By Sam Millne
March is here and on Merseyside spring has sprung as the sun beams down – for now at least.
And it marks a new season for Crown Green bowls as players are hoping to be back on their home turf.
In South Liverpool, Liverpool Cricket Club’s bowls section is preparing for what should be their first full season since before the coronavirus pandemic began.
Due to a more elderly age demographic of those who play, there were worries COVID-19 would put older players off a return to the game
However, LCC’s bowls chairman Rob Smith says their numbers reflect otherwise.
“There was a lot of nervous people because, by the nature of the game, a lot of bowlers are of the older generation and therefore more vulnerable (to COVID-19).
“So, it was trying to instil confidence in them that they could still come out and enjoy their sport.
“It’s been a real success because people have booked into it and subscribed to it, and we’ve had a massive boost of membership to the bowls section.
“We’re now the second largest in numbers, senior-wise, in the whole cricket club…
“We are at the moment really thriving.”
According to Statista, the number of people taking part in the sport declined by about 150,000 between 2006 and 2016, there are still bowls hotspots areas around the country.
South Liverpool is one of those.
Trying to explain the reason for its popularity, Mr Smith said: “We have a lot of social bowlers…
“We had a huge rush of people that wanted to get out there and socially interact, and one way of doing it, or certainly the avenue that I offered, or the club offered, was to play bowls socially and or team bowls.”
The bowls club at LCC use the Aigburth Road cricket club’s facilities and, though they are renowned for their provisions, Mr Smith spoke about the issues that can arise.
He said: “It’s a constant challenge at Liverpool Cricket Club because, by the nature of it being multi-sport, it’s the most expensive probably per annual membership, bowls-wise, in the whole of Liverpool.
“So, my selling point to people is that you’ve got the best facilities in Liverpool, club-wise and bowls-wise because we’ve got two fabulous greens that have had a lot of work done to them, to bring them up to county standard hopefully, in the last couple of years.”
Elsewhere, Aigburth Cricket Club’s bowls section in St Michaels is also gearing up for the season after fears that they would be evicted were allayed as a new five-year lease agreement was settled in December to ensure the continued use of the grounds.
(Featured photo courtesy of Dave Scanlon)
