Andrew Owens and a dog named Ellie, by David Rhys Jones

Meet Ellie – a lively yellow Labrador, who, whether she likes it or not, is going to have to learn a lot about bowls over the next few years.

Ellie is a hearing dog, who has just been adopted by Andrew Owens, the 30-year-old Somerset star who won the national men’s two-wood singles title at Royal Leamington Spa in August.

Although Andrew is profoundly deaf and lip-reads effectively, like many who are hard-of-hearing, he often feels he is not ‘part of the conversation’. He gets help and support from his wife Lisa, of course, but the arrival of Ellie in October has made a fantastic difference to his quality of life.

“She’s been trained to be my ears,” says Andrew. “For example, she’s learnt to alert me to various things, like a knock at the door, or the ringing of the doorbell, the telephone, or a timer – and she has a different way of letting me know when all those things occur.”

When I met Ellie, she and Andrew had been together for only seven days, but they had already bonded, and had developed a good understanding. Whenever Ellie draws Andrew’s attention to a knock at the door or the telephone ringing, she gets a treat.

“She’s just a normal playful dog, but when I put the harness on her she knows she’s ‘on duty’ and becomes totally switched on to looking after me,” Andrew explains. “She even wakes me up in the morning, and I take her for a walk for half-an-hour.

“I work as a teaching assistant at a school nearby, and Ellie comes to work with me,” Andrew adds. “She’s very popular with the kids at school, and, at home, she’s already part of the family.”

Some people believe that loss of hearing is actually more debilitating than loss of sight, but Andrew, as keen a bowler as you could imagine, contrives to accentuate the positive, and turns his handicap into an advantage!

An advantage? – Surely not! – Yes, astonishingly, Andrew, who was deaf from birth, tells me that not being able to hear the small-talk, coughing and bowls-clicking that he knows goes on when a bowler is on the mat, is actually an aid to concentration.

“On the downside, it means I pick up visual signals all the time, and am very aware of subtle movements at the other end of the rink,” he admits. “And, as a result, I’m easily put off by people who walk past on the bank when I am about to bowl.”

Another thing that sets Andrew apart from most bowlers is that he has a coach, upon whom he relies quite heavily.

“I am currently working as a teaching assistant at Mendip Green School in Worle, which is a suburb of Weston-super-Mare,” Andrew explains. “It’s the school that I attended, and it’s where my coach Ellis Davies was headmaster.”

Andrew took up bowls because his father Alan Owens played, but he was also encouraged by his headmaster, who has remained as Andrew’s coach to this day, and deserves at least part of the credit for Andrew’s success.

“After I won the national at Leamington, my form slumped badly,” admits Andrew. “I had aslo qualified in the four-wood singles, but I was all over the place, and was knocked out in the first round.

“Then, to top it all, when I got back to Weston, I lost to my friend and clubmate Andy McMillan in the final of the Weston St Andrew’s club four-wood singles championship.”

Finding his loss of form hard to take, Andrew admits he ‘lost his rag’, and behaved badly. “I was so frustrated with myself that, at the end of the club final, I threw my duster into the hedge, and that’s something you just should not do,” he told me, adding quickly, “I have since apologised to Andy, who is a good friend.”

Coach Ellis Davies gave him a good talking-to, using phrases like ‘form is temporary but class is permanent’, and convinced Andrew to be patient, and not too hard on himself when things don’t go his way.

“He also noticed that, probably through anxiety, I was flicking my finger as I bowled, and he has put that right,” says Andrew. “That’s where having a coach like Ellis comes in so very useful, because he can spot little faults that you don’t pick up yourself.”

When I spoke to Andrew at the Somerset county finals in September, he was upbeat, because, thanks to his coach’s words, he had recovered his form. “Last night, I won the club two-wood final, and today I played well to win the Somerset two-wood title – and I can’t thank Ellis enough.”

Ellis is quick to remind Andrew that bowls is a mind game, and that confidence plays a big part in success. “Sometimes there are technical things that can be put right, but most of the time it’s all about what’s happening between the ears,” Ellis says.

“Andrew is one of the most naturally gifted players I have coached,” he adds. “I have known him since he was four years old, but, when he started playing bowls when he was seven, I could see he had wonderful hand-and-eye co-ordination.

“He’s a natural, but he’s also willing to learn, and always keen to take on board things that are put to him, and I remember telling him that, if he put his mind to it, he could one day play for England.”

Bowls was not Andrew’s only love-he was a promising cricketer, a batsman who was also a bit of an all-rounder, and, at 19, he was on Somerset’s books, and lined up to make his debut for the county’s senior side 40/40 match against Yorkshire when disaster struck.

In a training session prior to that match, he fell awkwardly on his knee, and caused serious damage to the ligaments and cartilage – an injury that ended his cricket career, and even kept him out of bowls for 18 months.

“I always loved bowls, but that accident is what really made me concentrate on bowls rather than cricket – though it took some time to adjust, because I had problems with my stance – and, as usual, it was Ellis who helped me find a new and more appropriate way to deliver.”

Ellis had spent some time in Zimbabwe, and was conversant with the clinic-style delivery developed by the former South African pundit and coach Dr Jules Sergay. And it’s a variation of this delivery style that Andrew uses to this day.

It was not long before Andrew’s talent had been noticed by those who run the association for deaf bowlers in England, and, at the age of 23, he represented his country in the World Deaf Bowls Championships in Llandrindod Wells in 2007, winning a bronze medal in the pairs and fours.

He missed out on the 2011 World Deaf Championships in Australia, but he has his sights set on competing in the next World Bowls for the deaf in Belfast next year.

“I have been approached, and it looks as if I am in line to play in the singles and pairs,” Andrew told me. “I would love to do it, and, having already won two bronze medals, it would be great to go for gold if I can.”

Funding is a problem, however, and Andrew is looking for a sponsor to help him with the not inconsiderable expenses that would be incurred by the Belfast adventure.

Andrew enjoys his role as teaching assistant, but is hoping that his career path may take him into the realms of the probation service or police work – though he realises that, being deaf, he would not be able to operate as a fully-fledged, mainstream police officer.

On the bowling green, he had a full England trial at the end of September, and was complimented on his leading by no less than national selector John Ottaway, arguably England’s finest-ever lead.

This winter, he is entering all the national championships, and will be bidding for a place in Somerset’s Liberty Trophy side – and hopes to make himself available for the county’s Middleton Cup team next summer.

Last winter, he enjoyed playing lead for world number two Rob Paxton in the Liberty team, and he certainly impressed his skip, who lives in Taunton, and divides his time these days between Devon (outdoors) and Somerset (indoors).

“Andrew is a very good player, who could go places if he sticks to his preferred position at lead,” said Rob. “I was at Leamington, and watched him win the two-wood title. He had a tough draw, but he impressed me very much.”

Andrew confirms that he would very much like to become an England lead, and says he would like to model himself on John Ottaway. “He was just brilliant,” says Andrew.

“I owe a lot to Ellis my coach, and would like to thank him not only for his coaching, but most of all for understanding me,” Andrew adds. “But I have also been encouraged by people like Ken Uglow at the Weston St Andrew’s club, where everyone has been very supportive.”

Andrew’s success this year has led to offers from other clubs, and he has found their overtures flattering. “But there’s such a thing as loyalty, and I intend to remain a member at the club that has given me such good support, and where I am happy,” he says.