On an almost perfect day for croquet, eight competitors set out on their quest to win the 14 Point Advanced competition and join the illustrious band of players to have been presented wth the Silver Salver.
The players were split into two blocks of four, for the all-play-all phase. In Block A, Robbie won his three games, with a tie for 2nd place between Alan S, Robert and Tim. Alan S qualified for the semi-final as he had the highest net score (-3). In Block B, Alan R and Sean both won their first two games, to qualify for the semi-finals. They faced each other in the 3rd game, with Alan R narrowly winning +2, to qualify as Block winner (I almost said blockhead!).
In the semis, Robbie played Sean, while Alan S played Alan R. The entire crowd (of about 3) watched the Robbie/Sean match. Don’t ask me how it went as I was on the other lawn, however Robbie pipped Sean +1 in what must have been a nail-biter. Alan R beat Alan S +3.
And so to the final, where in a low scoring game, Alan R established a 5-1 lead over Robbie with time running out. Not to be outdone by a non-worid ranked player, Robbie got a good chance with less than 10 minutes remaining and took a ball to peg, to win the game 6-5.
So it’s many congratulations to Robbie and it’s back to the drawing board for the rest of us.
Alan Ridley