The claret will be flowing in the Dodds household after Robbie cruised to victory in the Eight competition.
As usual, the eight competitors were divided into two blocks of 4. Block A consisted of Robbie, Alan Ridley, Julian Remfry and Mike Long, while in Block B were Richard Smith, James Handley, Brian Christmas and Shelley Hennell.
In rainy, and at times very rainy, conditions on Saturday, Robbie won his two games, Julian and Alan won one each. This meant that depending on the results of the Sunday morning games in Block A, any one of Robbie, Alan and Julian could have qualified for the final. In the other block, Richard and James both won their two games, meaning that their head-to-head the next day would decide the finalist.
The weather on Sunday was much improved. It stayed dry throughout (there was a downpour about an hour after the finish). In Block A, Robbie beat Alan 26-0 in under an hour and a half to reach the final. Mike beat Julian for his first Advanced win. In Block B, Richard beat James +17 to become the 2nd finalist. Brian beat Shelley on a Golden Hoop. Both players needed the same two hoops and when Brian failed to run 4-back, leaving his ball just in front, it looked as though Shelley would win. Shelley’s take-off was a little short, leaving a tricky roquet, which she made, only to peel Brian’s ball through the hoop to give him the game. Richard commented that in 25 years of playing croquet he had never seen that happen.
And so Robbie and Richard met for the fourth time in the final, the three previous meetings having ended with two wins for Richard and one for Robbie. This time, Richard couldn’t find his shooting boots and Robbie cruised to a 26-1 victory.
Many congratulations to Robbie, Commiserations to Richard and thanks to all eight players for participating, particularly to Shelley and Mike for agreeing to take part in their first Advanced competition. I hope to see them and some other up-and-coming players entering Advanced comps next season.
Alan Ridley