Rhodes bowled over

Mary Rhodes has become a bowls afficionado

Mary Rhodes, the presenter of the BBC's world indoor bowls championship, tells BBC Sport Online about her new-found expertise in the world of bowls.

When they first asked me to present the bowls I must confess I wasn't entirely sure what I was letting myself in for.

But they have revamped the whole sport and wanted a new face to present it.

So not being a big bowler myself - tennis is my game - I went off and did quite a bit of homework.

But it is not until you meet the people involved in the sport that it becomes real and you can put it all into context.

Now I feel much more at home having got to know the people and the characters.

Admittedly, it is not the first sport you think of when you when it comes to characters.

But believe me, there are plenty.

Foster is a two-time world champion

Devon's Ian Bond, cleverly nicknamed Bondy, is a real firebrand.

He is not very animated when he is just walking around.

But when he's playing he leaps all over the place and gets very worked up.

And that always wakes the crowd up a bit.

Then there is Scotland's defending champion Paul Foster, a bit of an iceman.

He is very good at digging deep when the chips are down - the sign of a true champion in any sport.

Another character is bowls' very own rebel with a cause, the Bandana Man, Noel Kennedy.

The Welsh-born Hong Kong resident always sports an alluring bandana - said to protect his bald head from the sun outdoors but still worn for that 'pirate' effect inside.

And he sometimes adds a pair of racy sunglasses for good measure.

Bondy gets the crowd going

The sport has come a long way since the pipe-smoking days of David Bryant.

In fact that is one of the biggest misconceptions - that bowls is only played by the older generation.

Here, at this level the average age is about 30. That takes a lot of people by surprise.

And the new format makes matches last about 90 minutes so it's ideal for TV - the concept has really caught on.

It is not as easy as it looks. To deliver even a straightforward shot is quite difficult

Mary Rhodes

I had a go for the first time in Blackpool at the Bupa Care Homes Open in November.

And I can tell you, it is not as easy as it looks.

To deliver even a straightforward shot is quite difficult.

There's a lot of skill in it. And a lot of tactics.

It is not just a case of aiming all four bowls closest to the jack.

Positional play is very important. If your opponent goes for a drive you've got to pre-empt that and have a bowl lurking elsewhere.

You've got to have an idea of what your oppenent will do next. Consistency is very important

Friendly

Foster will be very difficult to beat. But world number one David Gourlay cannot be ruled out if he can get past Bond.

But I would like to see Foster against Bond - that would be a great final.

But as my first world championship gathers pace, the major thing I have learnt is that the bowls world is very friendly.

The organisers, the officials and the players are really nice and that is the great thing about a lower profile sport.

Whereas in, say, football it is very difficult to get near the players, here you just wander up and chat to them.