[<<] [>>] by Robert Fulford
27th July 2004 (AC - Championships)

Round 1

Richard White beat Jack Wicks +23 +17
Ed Duckworth beat Tim Wilkins +17TP -4 +23
David Goacher beat Rutger Beijderwellen -8(T) +12(T) +25
Ailsa Lines beat Andy Davies +15 +10

Round 2

Rob Fulford beat Phil Cordingley +10TPO +11
Duckworth beat White +12 +17TP
John Gibbons beat Andrew Gregory +25 +23
Jenny Williams beat Stephen Mulliner -11TP +4 +19
Chris Clarke beat Paul Stephenson +22TP +24TP
Keith Aiton beat Paul Salisbury +17 +26TP
Goacher beat Lines +4 +25
David Maugham beat Jed Allen +26TP +26TP

Quarter Finals

Fulford beat Duckworth +17 +26TP
Gibbons beat Williams +4 -13 +17
Clarke beat Aiton +7 +24
Goacher beat Maugham +7 -5 +8

Semi Finals

Fulford beat Gibbons +10TP +15TP
Goacher beat Clarke +6 -23TP +16TP

Final

Fulford beat Goacher +26TP +3SXP

Keith Aiton won the plate, beating Phil Cordingley in the final.

Commentary

Game 2 was good so here it is in full gory detail.

I'd won the first game without David taking croquet. It was my toss and I chose to go first and David choose red and yellow.

• K to 5 yards NW of 5
• R 2 yards N of 5 on E boundary
• U misses R from 2 yards out of C3 4 yards S of R
• Y misses long double down E boundary into C4
• U 'goes to 1b' laying up in C3 and having played the last stroke I pick up my clip and realise I've been playing the wrong ball. We have quite a long discussion and David Goacher thinks I rushed blue to C3 and the only spectator with an opinion is David Maugham (who happens to be referee of the tournament) and his is that I rushed black to C3, but neither of the two David's is certain. In the end accept Goacher's view on the basis that when I rushed into C3 it was relatively easy to replace my ball, whereas the one other occasion I rushed partner off I probably used U to mark where the rush went out while using mallet to dig ball out of the hedge and then replaced U on the yard line. (maybe?) Difference between two possibilities was massive, either on 1 and 1b giving away a 33 yarder or on 1 and 4 giving away a 4 yarder. Someone after the game even suggested a restart as a solution. Seems fair though to give David the benefit of any doubt in a situation where I've been dumb.
• R hits the 4 yarder at UK which are level with 5 on the E boundary with Y still in C4. Makes 1 off K, roquets K to the middle and takes off to try and get a rush on U to Y, ends up with a very unpromising position needing to make a 6 yard take-off down the E boundary into a corner that slopes off. Gets a rush pointing along the S boundary. Cuts Y to 3 yards N of 1. Rolls up to 1 yard straight in front of 2 (!). Goes to 4b with an NSL with K hidden from A-baulk by hoop 4.
• K takes 25 yard long lift missing into C4
• Y tries delayed TP but fails 6 having failed to get the first peel in the jaws of 4b.
• U hits 4 yard 3/4 ball shot at R. Puts Y through 6 picking up break and goes to 1b. Lays up in C3 two yards apart on E boundary with R and Y roughly 2 yards SE and NW of 1 respectively.
• Y hits tea lady shot at K in corner 3 (!). Rushes U to R and then rushes Y to 1b but sticks.
• U misses from 2b to 1b (by about a yard)
• Y makes 1b gently and takes only rush he could get to K still near C3. Badly under hits rush to 2b to only a couple of yards passed the peg with both U and R only 5 yards from baulk. (I thought David should have played to progress his 4b ball both turns 10 and 12 to try and avoid this sort of trouble, but that was not a formality either). Rolls up to one foot straight (!) with K finishing perfectly placed so once the hoop was run to the boundary he had a 5 foot rush to 3b. Goes to peg with reverse diagonal spread leave, with U about 8 feet off the E boundary level with rover and laying up a couple of yards S of penult with a rush to 4b.
• K misses 25 yard lift into C2.
• R makes 4b and penult off partner finishing with a 3 yard rush pointing a little inside hoop 4. Rushes to 4 yards short of rover (don't know which of rover or U David was trying to go to), takes off well to get one yard rush on U to roughly 5 yards behind rover. Fails to cut at all and ends up with backward take off which was then left well short. Goes into C4.
• K lifts to A-baulk and hits U. Sends it to 2 obtaining rush on Y to C4, rush hits corner peg and is just close enough to be a cannon. Plays wafer cannon rushing R to 1, sending Y roughly 8 yards towards 3 and then rushes back to C4 after hoop 1 to round up balls for typical start to sextuple. Dicey moments were peeling 2-back leaving about a 5 yard rush to 4 which needed to be followed by a good roll up, then later rushed poorly to 3b from 4b and had to make a 5 yard backward take off. Finished fairly comfortably with delayed double and one foot straight Irish peel of rover.

1. 3SXP