All you need to become a top class croquet international is a good friend who loves the game, a borrowed mallet and a fine scientific brain. And the will to win. Ask Harry Fisher, at 34 the youngest member of the England team that secured the MacRobertson Shield in Melbourne last November.
As an undergraduate at St Edmund Hall, he was signed up by a mate for Cuppers, the annual inter-college championships. A little later, he watched a top class game involving Nick Butler, a Blewbury member until parenting reduced his free time. The contest convinced Harry that croquet had more potential than he’d imagined when he’d knocked a ball about as a kid. ‘I’m very competitive and I was looking for a displacement activity. By the end of that summer term, my handicap was six. I seen a triple peel. I knew what I had to do.’
Initially that meant a PHD in physics at Lincoln, studies that extended his access to courts under majestic trees in University Parks and to the venerable Pidcock mallet he’d picked out in the storage shed. After a win in a CA tournament at Cheltenham attracted attention in the right places, Harry was recruited to Ian Burridge’s Development Squad. In 2013, he qualified for his first world championships at Surbiton: two days to find a spare sofa and he was in.
After reaching the quarter finals in the 2020 worlds in Australia, he was selected for the six man MacRob squad under fellow Oxford graduate Samir Patel. The series consists of best of 21 tests against Australia, New Zealand and the USA: three days singles and two days doubles in each five day match.
In an individual sport, doubles are a rarity so a well matched pairing is crucial. In Melbourne, the six men shared two city centre apartments, working as a team to plan and prepare dinners. Cooking skills varied, but there could be no complaints. This was good preparation for the doubles matches Shock horror at an easy miss – inevitable even at this level – is never helpful. Harry was paired with the irrepressible James Death. Seen on a small screen in the middle of the night from 12000 miles away, it looked as if they were having fun.
In the first tests, England beat the USA and Australia beat New Zealand. The second pitched winners versus losers. England were cruising when disaster struck: a 1-5 singles loss, their only bad day out of fifteen. On day five, it was 10 -10. Time for a captain’s innings: the victor would be a position to win the test series. ‘I couldn’t watch,’ said Harry. ‘I went for a bit of a walk while Samir was playing’. On his return, his team mates were smiling: beat Australia and the Shield was theirs. As they did…..
No riotous celebrations but no cooking either: a civilised team dinner and they headed home. For Harry, that is Pangbourne where he lives with his wife and baby son. In the US, coaching croquet in country clubs can provide a good living but, having decided against academia, Harry is using his actuarial skills to build a career in reinsurance in the City
‘Croquet is my hobby and my sport,’ he explained, ‘but a scientific background does seem to be useful. Many of the top players have one. Otherwise I’m a good shooter. It’s taken me a decade to sort out the mental side, to develop the self belief to relax at critical moments rather than fall apart’.
If you’re lucky, you may spot Harry at Blewbury this summer as he prepares for the the 2023 AC World Championships at Hurlingham in mid July. Good luck Harry. We’re rooting for you…..
