Been pondering the intricacies of setting the correct line. In particular, what happens when a short mat is played. For some time I've thought the line stays the same for a short mat, as explained in Finding the line. At the time I wrote the article, bowling correspondent Clarke from Canada questioned my logic. Now realise he was absolutely right.
Why do I think it's so important? The line remains constant for long and short jacks when the mat is at the 2 yard mark. With a short mat the line changes, and it's the only way to change the line.
Why might changing the line be important? It's really important if playing away. Your opponent has a head start on finding the line. Two of my three County first round singles competitions are away this year. The home player chooses the rink. So you can bet your home my two opponents will be selecting rinks where they already know the line and may have played very recently. I'll certainly be doing that for my home game. So when you roll the jack, moving the mat right up the green will mean you're both searching for the line.
Here's the analysis, and a head start in estimating where the aiming point is for a short mat. Click any of the images to enlarge.
Rink background
Here's the mat set in the standard position, the mat front two metres from the back ditch. The typical rink length is 40 metres. Two jacks are set, one the minimum length of 25 metres from the back ditch, the other the maximum length two metres in from the front ditch.
Primary aiming point
In this first example it's a maximum length jack. First task before delivery of the bowl is to fix the aiming point. Let's say I already know the perfect aiming point. It's at the end of rink marker on the ditch border. I call that the primary aiming point.
Fixing the line
Knowing the primary aiming point, I can now fix the line along which to aim my bowl.
Secondary aiming point
Since I use a static crouching style, it's uncomfortable to bend my head far enough back to fix on the primary aiming point. Accuracy also suffers, aiming for something almost 40 yards away. So I set a secondary aiming point a few yards up the green along the line. Ideally a light or dark patch on the green. Make sure it's not a moveable object. Feathers aren't much use, as I found out in Where's that feather gone?
Long jack delivery
Picked the perfect line and delivered the bowl bang on my secondary aiming point. Assuming I also use the correct weight, the bowl will land in a perfect position immediately behind the jack.
Short jack delivery
When playing a minimum length jack, the only thing that changes is the weight. The line and secondary aiming point remain constant.
Short mat line
So what happens when the mat is moved right up the green, in this instance to the 15 metre mark (also the 25 metre mark when playing the opposite direction)? Effectively you're playing the same shot as a short jack delivery, but all the measurements move up the green by 13 yards. Most importantly, your primary aiming point moves 13 yards beyond the end of the green. So where should the primary aiming point be reset against the ditch border? Since you've moved about one-third up the green, the primary aiming point is now roughly one third in from its original position towards the centre line. Having reset the line, a new secondary aiming point can be fixed.
Short mat delivery
The delivery of the bowl is an exact copy of that for a short jack. Hopefully you've upset your opponents rythm!
Rink background
Here's the mat set in the standard position, the mat front two metres from the back ditch. The typical rink length is 40 metres. Two jacks are set, one the minimum length of 25 metres from the back ditch, the other the maximum length two metres in from the front ditch.Primary aiming point
In this first example it's a maximum length jack. First task before delivery of the bowl is to fix the aiming point. Let's say I already know the perfect aiming point. It's at the end of rink marker on the ditch border. I call that the primary aiming point.Fixing the line
Knowing the primary aiming point, I can now fix the line along which to aim my bowl.Secondary aiming point
Since I use a static crouching style, it's uncomfortable to bend my head far enough back to fix on the primary aiming point. Accuracy also suffers, aiming for something almost 40 yards away. So I set a secondary aiming point a few yards up the green along the line. Ideally a light or dark patch on the green. Make sure it's not a moveable object. Feathers aren't much use, as I found out in Where's that feather gone?Long jack delivery
Picked the perfect line and delivered the bowl bang on my secondary aiming point. Assuming I also use the correct weight, the bowl will land in a perfect position immediately behind the jack.Short jack delivery
When playing a minimum length jack, the only thing that changes is the weight. The line and secondary aiming point remain constant.Short mat line
So what happens when the mat is moved right up the green, in this instance to the 15 metre mark (also the 25 metre mark when playing the opposite direction)? Effectively you're playing the same shot as a short jack delivery, but all the measurements move up the green by 13 yards. Most importantly, your primary aiming point moves 13 yards beyond the end of the green. So where should the primary aiming point be reset against the ditch border? Since you've moved about one-third up the green, the primary aiming point is now roughly one third in from its original position towards the centre line. Having reset the line, a new secondary aiming point can be fixed.Short mat delivery
The delivery of the bowl is an exact copy of that for a short jack. Hopefully you've upset your opponents rythm!
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Thanks... very clearly articulated. I'm still surprised at how many seasoned bowlers I meet don't grasp that the primary aiming point changes as the mat moves. On a related note - can you talk about lateral mat movement (ie. walking the mat) and its affect on line? Clearly if i shift laterally on the mat a foot and take the same angle... I'll run fairly parallel to the original line - ending up roughly 12 inches offset to the original target. But what if I want to hit the original target? Do i just aim at the original aiming point... that doesn't sound right to me.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill... Thanks for the positive feedback. It's a good point you raise about standing position on the mat. Last season I realised that most bowlers stand in the centre of the mat and take their aim down the centre of the rink. Correct so far. But then they launch their bowl while standing in the same position. So the launch point is actually from the edge of the mat and a foot or two off the centre line. So I changed my method to ensure my delivery was consistently from the centre of the mat, meaning I stood with just one foot on the corner. No doubt that was one change that made last year my most successful season.
DeleteThere are times when delivering from the edge is a valid thing to do, if you do want to run a foot or so parallel to your line to get round an obstruction, but only then. Hope this helps. Regards, John
John, yes I'm totally with you on having my default release centred on the mat. It's those occasional edge shots to get around an obstruction (or avoid a 'seam' in the grass) that have me perplexed as to line. As you say - if you want to run a foot parallel you just aim a foot offset from your normal aiming point. But what if you want to wind up on the same target? It's a little hard to describe without a diagram.
DeleteIt's just not possible to land on the same spot from a different launch point, Bill. If you launch a foot either side of the correct launch point, you'll end up a foot either side of the target. If you're in trouble, the jack being surrounded by opposition bowls, your only option is a drive or yard on. In that case you launch from the middle of the mat, but play with greater strength and a narrower line, aiming to carry the jack through beyond the head, or at least wreak havoc with the head. Or demoralise the opposition with a lucky end result! John
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