Category: News and Reports

28^th July 2026

Newport (Essex) beat Shrewsbury 4-3 at Leicester Croquet Club 

Our run in the Longman Cup came to a halt at the quarter final stage after a dramatic golden hoop decider on the lush and heavily watered lawns of Leicester Croquet Club.

With morning victories for Max Sanders, who obliterated his opponent 26-1 with bisques to spare, and a narrow doubles win for Alberto Porras and David Hart, a slender 2-1 was held at the interval.

However, the lead could not be retained, despite Max winning again with ease, David Hart comfortably beaten, Alberto being edged out, and Tim Bunn agonisingly losing on a golden hoop.

It was a competitive but friendly day played in sweltering heat. Here’s to 2027 and another run for glory! 

Morning results 

Max Sanders beat Hugh Gilbert +25

Matt Hardy beat Tim Bunn +21

Alberto Porras and David Hart beat Alex Lake and David Hills +2

Afternoon results

Matt Hardy beat David Hart +20

Max Sanders beat David Hills +5

Alex Lake beat Tim Bunn +1 (golden hoop)

Hugh Gilbert beat Alberto Porras +4 

Report by David Hart

This season’s Handicap Doubles competition was played over the weekend of 4th and 5th July.  There was a very good turnout, with eight pairs entering and a wide range of handicaps.

The results were as follows:

BLOCK A

Alan R and Dave M beat James and Ian +16

Alan S and Barbara beat Shelley and Jane +1

Alan R and Dave M beat Shelley and Jane +1 (Golden Hoop)

Alan S and Barbara beat James and Ian +8

Alan S and Barbara beat Alan R and Dave M +7

James and Ian beat Shelley and Jane +1

Alan S and Barbara qualified for the final with 3 wins.

BLOCK B

Mike and Max beat Robbie and Julian +5

Alberto and Caroline beat Phil and Margaret E +4

Mike and Max beat Alberto and Caroline +5

Robbie and Julian beat Phil and Margaret E +2

Mike and Max beat Phil and Margaret E +10

Robbie and Julian beat Alberto and Caroline +14

Mike and Max qualified for the final with 3 wins.

In the final, Mike and Max beat Alan S and Barbara +8.

Congratulations to Mike and Max, who join some illustrious names past and present as multiple winners of this competition.

Shrewsbury Croquet Club pulled off one of their most impressive victories in recent years by knocking  Leicester out of the prestigious Longman Cup competition. Their East Midland opponents, who had thrashed one of the tournament favourites Watford in the previous round, were soundly beaten 6-1, to send shock waves through the croquet community.

The tricky lawns at Monkmoor, which were playing fast after the  recent heatwave, proved no barrier to the team of four, who won all three of the very closely contested morning matches, with Shelley Hennell defying the odds to win on the golden hoop.

Max Sanders played the game of his life to come from behind, without any remaining bisques, to beat a six handicapper in an enthralling encounter. Tim Bunn and Alberto Porras proved to be a dream combination in the doubles, wearing down their opponents with clever play and some great hoop running. The afternoon contests were less dramatic, with the wind seemingly having been knocked out of Leicester’s sails following the morning demolition job.

All four of the team, Alberto, Shelley, Max, and Tim, played superbly throughout the day, staying cool under pressure, using bisques sensibly, and taking their opportunities when they arose.

The quarter final clash of this national competition will be against Newport ( Essex) at a date in July yet to be confirmed. 

Shrewsbury V Leicester – Played on 29^th June 2026 at Shrewsbury Croquet Club

Result – Shrewsbury 6 Leicester 1 

Morning singles Results ( Shrewsbury names first)

Shelley Hennell (9) beat Richard Whiting (9)  +1

Max Sanders (18)  beat Owen Pugh (6) +2

Doubles Result

Tim Bunn(11)  and Alberto Porras (14) beat Mark Lansdale (6) and Ian Buckley (14)  +2

Afternoon singles

Sheeley Hennell (9) lost to Owen Pugh (6) -10

Tim Bunn (11) beat Mark Lansdale (6)   +6

Alberto Porras (14) beat Richard Whiting (9) +9

Max Sanders (18) beat Ian Buckley (14) +18 

On a lovely weekend for croquet, four pairs took to the lawns in the  Advanced Doubles competition, looking to win the SACC Cup.  The format was all-play-all.

In Round 1, Julian and Robbie beat Brian and James +4, while Alan S and Alan R beat Margaret and Phil +7.

In Round 2, Julian and Robbie comprehensively beat Alan S and Alan R +24.  Brian and James beat Margaret and Phil +7.

By the end of Day 1, Julian and Robbie couldn’t be overhauled and so, on Day 2, the third and final round of matches took place with only pride at stake.

In Round 3, Julian and Robbie beat Margaret and Phil +9. Alan S and Alan R beat Brian and James +4.

So, Julian registered his 4th win in the competition, retaining the trophy he won with Sean in 2025.  It was Robbie’s second win.

Congratulations to Julian and Robbie. Thank you to all 8 players for taking part and playing in the best spirit of the game.  Also thanks to the spectators, Sophie (Robbie’s daughter), Barbara, Dave L, Sarah, Ian M, Ian G and Robert for their support.

Eight hardy souls braved the warm weather and pleasant sunshine to compete in the 14 Point Advanced competition  The eight were divided into two blocks of four, from which the top two in each block qualified for the semi-finals.

In Block A, all four players achieved some success, notably Alan Smith beating Robbie Dodds thanks to consistent hitting-in.  Unfortunately for Alan, he lost his other two games against Robert Parsons and Julian Remfry.  The placings were decided in the final round, when Robbie beat Robert, leaving both on two wins, with Robbie winning the block on the basis of ‘who beat whom’.

There was a major upset in Block B when Tim Bunn beat Richard Smith.  In a low scoring game, the players were tied, both needing Hoop 4.  Richard looked almost certain to win, having set a simple rush from the South boundary to the hoop, with Tim’s balls separated.  Tim shot at Richard’s balls from near Hoop 3.  His shot didn’t find their target but flew straight through Hoop 4, a hoop run of at least 21 yards, giving him the victory.  Ultimately Tim qualified in second place for the semi-finals, behind Alan Ridley who won his three games.  James Handley had a torrid time, failing to win a game.

In the semi-finals Robbie beat Tim +13 in double-quick time.  Alan beat Robert +11.

There was little to separate the players for the first half of the final, then Robbie found his form, running one ball round and setting Alan a cross-peg wired leave.  Although Alan could see some of the other ball, his attempted roquet hit the peg and Robbie cleaned up, winning +10.

Many congratulations to Robbie for this third successive win and 6th overall in the competition.  Thanks also to the people who provided food, most of which came from the previous day’s coaching day, and to those who helped with the setting up.

Saturday 16^th May saw the 14pt Handicap Singles played out amongst intermittent(ish) showers. A last minute plumbing emergency saw the field reduced to 10 competitors, so two groups of five players fought it out to provide our finalists. Despite the disappointing weather all games were played in full, to time, and without interruption, with all club members present displaying a stoic refusal to acknowledge the slightest bit of inconvenience. On the plus side the weather allowed for the display of some “interesting” anti-rain headgear, thanks to Geraint,  – I’m sure everyone will be wearing them during the next wet event.

The two finalists emerged from their respective groups via somewhat different routes, with Shelley making imperious progress through her section, claiming a clean sweep of all four of her matches with an average winning margin of 6.5 points. The other half of the draw was a much tighter affair, with the result in doubt until the last few minutes of the last round of games, with three players, Tim, Geraint and Dave in close contention, and but for a last gasp break by Phil we could have had a three way tie, with “who beat who” being indecisive and it coming down to aggregate match scores. However with Phil beating Geraint by +1 Dave emerged as the group victor.

The final was a closely fought contest, however Shelley’s final break got her over the line to defeat Dave by +1, and there was little doubt that her victory was amply deserved as she was by common consent the player of the tournament.

Many thanks to all who played, spectated, and who otherwise contributed to the event.

Alberto Porras

What a great start to the season! Glorious weather and twelve keen competitors. The Short is a fast moving competition with only 55 minutes per game (14pt) and four games to play each during the day. A good number of us won two of our games and there was some excellent play and improvement shown by all. Mike did some splendid breaks in his last two games but sadly lost the first two. Only three people won three or more games. Robbie won all four despite having the challenge of needing peels to be able to complete the 14pts. In practice time ran out so he won only having done one peel in each game. In the other half of the competition, both Dave Meredith (a relatively new player) and Julian won three games, but Julian beat Dave so Julian went through to the final.

In the final Julian played some great breaks and beat Robbie very convincingly.

Thanks to everyone who played, watched and/or provided sustenance!

If you would like to learn how to play Association Croquet, we will be holding a taster session in April so that you can get a feel for the game and then we will be running a course in May over a number of sessions to teach you the basics of how to play.

Taster Session / Open Afternoon

Sunday 26th April: 2-4pm

If you would like to express an interest please email the Club Chairman on philip.extance@btopenworld.com.

This will be held at the Corbet Arms on Sunday 18^th October 2026 at 1pm

Provisional dates for 2026, so far, are as follows:

Wednesday 3^rd June – against Kenilworth – to be played at Shrewsbury

Tuesday 14^th July – against Eardisley – to be played at Shrewsbury

Thursday 20^th August – against Broadwas – to be played at Broadwas

Thursday 30^th July – against Church Stretton – to be played at Church Stretton

Thursday 6^th August – A49 Annual Competition at Shrewsbury