In a narrow way, it applies to bowling (5)
I believe the answer is:
alley
'it applies to bowling' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'in a narrow way' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'narrow' becomes 'ley' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'way' becomes 'L' (abbreviation for left).
'a'+'ley'='aley'
'aley' going around 'l' is 'ALLEY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alley that I've seen before include "Walk" , "Back lane" , "Passage between houses, perhaps" , "Marble" , "Narrow back street" .)