In two weeks time, Team England fly out to Melbourne for the MacRobertson Shield – popularly known as the Macs. The three-week AC tournament, named for the Aussie confectionary millionaire who presented the trophy in 1925, takes place every four years, rotating between Australia, England, New Zealand and the USA. Blewbury Croquet Club was chosen to host the final practice weekend in mid October, a well deserved compliment to our dedicated maintenance team headed by Chris Bateman, John Garnett and Duncan Sinclair. As requested, Joe King set up the courts with a lawn speed of 10.5 and hoops spaced at 1/64. If you have to ask what that means, you don’t want to take them on; the essence is fast and super narrow. England’s captain, Samir Patel, was joined by BCC’s Harry Fisher, a Mac rookie looking to make his mark at the Victorian Croquet Centre from November 12-29th. May he and his mates bring the Shield home.
Mark Avery, Jamie Burch, James Death and Harry Fisher working on their shooting in a GC practice game. Photo Paul Wolff