Category: News and Reports

The West Midlands Federation of Croquet Clubs organises an annual league competition.

Thanks to a number of our members playing some great croquet, in 2024 we came second in the league, narrowly beaten by Broadwas. Thanks to all players who competed on our behalf.

		P	W	D	L	Match points	League points
1	Broadwas	4	3		1	19-9	13
2	Shrewsbury	4	3		1	12-14	12
3	Kenilworth	4	2		2	11-11	9
4	Church Stretton	4	1		3	10-16	6
5	Eardisley	4	1		3	12-14	5

We had hoped to have 8 players this year but sadly Francis had to withdraw because of a wrist problem.

The weather forecast for the day was appalling at the beginning of the week, and not promising on the day before, but a glimmer of hope that we might at least play some games encouraged us to go ahead.

We had two completely new starters, Yvonne and Sarah, and five folk who had yet to reduce their handicaps below 18 (Max, Tina, Caroline, Jane and Clare).

Phil, Margaret, Alan R and Alan S acted as referees in order to avoid loss of time caused by inexperience, important because each 14pt game was only 50 minutes long.

We were actually blessed by dry weather and indeed some sun for the first five rounds of the competition, which was all-play-all. Some great croquet was played, some shots went astray and some very odd decisions about what shots to take were also made. But until the end of round 5 an enjoyable day was had by all and much was learnt and some interesting challenges arose, notably here for Tina.

Clare and Yvonne’s fan club were riveted by the competitive play between the two friends!

Excellent cake and snacks helped everyone and by round 6 we were ahead of the planned time – because we had all seen the weather forecast for the end of the afternoon! Margaret’s implementation of Sue’s gluten-free almond and jam cake and Margaret’s cheese scones kept the energy levels up!

And so it was that we began round 6…..

By this time Phil had determined that the outcome of the match between Yvonne and Tina would determine the overall winner and that round 7 was not needed for that purpose. And so a few minutes into round 6, the sky went black, the rain started and thunder sounded. Play was suspended, one match was conceded, one was abandoned but Tina and Yvonne decided that the elements would not prevent them completing their game which had only 20 minutes left to run. And so they fought on, with most of the audience squinting through the torrential rain from the clubhouse. Alan R, as referee, was exceedingly grateful to James for the new shelter on Parkside. The conclusion of the match was a win (14-7) for Tina but, because Tina had beaten Yvonne, Yvonne could not be the overall winner even if she had won her round 7 match.

Tina was therefore the winner of the Founder’s Competition having played very well all day. Yvonne, as runner-up, did extremely well given this was her first season.

Thanks to everyone who played their part in making the day enjoyable and very dramatic!!

Phil Extance

In a delayed final to The Eight competition, played at Chester CC, Richard Smith beat Alan Ridley to recapture the Claret Jug.

The competition had been scheduled to be played on the 7th and 8th of September. The games played on the Saturday were completed with an extra one brought forward after Brian had looked into his crystal ball and had correctly predicted a washout the following day, which turned out to be the second wettest day on record.

The highlight of Saturday’s play was a Triple Peel attempt by Richard, which just failed when his Rover peelee hit an upright, forcing him to jump striker’s ball through the hoop.

As only half an hour’s play was possible on the Sunday, the final was postponed and played at Richard’s home club, Chester CC on the 12th. Torrential rain in the morning meant the game was played in very difficult conditions, the highest break being only three hoops, with Richard triumphing +9. 

Congratulations to Richard and many thanks to the other competitors, and to Phil for marking the lines.

Alan Ridley

We hold an annual competition between Shrewsbury and Church Stretton, the winner holding the A49 trophy. On 29th August 2024 the teams played at Shrewsbury, playing 7 singles games. Most games were very closely fought with everyone playing some really good shots of which they could be proud and, of course, some we would all rather regret! Several wrong hoops were run (or almost run) but in general very few events required a referee to adjudicate. Everyone enjoyed the event and the weather was kind to us. Many thanks to all those who played, to all those who provided cakes and biscuits, to anyone who helped in the practical tasks that running a competition needs and to those who just came to watch.

And so to the results:

Shrewsbury wins:
Robbie beat George 26-22
Margaret beat Claire 26-11
Phil beat Ian 19-15

Church Stretton wins:
Ian beat Alan 19-13
Claire beat Alberto 11-10
Shelley beat Julian 25-23
George beat Robert 26-12

So overall it was a close competition with Church Stretton winning the trophy 4-3. Congratulations to Church Stretton!

Phil Extance

Ten people took part in this season’s 18-Point Handicap competition, which took place on the 24th and 25th of August.  With rain in the forecast, some disruption was expected but the weather gods were kind enough to arrange for most of it to fall during our lunch break, ensuring that we kept mostly to schedule.

Two blocks of five played ‘all play all’.  Block A was decided in the final round of games, where the winner of David v Mike would go through to the final.  David booked his place with a +8 win, leaving him unbeaten.  Block B was not as clear-cut.  Going into the final round, it was possible to have a five-way tie depending on the results.  In the event, Alberto and Phil both won their final games to have three wins out of four.  Alberto qualified for the final on the ‘who beat whom’ rule, having beaten Phil by +10 in the opening game.

Max also deserves special mention for a superb display of hitting in and hoop running to beat Brian 18-0 in a Block B game.  Brian was very impressed.

And so to the final, where Alberto slowly built a nine hoop lead only for David to come back in the last half hour to draw level and take the game into a Golden Hoop.  A very exciting passage of play followed, with the crowd on the edge of their seats.  Twice, David set himself a simple rush to his hoop only for Alberto to hit in from distance to save the day.  Alberto also had a shot at a hoop but hit an upright.  After the second long roquet, Alberto was able to rush a ball near to his hoop, take off and run the hoop to win the match and the competition.  The Golden Hoop play had taken about 20 minutes, surely worthy of an entry in the Guinness Book of Croquet Records!

So, many congratulations to Alberto and commiserations to David, who came so close to retaining the trophy.

After the trophy presentation, everyone went home for a well deserved lie down!

Alan Ridley

A great result for Shrewsbury today in the WMF league. Fuelled by a tin of gorgeous flapjacks provided by Sue, we beat Kenilworth 3-2, which means we finish as runners-up to Broadwas. Well done to the team – Robbie, Alan R, David and Mike. The highlight of the day, which your correspondent didn’t actually see, was Robbie coming within a whisker of completing a delayed triple peel.

Alan Ridley

On 10th July Alan Ridley organised a doubles welcome event with the new members (who had done the beginners course) paired with an experienced player. We played alternate stroke so the new members received coaching while playing with the experienced member explaining the strokes that should be played.

5 new members were able to attend, with two “one hour” games played.

A previous member had donated a trophy which we awarded to the new player who won the most games. Our winner, Yvonne, was therefore awarded the 2024 Rector’s Teapot trophy.

The evening was a great success. Many thanks to Alan for organising the evening, to new members being willing to have a go and to experienced members for their helpful coaching and welcome to the new members.

Dr Phil Extance

Sadly Shrewsbury lost to Broadwas, playing at their lawns which have a somewhat greater gradient than most players are used to. Many thanks to Alan Ridley, Tim Bunn, David Hart and Alberto Porras for playing for Shrewsbury. Congratulations to Tim for winning one of his games.

Six pairs entered for this season’s handicap doubles competition, held on the 6th and 7th of July.

The usual format is 26-point games on full lawns but due to the heavy rain on the first morning, the start was delayed and the matches reduced to 18-point with a two hour time limit.

We also allowed pairs to choose between ordinary doubles play and alternate stroke play, provided the chosen form was played throughout the competition.  Four pairs chose to play alternate stroke.

Play began in very tricky conditions, especially on Bowlside, with patches of standing water.  By the first afternoon however, the lawns were much drier but a little heavier than normal.

Two blocks of three played ‘all play all’.  In Block A, two close games on Day 1 left Julian/Tim and James/David on one win each, both having narrowly beaten Caroline/Alberto. The decider was played on the morning of Day 2, which James/David won +6.  In Block B, Frances/Alan R and Margaret/Phil ended Day 1 on one win each but Margaret/Phil had beaten Frances/Alan R on a Golden Hoop.  On Day 2, Margaret/Phil beat Barbara/Alan S convincingly.

In the final Margaret/Phil built a big lead and, with one ball on peg and the other on rover, looked likely to peg out before a late comeback by James/David, which wasn’t quite enough and Margaret/Phil won +4.

So it’s congratulations to Margaret and Phil, who win the Lanman Trophy for the second time.

Alan Ridley

Shrewsbury beat Eardisley 4-3 in the West Midlands Federation game today. Our team was Robbie, David, James, Julian and Phil.  We were 3 games all with one game to finish. In that game Julian took his opponent to a golden hoop and in front of a riveted audience won the hoop and with it the match.  Well done team and thank you Julian!