After last week’s triumph against Ryde, Blewbury’s top GC team notched up another cliffhanger victory over Phyllis Court in the A level Open League. By lunchtime on a glorious sunny day, David Grinstead and David Vincent had scored in the best of three game format. With captain John Garnett and Peter Allan missing out in close contests, the teams were balanced on 2 wins apiece.
in the afternoon, the Davids struck again, with John adding the point that secured a 5-3 victory. The A league matches were slow to get under way, but are making up for it with dynamic progress.. Keep it up guys…
The Blewbury AC Advanced weekend tournament was held on 13-14 July and was graced by a selection of top players – five of the nine had minus handicaps, and three were minus 2. (Minus 3 is the lowest AC handicap that exists.)
Sophie McGlen, the manager, organised the tournament as a Swiss, which keeps the play moving along at a good pace. The weather was good, and the tournament was played in a great spirit.
As always, the players greatly enjoyed the lunch, provided on this occasion by Minty. We were especially keen to discover what the various fruits were in the dessert on the first day. They looked very exotic.
With such a high-class field I was expecting plenty of triple peels to be completed. In fact there were ten in the 27 games played, with several other attempts. However, I quickly realised that I had underestimated the top players. My first game was against Debbie Lines (the current women’s world champion). Debbie hit in and was well into a solid break when I realised that the balls were not where I expected them to be. Debbie was setting up to do a sextuple peel! Debbie had made six hoops, cross-wired my balls at hoop 1, and put her ball in the jaws of hoop 2 after placing her other ball north west of hoop 2. The idea is that I don’t get a lift with one of my balls, so I need to make a 25 yard roquet or run away and hide. While shooting and missing would give Debbie an even better position, running and hiding seemed that it would only delay the inevitable, so I tried the 25 yard shot – and hit! I now had a great position and I scored 9 hoops before making a leave. However, to no one’s surprise, Debbie hit in and won 26-9.
Other players attempted sextuples during the weekend, which is a testament to the abilities of the top players, and to the quality of our lawns. You don’t try doing a sextuple on a dodgy lawn. As the tournament was drawing to a close no one had succeeded in doing a sextuple peel, but in her last game, Debbie had completed five of the necessary peels and was carefully lining up her final peel. Everyone was watching by this time. Unfortunately the final peel failed, but Debbie still won the game.
At the conclusion of play, Debbie and Robin Brown were the only players to have lost one game each. Debbie had won one more game, but that was by dint of having played one more game than Robin. It was agreed that the fairest thing to do was that tournament should be decided by what I know as a Nottingham tie-break, where the players in contention play a two-ball break starting from corner 4 and going for hoop 4, then hoop 5, and so on. It is important that the player going second does not know how many hoops the first player has scored, so Robin went first, with Debbie around the corner, admiring our water butt. My experience of these tie breaks is that three hoops is a typical score and four hoops is likely to be a winning score. Not so for Robin and Debbie. Robin made 16 hoops on his two-ball break – a stupendous number. While Debbie did not know how many hoops Robin had made, she was surely conscious that it had taken quite a while. Debbie made six hoops, which is a great score, but a fewer than 16.
There was a thrilling finish to Blewbury A’s Open Division match against Ryde on Wednesday., writes David Dibben. With the scores level at 3-3, all three results were possible as the final two games went to a decider in the best-of-three format.
Both John Garnett and Peter Allan were taken to the “golden hoop” by the visitors from the Isle of Wight. Peter clinched victory first to guarantee the draw; moments later, captain John won a monumental tussle with his Ryde counterpart, Roy Tillcock; an epic 5-3 result for Blewbury.
John and Peter finished with two wins apiece and there was also a win for David Vincent, but Paul Wolff was out of luck on the day.
As the Southern Croquet Federation GC Leagues approach the late summer climax, two Blewbury teams lead their groups. With three very convincing wins, Brian Jamieson’s B team is well placed in the level play 3+ league; fingers crossed for their final game against the strong East Dorset squad. With three wins and a draw, David Dibben’s D team are marginally ahead of David Vincent’s C team – two wins, one draw, one loss – in the Northern Division Advantage league. At the top end of the skill scale, John Garnett’s A team, currently on a single loss, has a lot of work to do in the Open division.
Congratulations to Blewbury’s Robin Brown, winner of the prestigious Cowhorn at Compton Croquet Club in Eastbourne over the first weekend in July. Also in the line up, world champion, Robert Fulford, who completed a sextuple peel in his first round win over Tudor Jenkins. Former Blewbury member, Roger Tribe, recorded two victories, but it was Robin who defeated Gabrielle Higgins in the final. Bristol’s Dave Kibble, a regular competitor at Blewbury, lifted the Cowbell in the consolation event; Ian Vincent from Nottingham took home the Cowpat…
Simon Bryant’s unbroken run continued with a decisive 5-0 win in the CqE GC 7+ level play tournament at Blewbury. For the second time in a week, his handicap fell: 6 became 5 when Brian Jamieson lopped off another digit in the light of his overwhelming superiority. Following wins for David Dibben’s unbeaten D team in the GC handicap league , Simon was asked when he’d last lost a game. . He scratched his head and recalled defeat by Philippa Turner in the Icknield. Brava Philippa. Also Sarah Donne, a very honourable runner up in the 7+ tournament, its smooth running guaranteed by Team Jamieson on top form.
Another victory for Andy Evason, this time in the B3+ level play GC tournament at Northampton Croquet Club. Unbeaten in four games, he saw off challenges from Carol and Brian Jamieson among more far flung contenders. Nine months ago , he’d never picked up a mallet. Bravo Andy.
BCC’s strong D team, captained by David Dibben, cruised to victory in their second GC handicap fixture against High Wycombe Kites. Simon and Jackie Bryant were unbeaten in their four singles games, with Susan Tilbrook’s three wins and David’s 2 adding up to a convincing 13-3 result. Simon’s handicap has been reduced to 7, but his play suggests he will be due for another cut soon.
On a warm sunny Sunday – can anyone remember what a delight that is? – three Winchester players took on three from Blewbury in the annual SCF one ball tournament. With such a minimal turnout, it was appropriate that the seventh man, Nigel Cox, a member of both clubs, secured the mounted silver ashtray with five wins. . Thanks to Peter Fry for staging a pleasant day’s play in relaxed surroundings.
