BOWLING.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXX, Issue 11126, 8 February 1930, Page 10

BOWLING.

holding the bowl,

WHAT IS CORRECT WAY?

DIVERGENT VIJiWS

In what way should a- bowl he held in order to ensure correct delivery? This is a question which has produced mubh controversy, and, presumably. the'end of the argument is not yet in sight. Recently, Air. Fiem. Laurenson, the former Wellington player, but now of Christchurch, wrote an article, with illustrations, to show what he considered was the proper- style to adopt. Air Laurenson lias now been taken to task.by “Boomerang” in the Sydney ';‘Referee.” “Boomerang” says : “Mr Flem. Laurenson produces two illustrations, one with- the thumb pressing’ against the big disc, and the little linger against the small disc, on the opposite side of the bowl. He says that this forms ;i ‘cradle' for the howl to sit in, and that if is the correct grip or hold. In the. second illustration, he shows the thumb as 1 have always advocated. on the miuiing edge of the-bowl, and of this he.says: ‘Thumb on the crown : .this style jis roundly condemned as inaccurate; and qcmlueive to wobbling.’ “Aly good old friend has stamped himself indelibly for what he is, a ■palmer,’ pure and simple, In his illustration of the ‘correct- style' as he terms it, the points of the lingers show out from the bowl, and the body sits into the palm. In this way, what Dr. Williams, of Mackay (Lhieensla ud) pointed out in a letter to the ‘Referee.’ is lost. completely, viz.: the ‘nerve sense' at the tips of the lingers, from whence ‘tom IF comes.

‘lt is indisputable that the thumb is tlie most powerful member of the human hand, for not only does it control many of its actions, hut is the great steadying factor. By placing the tlmnihi on the running edge you get power, direction and touch. By simply placing the thumb at the side you have no controlling factor, simply something to roil the bowl off. One is stiff arm power, the other is wrist power.. All the very accurate drivers that I have seen (accurate. f say) hold their howl with the thumb on the running edge, and I have not- met a single accurate hitter who was a palmer. Tie lacks tlie direction by virtue of bis thumb deviating from the straight line from the shoulder through, his work, for it goes ‘round a corner' when it- is placed on the big disc. I have great respect for my old friend, both as a player and an authority, but lie is preaching tho most dangerous doctrine.

“It is the doctrine of the palmer. Air Laurenson says: ‘’‘The thumb and fourth fingers are steadying factors only.' -and in another part: ‘The thumb grip on the centre of the bowl is roundly condemned as most inaccurate, being inducivc to wobbling the bowl, and considered not advantageous to correct bowling.’ Condemned by whom f “In :iII this he is wrong. The thumb on the running edge enables the player to get spin, anti-bias, and speed, to say nothing of direction. Tt is a preventive of wobbling, and only those who cannot grip the bowl with the thumb on the crown condemn it as inacuratc. Tt is also advantageous in getting the best poss ible resutls. In short, the palmer and the thumb gripper are absolutely opposed in all points.

“I have cured many a ‘wobbler' by persuading him to bring his thumb round from the disc to the top. It does not follow that the thumb must he directly in the een-

tic. but it u-ust be inside the hig rings, at least. All the men who are weak in the- firm to fast drive play are palmers. The hand, which includes fingers and thumb, should not be a chute, but a, manipulator controlled by the nerve sense through the brain.” RUGBY SHOULD HERO GET HANDSHAKE Should players in a match shake hands with one who has just scored? The practice is a li.it theatrical and has been dropped to a large extent in New Zealand, where it- was once common. An English writer says: “There was one incident in the varsity Rugby match at Twickenham that came as a surprise—almost a shock—to most of the spectators. After Robson -had dropped the goal that made Oxford's victory a certainty, several members of the side rushed up to him and shook him by the hand warmly like professional footballers do in League matches when a player scores a. goal. “Sueh a method of congratulation, however ,is rarely, if ever, adopted in Rugby Union circles and prnbmhly lias never been seen before in. a university match. It may lie explained by tin 1 fact that most of the Oxford team are South, Africans, who are not given to suppressing their real feelings as English amateur sportsmen do.” L. M. Robson, the player under notice, was the hero of the match, for lie did all the scoring—a clever try and a potted goal. Hie js slightly built for a- centre threo-quarter, but he has pace, sure hands and a sound defence. He is a- Freshman and is said to be up at Oxford on a. short forestry course. He is, moreover, a Done of contention, for he has football qualifications for both England and Scotland.