When he was competing at Blewbury in July, England captain Samir Patel, said that a three week tournament for the MacRobertson Shield was far too long. I doubt he feels that way as Team England raises the trophy in the historic four yearly four nations championship at the Victorian Croquet Club outside Melbourne. After a 16-5 win over the USA in the first test, England’s series against a feisty New Zealand went down to the wire. After Samir’s tense final singles victory against Edmund Fordyce, the score was 11-10, setting the stage for a winner takes all climax against holders Australia. England’s 13-8 triumph meant they claimed the Shield from the hosts, their first win since 2010.
For this, huge thanks to Jamie Burch, unbeaten in 15 matches, either in singles or with Mark Avery; he is only the second player to achieve this feat since the Macs opened their historic series to New Zealand and the USA. In other games, Blewbury’s Harry Fisher more than held his own in partnership with the irrepressible James Death. Thank you Harry for bringing your team mates to the club for their final warm up weekend. A fine precedent for 2026 …?