Scottish Croquet Association

Aberdeen Tournament 2026

12-13 September 2026, Albury

With only five entries this year, John Owen (-½), Stefan Colling (0), Roger Binks (7), Bill Strachan (8) and Dave McLaughlin (12), an all-play-all format was used. Handicap rules, 18pt games, 2hr 45mins time limit. Overnight rain cleared on Saturday morning to leave a fine day for croquet. The bowling green was in superb condition, while the croquet lawn had benefited from late summer rain and the growth of some grass.

Bill Strachan won his game against John Owen quickly. On turn 4, John took black to 1-back but missed a 3-yard rush, handing a break to Bill, who took yellow to rover. John missed in turn 6 and Bill used his three remaining bisques to finish in turn 7, including a remarkable rover peel from around 12 yards. Meanwhile, Dave McLaughlin looked like beating Stefan Colling, but blobbed rover, allowing Stefan to win 18-16. However, those 16 points for Dave were to be crucial in the final reckoning.

In the second round of matches, Dave beat John 18-0, with John not even taking croquet at all (the nearest he came was a couple of 5 or 6-yard missed roquets). In the other game, Stefan had gone round and pegged out one of Roger’s balls, leaving Roger’s other ball on rover. After some considerable time, Roger finally hit in for an 18-12 win.

In the next round, Roger felt he had to take a bisque in turn 3, then blobbed hoop 1, but John did the same. Later, Roger ran 3-back from the south boundary with red, then took red all the way round and pegged it out, leaving yellow on peg. For the best part of an hour, John tried to catch up, leaving Roger only long shots at the peg, but eventually Roger hit the peg from around 15 yards and won 18-12. On the other lawn, Dave continued his winning ways with an 18-6 win over Bill.

Sunday dawned fine, and the first two matches were completed in quick time. Bill beat Stefan 18-10, partly aided by an incorrect ruling from a referee, while Dave beat Roger 18-3, to guarantee to win the tournament. Although Roger could equal Dave’s three wins if he won his last match, he wouldn’t be able to match Dave’s total of 70 gross hoops (which was the tie-breaker).

In the final matches, John set up a "dream leave" in turn 3 against Stefan, but blobbed hoop 1, handing a break to Stefan. Later, John was able to get a break going and, with nothing riding on the result, attempted to start a quadruple peel. He failed with the first peel and the break soon came to grief, allowing Stefan to win 18-12. Meanwhile, Roger secured second place in the tournament with a win over Bill 18-7.

It was refreshing to see all matches finished well within time.

Thanks to everyone who helped set up and dismantle the lawns, Albury for the use of the changing rooms and last but not least Agnes for the use of her bowling green. Everyone agreed that it was probably one of the best lawns they had played on this season.

John Owen

Results