Meadows West
I can't remember being at a more interesting weekend – at least not playing croquet: flamboyant things were happening all the time. And thanks in part to Tony Foster winning 5 out of 6 matches (and therefore the tournament), more games were won than lost by the player who was underdog in terms of handicap. Peels were frequent, and if only two triples were successful there were many noble failures.
The game of the weekend has to be that between Rod Williams and Jane Shorten. On
turn two Rod went to 3-back with a reasonably controlled break (he attempted
3-back but bounced off); Jane missed the shot but Rod hit and set about trying
for the fourth-turn quadruple peel. He got off to a good start by getting the
first peel in before hoop 2! Unfortunately he couldn't quite make the balls
behave properly after that and at 4-back he still had three peels to do. He
succeeded with the first two but the rover peel bounced to the side. Undeterred
(well, maybe slightly deterred) Rod ran the hoop, roqueted partner and peeled it
going to a deep ball. He rushed that to behind partner and tried to promote it
to near the peg while going to the remaining ball with the same intention. Sadly
for him he didn't quite make it. The game now moved Jane's way: on turn 5 she
hit and went to 4-back, Rod missed; turn 7 backward ball to peg, Rod missed;
turn 9 last three hoops, pegged out croqueted ball from a distance, turned
round to hit one of Rod's balls which was nearby, missed into baulk. Easy +1
for Rod.
Rod also got off to a good start against David Appleton, who came out of retirement
because he had rather liked the lawns (and the catering) when he attended the
inauguration. At the end of turn three Rod was on 4-back with a 'dream leave'
(i.e. a rush for the backward ball on the opponent ball from the east boundary
to the partner ball near hoop two). Sadly he couldn't get started on his attempt
at his first fifth-turn triple and indeed eventually went down to a very satisfying
straight triple from David, an ending which included two promotions on the peelee
from penult to rover as well as the half-jump at rover (this sort of fun might be
hard to stay away from).
In his following game against Charlotte Townsend, David should have completed another
triple but nudged the peelee after running rover and missed the long peg-out. Similarly,
against John Surgenor, Tony just failed to complete his first ever triple, when in
trying to avoid colliding with the peelee he neglected to run rover.
Rod eventually had a triple, in his final game against John – but it was
accidental! He
actually tried for a one-back leave but failed to wire the balls satisfactorily and had
to carry on with his break. After John missed he did the 4-back peel going to hoop 2,
he declined to attempt the penult peel going to 3 but did it going to 4, jawsed the
rover peel after 5 and completed it after 6. One felt he was trying to prove
something. He then tried to demolish his four-ball break but it held together
in spite of all he could do and he ended up as runner-up to Tony.
All this ambition must have been due to something. At the inauguration I put it
down to champagne, but it was probably a combination of the lovely lawns which
were conducive to good stroke play, single-banking, and the wonderfully receptive
new hoops which allowed controlled hoop-running. I look forward to hearing of (or
even seeing) Tony's continuing progress and everyone's raising and reaching their
targets on these fine lawns.
And to those who weren't there: hard luck, you certainly should have entered,
it was tremendous fun: croquet at its most enjoyable in spite of the odd shower. And
Jane proved on the Sunday that you could play croquet and read the new Harry Potter
at the same time, so you really had no excuse. Especial thanks from all the players
to manager, lawn superintendent and cake provider Brian Murdoch.
David Appleton
Results
| TF | RW | BM | DA | JSu | CT | JSh | Wins | |
| Tony Foster | -- | +3 | +26 | +8 | +17 | −17 | +17 | 5 |
| Rod Williams | −3 | -- | +17 | −7 | +22TP | +17 | +1 | 4 |
| Brian Murdoch | −26 | −17 | -- | −10 | +24 | +6 | +26 | 3 |
| David Appleton | −8 | +7STP | +10 | -- | −17 | +6 | −11 | 3 |
| John Surgenor | −17 | −22 | −24 | +17 | -- | +24 | −11 | 2 |
| Charlotte Townsend | +17 | −17 | −6 | −6 | −24 | -- | +23 | 2 |
| Jane Shorten | −17 | −1 | −26 | +11 | +11 | −23 | -- | 2 |
