All England Handicap (AC) 2023

George Collin and Bryan Harral are down to play each other in both semi-finals of the Ashwell Cup, the club’s All England qualifying heat, so they were our representatives at the regional final at Surbiton on 19/20 August. George’s report follows:

With sixteen players and good weather, one was reminded how pleasant a fully subscribed weekend tournament can be – plenty to watch and no shortage of interesting chat (did you know that a suitable electric mower can be had for £12,000?). However, there was sometimes a shortage of bisques – handicaps ranging from 20 to -½. Five would qualify for the national final at Chester in September.

George and Bryan were both satisfied to both the first day on two wins out of three. That’s how George finished – rover peeling and pegging out the oppo’ having given a narrow win on day one but a narrow loss on day two. Bryan managed a third win on day two, earning him a qualifying fourth place.

No outright bandits – only three (out of forty) games resulted in a 26-nil whitewash, involving three different winners and losers. The overall winner was an undefeated Gareth Hobby (16) from Caversham.

Club

Croquet

Wrest Park

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