not play up to their beet form. See the same player in loose flannels, a ealf-collared shirt,

a belt iu lieu of braces, and. a pair of broad-fitting shoes with half an inch of rubber on the soles and he is a different man —and, usually, a different bowler. Apart from appearances, which always count, there is the game to bo considered, and if a bowler is worth his salt, he will want to feel at his very best when the ■ selectors have been gracious enough to select him to play for his club in pennant and shield games. The correct costume often helps a man to play the correct game. A man who wears braces when at play has not the arm freedom that one has wearing a comfortable belt, for there is always, consciously or otherwise, a girt feeling with braces on the shoulders as the bowler leans this way or that er stoops with a forward lunge—the favoured form of delivery in this country. I mention that for the New Zealand delivery is not the only one. In Victoria, and largely in New South Wales the method of delivery favoured is the crouch, with the weight of the body poised on the left leg bent forward and the toe of the right foot extended backward; but whichever way of delivery is practised the belt makes for the greater arm freedom, and serious bowlers should remember the advantage it possesses. Boot firmness is a necessity in delivery, and 1 maintain that the player with the good broad thick-soled shoe has an advantage on the mat over the wearer of the lighter footwear. With n whirl of tournaments in view these little points in a bowler’s sartorial equipment should be borne in mind. They all count in a full day’s play. The new green at Plimmerton .is looking very well indeed and if nothing goes amiss it should, with proper treatment be fit for play round about Christmas time. The provision of a well managed bowling and tennis club is going to add considerably to the popularity of this charming seaside resort.