How well do you know the laws

Know the Rules - with EIBA umpire Mal Smith

During lockdown, Stamford IBC's qualified umpire Malcolm Smith has missed bowls as much as the rest of us but with a return to the game on the horizon, he has submitted some intriguing question on the Laws of the indoor Game which we hope fellow bowlers will find of interest. See how you get on.

Question 1. The Blue lead bowls the first bowl of the end to a full-length jack without disturbing the jack. Red lead takes his position on the mat and notices that the jack has inadvertently been placed on the re-spot mark instead of the centre mark. What decision must be made?

Question 2. Part way through an end, a bowl, without being struck by another bowl, splits into two pieces. What happens next?

Question 3. Red skip has the last bowl of the end; he is laying two down. The jack has been disturbed to a line jack with only one third of the jack on the inside of the string. Red skip bowls his bowl across the rink from a legal position on the mat to hit the very outside of the jack to chip it almost 90deg across the rink for a count of 3 up. Blue skip is not sure and asks for a ruling. What is the decision?

Question 4. A player plays his bowl that comes to rest without disturbing the head, it is then realised that he has played out of turn. What are the options?

Question 5. With the score at 10 to 8 in favour of Red in a singles match there is a power cut that puts the green in total darkness; it is late in the evening and the players agree to continue the game the following day. After the first end of the resumption of the game Red notices that Blue is using a different set of bowls and complains. How should the match proceed?

Question 6. A bowl is moved while being measured for shot by the No.3 in a rink of four. How should the match proceed?

Question 7. A bowl, which on its original path, would not bring it back to the rink in play, collides with a bowl in its original path from a neighbouring rink. Both players ask for their respective bowls to be returned and replayed. What is the decision?

Question 8. You are the Marker in a club singles match: A bowl delivered by a player from the neighbouring rink has the probability of hitting a bowl at rest on your rink before returning to its own rink. What action must be taken?

Question 9. Red skip bowls and on its original path, the bowl hits a stick of chalk that has been accidentally dropped by a member of the Red team; the bowl does not disturb the head but there are more bowls to be played. What is the decision?

Question 10. In a singles match, the score is tied at 20 all. Red scores a single and is declared the winner. However, upon checking the scorecard, Blue scored three shots on the 12th end but only two shots had been added to the total. What happens next?