The first of those this season will take place on Friday evening from 6.30pm when the club takes on Learmonth in a blockbuster division one encounter.

“If you are not doing anything different, it’s going to stay the same,” top Ballarat bowler Mark Fothergill said.

“You look at cricket with the Big Bash League and all that – it’s a fast game now. So we have got to try and introduce something else into bowls. Night games is something different.

“We did it last year and we want to try and lock in two or three games a season if we can.”

Fothergill said another benefit of playing the division one fixture on a Friday night was that it allowed the competing sides to watch the lower divisions in action on the Saturday.

Both teams are coming off the back of wins last weekend – Ballarat beat Smeaton and Learmonth got home over City Oval by a solitary shot.

Learmonth president David Kelly, who will be absent from this Friday’s clash, said his club was quick to jump at the opportunity to play under lights.

“Ballarat are top of the ladder, we are third on the ladder and we have got aspirations to go higher. So we need to win and we are coming here to win on Friday night. Hopefully that will happen,” Kelly said.

The two clubs are among the oldest in the Ballarat District Bowls Division. Ballarat was founded on December 13, 1864 and Learmonth in March of 1873.

While the clash between Ballarat and Learmonth highlights the round, there’s plenty of other big battles scheduled for Saturday.

The second-placed Creswick comes up against Central Wendouree, while the fourth-placed BMS has a showdown with Mt Xavier. Other matches will see Ballarat East and City Oval lock horns and Webbcona take on Smeaton.

A night game on Friday is also planned in the Geelong-Ballarat Premier Bowls competition.

Ocean Grove is set to host Buninyong from 5.30pm at the City of Geelong Bowls Club.

The Grovers are currently on top of the table, while Buninyong sits in seventh position.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Sebastopol will be hoping to consolidate its place inside the top four.

The Kookaburras, which lost by just one shot to Bareena last weekend, are back on home soil against Lara.

Lower down the table, Ballarat-based sides Victoria and Webbcona will look to start makinjg their way up the ladder.

Victoria, which is last, is up against Eastern Park, while Webbcona must take on Highton. Queenscliff and Bareena meet in the round’s other fixture.