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Time taken to master all-round game pays off as Martin continues to excel on indoor stage |
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Making the long trip alongside wife Katherine and
eight-month-old son William was well worth it for the 30-year-old,
who returned with bronze medals in the singles and the mixed pairs
in which he teamed up with England's
female representative Kirsty Hembrow. "We had an absolute blast in Australia," he said, "If you can handle 23 hours on a plane then it is absolutely worth it. "Katherine has been incredibly supportive for me and the hours I've put into bowls and it was great to have them at Warilla with me as it was a massive help to take my mind off bowls and take a walk to the beach or just chill out at our chalet. Being a Dad has been a big change but it's an incredible feeling! "Katherine's parents and my parents also joined us at Warilla so I always had some support for every game. "Warilla was superb and pretty much the opposite of most clubs in the UK, with multiple restaurants, three outdoor greens, big slot machine area and betting rooms. The club was clearly focused on what it could offer its members and well setup to manage big events." Martin had one focus ahead of the championship. "I was definitely going out there to win and felt I had a good chance in both the singles and mixed pairs with Kirsty. I wasn't ever really thinking hopefully we can make it out the group or just get a medal, it's a long way to go if you're not thinking of winning it! "I've known Kirsty for some time which helped us to gel quickly as a pair in our group games and we adapted to the rinks well."  The England duo came through a tight quarter-final against Malta before meeting home favourites Kelsey Cottrell and Aron Sheriff. Martin said: "Aron had looked the best player for most of the week and it was a tough one for us where nothing really went our way and their tighter bowls suited the rink we played on. But picking up a bronze medal was good and I think we could still be pleased with how we performed." The singles, in which players had to endure one-end tie-breaks, saw Martin win six out of eight sets in his first four group games but with two losses, he had to win his last game against Hungary to guarantee getting through. He said: "I felt I improved with every game in the singles and put in good performances in the last 16 versus Ireland and in the quarter-final versus Scotland but the big test was against Aron in the semis. "It was definitely one of the best games I've ever been involved in and one of my best performances ever personally. I let him get away a little in the first set but I fought back well in both and it took a great bowl from him to win it on the tiebreak end. Aron was truly world class on the green and a top guy off it. "I've got mixed feelings to come away with a bronze medal in all honesty. To get so close and play at such a high level to just miss out is hard to take. But I was proud of how I played and will look back on the championships as an achievement as well as the whole trip being very special." Martin was eligible for the tournament as a result of winning the EIBA National Singles at the end of the 2021/22 season. This year he won the British Isles Singles, reached the final of the National Fours, the semi of the National Singles and was crowned champion at three Open Singles Circuit events. "I often go through good and bad periods of form in a season but feel like the dips are becoming shorter and I have started to raise my game for the right points of the season," Martin said. "I've put some practice time into improving my all-round game because I was too reliant on my draw and feel that helped a lot this season. Also I've tried to be a bit braver, go for my shots more and back myself to deliver under pressure." Martin was introduced to bowls in 2000 by his grandparents and he settled into the junior section at Weymouth. "I was hooked on bowls very quickly," he recalled. "My Grandad, by his own admission, was just a decent club league bowler and didn't enter a lot of competitions. We won a few club competitions together which was great and then without doubt one of my proudest moments was qualifying for the National Family Pairs finals with Grandad in 2014. To share some of the highlights of his bowls career were very special times. "We had a good competitive group at Moonfleet as youngsters and there was a strong rivalry with Dorchester in both the youth and senior teams which was a quick learning curve in the competitive side of bowls. "I owe a lot of my bowls career to a number of people at Moonfleet. I actually ended up moving to play at Dorchester in 2018 which has helped my progress as a player and a person with a strong club side and being amongst a fantastic group of people on and off the green. "In 2014 I won my first national title but to my surprise it was actually the outdoor Under 25 Singles which has always been my weaker game. This really seemed to kick my indoor game up a few levels from then onwards." Martin said that his passion for bowls keeps him playing: "I enjoy the fact I can turn up one day and not play so well but the next day can turn in a great performance. I like to analyse what went wrong, why and solve it for the next time I play. "I'm quite self-critical of my game but that helps me identify where I can do better. There's always something to take away from a game win or lose. I've always liked the phrase 'marginal gains' which drives me to practice, improve and hit the next goal. "I also enjoy the mental side of the game, which is increasingly important as you rise through the game. There's a lot of factors to consider such as the right bowls for a certain green or playing to the conditions. Preparing and practicing well is important so that you feel confident and back yourself to pull off a tricky shot and handle pressure. "I love that bowls is a mixture of competitive and social. I love competition and I'm always thinking about the next challenge. Although I'm a quiet person in general, I've always had a fierce competitive edge that I think you need to succeed in bowls. "I used to get quite frustrated when I was younger if things weren't going well but I've learnt to control that which has helped my game. "The social side of bowls is fantastic, I met a lot of different people from different backgrounds in Australia which shows how bowls brings people together. There are very few sports where you can play against the best in the world regardless of ability but also share a drink and a laugh with them after the game."  Martin lists his ultimate highlight as pulling on the England shirt. He said: "Not many people actually get to represent their country in any sport so I always feel very lucky and an immense amount of pride to play for England. To win seven indoor British Isles series consecutively is something I and the rest of the team can be very proud of too. "On a personal level I'd like to go two better at a World Championships and win it! I feel like I didn't perform that well on the couple of occasions I've qualified for Potters. I've competed with and beaten plenty of the guys away from Potters, so it would be nice to get back there and perform to the standard I know I can reach. "I would also love to win a team or club national title as it's the one I'm missing. We got a lot closer in the fours this season but came up against an almost unstoppable side in Sam Tolchard's four in the final." What improvements would Martin make to the game? "There was a feature on Talksport recently about the Bowls England Big Weekend and the presenters for most of the show made a bit of fun of bowls and seemed to think it was only for older people. Shaking off the old man's game image is still a big issue. "Recreating the success of Australia's BPL and UBC in the UK would be ideal to reach a wider audience but also to get more people playing the game. I think we could learn a lot from the formats played in those tournaments and push these to be played at all levels. "Potters showcases the best talent and produces some great games that current bowlers enjoy but it could easily be converted to host a BPL style tournament with lots of music, noise and relaxed feel that would attract non-bowlers. The franchise and team aspect could be used to create some rivalries and interest and market the characters in the game. "Marketing new events to non-bowlers is also something that bowls could do better." Sian Honnor. Previous Article Mark Denslow Interview |
July 2023
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