Lawn bowls may not enjoy the same popularity in India as athletics, boxing or wrestling, but it has emerged as one of the country's most successful sports at the Commonwealth Games in recent years. India won a historic gold and silver medal in the discipline at the Birmingham 2022 Games, and the sport once again features in the country's campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2026.
Unlike many other sports, lawn bowls is built on precision, strategy and judgement rather than speed or strength. Here's everything you need to know about how the sport is played, its rules and its scoring system.
Also Read: Commonwealth Games 2026: India's full schedule today, medal hopes and key events to watch
How is Lawn Bowls played?
Lawn bowls is played on a rectangular stretch of closely mown grass known as a bowling green. The green is divided into several playing lanes called rinks, with each match taking place within a single rink.
Three pieces of equipment are used during a match:
Jack: A small solid ball, measuring between 63mm and 67mm in diameter, usually coloured white or yellow. It acts as the target.
Bowl: A larger ball made from wood, rubber or plastic resin, measuring between 112mm and 134mm in diameter. Unlike a regular ball, it is biased, meaning it naturally follows a curved path instead of travelling in a straight line.
Mat: A rectangular sheet measuring approximately 600mm x 360mm, from which players must deliver their bowls.
The objective is simple — players roll their bowls towards the jack and try to finish as close to it as possible. The sport is contested in singles, pairs, triples and fours formats. In team events, the player who bowls first is known as the lead, while the player who delivers last is called the skip.
Rules and scoring system explained
Points are awarded only after every player has delivered all of their bowls in an end (round). The aim is either to strike the jack or position the bowl closer to it than the opposition.
At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, players in singles rolled four bowls per end, while those competing in team events rolled two bowls each per end.
The scoring system is based on proximity to the jack. A player or team earns one point for every bowl that is closer to the jack than the opponent's nearest bowl. For example, if one team has two bowls closer to the jack than the opposition's best bowl, that team scores two points for that particular end.
The match format depends on the event. In the previous Commonwealth Games, singles contests were played until one player reached 21 points, while pairs and triples were decided over a predetermined number of ends. Fours matches were played across 15 ends, with the team scoring the most points at the end declared the winner.