Club

Croquet

Wrest Park

Inter Club Championship 2023

v Surbiton (away)     14 June     lost 0-7

report by David Marsh

David Marsh (-1.5) and Bryan Harral (-0.5) lost to Stephen Mulliner (-2.5) and Tim Wilkins (-1.5)  -23

George Collin (-0.5) lost to Dave Evans (0) -24

Rod Ashwell (-0.5) lost to Alison Maugham (-1.5)  -20

David Marsh lost to Stephen Mulliner  -17TP

Bryan Harral lost to Tim Wilkins -17TP

George Collin lost to Alison Maugham -24

Rod Ashwell lost to Dave Evans -3

Wrest Park travelled to Surbiton for the second round of the Inter Club. On paper we were outgunned and so it proved. The doubles was over quickly.  Bryan and David had a couple of chances each but Bryan was the only one to convert that into hoops.

George also lost quite quickly, but Rod held on rather longer. The top 2 singles started well before midday and were completed before lunch. David blobbed 1 giving Stephen a break to 4b, David hit the lift and went to 4b. Stephen then hit the lift and finished a neat standard TP. Bryan’s game was more interactive, but Tim also completed the game +17TP.

In the afternoon, George lost to Alison, leaving just one game to see if we could avoid a whitewash.  Rod scored more hoops than Wrest Park managed in any other game but his fate was sealed when (for penult and peg) he shot from near 3 with the peg ball at the penult ball a few inches to the right of the peg.  He hit, but the peg not the ball and so pegged himself out.  Dave duly finished.

We enjoyed the weather, the fast lawns and the lunch. Pasta in a tomato sauce with salad followed by strawberries, ice cream and a moist cake. We didn’t enjoy the traffic on the M25.

Next year ……………….


v Sussex County (away)     12 May     won 4-2

report by David Marsh

Wrest Park travelled to Sussex County (an early 7am start with the motorways not helped by a train strike) for our first foray in the Inter Club since 2014.   We last played Sussex County in 2012 when we won 7-0.  In that match our combined handicaps were 4 and the Sussex team were also 4.  In 2023 our handicaps totalled -3 whereas theirs were +3.   Three of our players this year also played in that 2012 match.

David Marsh (-1.5) and Bryan Harral (-0.5) beat Mark Fawcett (-1) and Paul Castell (-0.5)  +10

George Collin (-0.5) beat Jonathan Isaacs (3) +9

Rod Ashwell (-0.5) vs Liz Farrow (1.5)   Not completed

David Marsh lost to Mark Fawcett  -17

Bryan Harral beat Paul Castell +5

George Collin beat Liz Farrow +6

Rod Ashwell lost to Jonathan Isaacs -14

In the doubles there were a number of mistakes, for example when David (black) stuck in 1-back (despite the hoops being reasonably generous) with blue as a pioneer in the jaws of 2-back and red and yellow in between only 4 yards apart.  The prospect of such an easy start possibly contributed to red missing.  After that miss David got to 4-back and Bryan jawsed the peelee in 4-back after 3 going to a ball in corner 2.  Unfortunately blue just went off the lawn and that was the end of the TP attempt.   West Park eventually won the doubles +10.

At lunchtime Wrest Park were 2-0 up thanks to a win from George, and Rod was ahead in a game that started a little late and it was decided this should be pegged down.

The lunchtime salad with two home made quiches followed by a delicious lemon and blueberry cheesecake was much appreciated before the afternoon singles, especially as lunch had coincided with a band of rain sweeping across the south coast. The wind was blustery and cold but at least we were not soaked.

David lost fairly quickly after sticking in 1 on the second ball whereas it looked as if Bryan would win equally quickly but somehow couldn’t quite finish things off.   Rod went down -14 leaving the score 2-2.   After Paul had clawed back to peg and 4-back Bryan managed to get his last couple of hoops leaving Wrest Park 3-2 ahead.   The match between George and Liz was interactive to put it mildly and kept the crowd (well, players who had finished their games) entertained.  Nails were bitten and it often looked as if Liz would finish with the prospect of the pegged down game needing to be resurrected and a very late trip home.  In the end George managed to get us over the line 4-2 and the unfinished game was not restarted.   Even so, we only got back at 8pm after a long stint in the Friday evening rush hour on the M25 and M1.

Our next match is against Surbiton.  A successful start to our re-entry into the Inter-Club competition.


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