Murphy Shield 2018

The Murphy Shield is a GC club competition open to all CA member clubs and played as a knock-out. It is intended to provide competitive matches for players with mid-range handicaps. Matches are level play. Each team must have an aggregate handicap of at least 12. A team can include one player with a handicap of two; the others must have higher handicaps. Each team is listed as A B C D in handicap order.

Each match consists of two rounds. In the first round A and B in each team play doubles and C plays D in singles. In the second round all players play singles against their opposite number. Each game is best of three, 13 point. The Murphy Shield is essentially the GC equivalent of the Mary Rose competition in AC. This is the first year Wrest Park has taken part.

v Hunstanton (home)     20 April     lost 1-5

Richard Keighley (3) & Rob Chatwin (3) v David Thirtle-Watts (2) and Pauline Donner (3)  7-5  5-7 unfinished

Peter Aspinall (6) lost to David Boxell (6)  6-7  4-7

Roy Bradbury (6) lost to Noel Gill (6)  4-7  3-7

Richard Keighley lost to David Thirtle-Watts  7-6  6-7  2-7

Rob Chatwin beat Pauline Donner  7-6  7-1

Roy Bradbury lost to David Boxell  3-7  5-7

Peter Aspinall lost to Noel Gill  6-7  7-5  5-7

report by Richard Keighley

Conditions were perfect for croquet. Warm sunshine, a light breeze and freshly mown lawns kindly prepared by our dedicated groundsmen. The format was level play with each match comprising the best of three games.

In the morning session, Richard and Rob’s doubles was tied at one game each  after more than two hours play, and it was decided to adjourn this match unfinished pending the result of the four singles in the afternoon. In the meantime, both Roy and Peter had battled well but ultimately lost their opening singles by two straight games each.

In the afternoon, there were signs of a comeback as Richard and Rob  both won their opening games, and all was not lost when Rob clinched a first win for Wrest Park and Peter fought back to level the game score in his match. Richard’s match was also level at this stage. However, best efforts were insufficient to prevent Hunstanton going on to win the remaining three singles, giving a match score of five matches to one in their favour.

It was the first time Wrest Park had entered this sudden death competition, whereas Hunstanton have been involved since it began. Their greater experience of clinching drawn out games counted, plus the confidence gained by being the runners up in 2017.


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