FOR the second week in a row, New Earswick Indoor Bowls Club will have an army of armchair viewers.

Bowling is back on terrestrial television with England playing Scotland in a test match at the York venue.

It is three decades since the sport was last shown on the gogglebox by ITV.

Back in those halcyon days, David Bryant, puffing smoke from his pipe, and Tony Allcock, with his curly-hair and tight white flannels, were the kings of the rink.

Bowls has struggled for air-time in the subsequent years – apart, from BBC’s annual coverage of the World Championships and the occasional show of interest from satellite TV – but ITV4 will be broadcasting 15 solid hours of coverage live from York over the next two days.

All tickets for the 200-seater venue have been sold and maybe, just maybe, the sport is on the way back?

Other ‘indoor games’ such as darts and snooker have already shown what can be done with a little ‘re-invention’.

Darts attracts the biggest audience after football on Sky with all major tournaments played in the heat of a packed indoor arena.

Snooker worked on its image and players now enter the hall to loud music while ‘speed snooker’ has a growing audience. Cricket, meanwhile, is another sport to embrace radical change with the introduction of Twenty20.

Veteran bowls commentator David Rhys Jones, who is part of the ITV4 team in York, said: “Snooker, darts, and bowls were all comparable in their popularity in the 80s.

“Yet, one day, a TV executive proclaimed that watching bowls was ‘like watching the grass grow’ and it slowly disappeared off our screens. It was a real shame.

“I wouldn’t say it’s gone all ‘razzmatazz’ now – but there have been cosmetic changes such as coloured balls and coloured shirts, for example, and TV is looking at growing the sport again. Hopefully, this is the start of a revival.

“Personally, it horrifies me to watch darts – with all those fat guys being supported by loonies drinking pints,” he added. “But the audience figures they get are definitely something we should strive for!”

Being chosen to host the test matches is a feather in the cap for New Earswick. Opened in 1994, the eight rink venue was voted national ‘Sports Club of the Year’ five years ago and runs teams in the top two divisions of the Yorkshire Indoor Bowling League.

Simon Appleton, a former professional golfer, took over as the club’s manager only last month and hopes attention generated by the England-Scotland fixtures will raise New Earswick’s profile and increase membership numbers.

“We have not done anything like this before so it’s a nice bit of kudos for the club and we have had good feedback – including e-mails from former members abroad saying how great it is to see the club on TV!

“Our aim is to attract more younger members now,” he added. “We are looking at going into schools later this year and running courses to introduce young players to the game.”

England’s women beat Scotland last week. Now it is the turn of the men’s team. ITV4’s coverage, presented by Channel Four racing’s Rishi Persad, starts at 10am and finishes at 5.30pm.

Don’t laugh, by the way, but the tests are sponsored by Co-Op Funeralcare. Surely, bowls is alive and kicking?