Club

Croquet

Wrest Park

GC A level tournament 19-20 April

report by manager Richard Keighley, with photos by Gill Brewer

The tournament was won by Les Heard, who beat Steve Leonard in the final.

Easter Saturday was heralded by a chilly wind which persisted all day at Wrest Park for a full field of 16 players from all corners of the country.

In Block A, Steve Leonard (East Dorset and top seed) had the unusual experience of playing all of his first five games to the golden hoop, losing two and winning three of them. One of his conquerors, Mike Hills (Northampton), made more serene progress by winning six of his seven games to lead the block. He was joined in the main knockout by Terry Collis (Wrest Park) with five wins, a recovering Steve Leonard also with 5 wins and Kim Taylor (Enfield) with four wins.

All eyes were on Mike Bilton (Gainsborough) in Block B following his successful start to the season. He duly obliged with five wins, being defeated only by Marc Trevere (Dulwich) who also finished with 5 wins, and by an ever- improving Les Heard (Wrest Park who won the block with six wins. The final place in the knockout went to Glynis Davies (Northampton)by the finest of margins from Alex Wood (Colchester). Both scored four wins, both had net hoops of (+1) and Glynis progressed by having beaten Alex in their block game.

Sunday brought welcome sunshine and a gentler wind. In the main knockout, three of the quarter-finals required a deciding game in the best of three format. Mike Hills beat Glynis Davies in an all-Northampton affair. Les Heard overcame a competitive Kim Taylor and Terry Collis beat Marc Trevere after two games went to the golden hoop. Ominously, Steve Leonard beat Mike Bilton in two straight games.

The semi-finals were both won in two games by Steve and Les against Mike Hills and Terry Collis respectively and this produced a riveting final. Steve cruised to a 7-2 win in the first game, but a resolute Les produced some impressive clearances and tactical positional play to edge a high-quality second game 7-6. He maintained his superiority in the deciding game to win 7-4 and claim the trophy.

The Plate Block sadly lost the participation of Michelle Leonard (East Dorset) with a painful back which left seven players to contest the block on an all-play -all basis. Edwin Bone (Eynsham) and Tony McCann (Backworth-Newcastle) won four and three games respectively, but Andy Sherwood (Ashby) and Alex Wood both had five wins, leading to an effective final in the last game in the block. Andy pipped Alex 7-6.

Most of the players: l-r Mike Hills, Les Heard, Andy Sherwood, Terry Collis, Steve Leonard, Glynis Davies, Mike Bilton, Marilyn Wood, Alex Wood, Edwin Bone

Manager Richard Keighley thanked Tim and Gill Brewer and John Bevington for their catering prowess, and all his fellow members for their help before and during the tournament especially the groundsmen led by George Collin. He also appreciated the services of Mike Bilton, the winner of the Shield and Referee of the Tournament, and Edwin Bone for refereeing too. Richard was kindly thanked by Les Heard on behalf of the players at the conclusion of the presentations.

Winner
Les Heard

Runner-up
Steve Leonard

Plate winner
Andy Sherwood

© Wrest Park Croquet Club