Scottish Croquet Association

Edinburgh Tournament 2018 - Day 4

Wednesday was doubles day. Doubles matches last a long time. Sometimes they seem to last even longer than the allotted time of 3½ hours. And if you’re playing three matches in a day it can seem like a very, very long time, especially in weather which the forecasters describe as ‘fresh’. If you’re facing a brisk westerly with intermittent sun and showers, it would be better described as ‘bloody cold’.

But there were some amusing moments to lighten the mood, such as Robert Lay twice in succession playing the wrong ball (his partner’s) and then Bob Darling, no doubt distracted by the cries of ‘Wrong ball!’, doing just the same in a different game on the same lawn.

Edinburgh Tournament 2018 - Day 2

Day 2 started cool and cloudy with a stiff breeze, improved in the afternoon with some sunshine and then a heavy shower about 5.30. So at least three seasons in one day. On the menu were matches from Events 1, 3 and 4.

Jane Morrison continued her winning streak against Graham Brightwell in Event 1 but then fell to John-Paul Moberly in a close match where she pegged out one of J-P’s balls but then missed rover with her own second ball, letting J-P back in with a lift to finish +3. In another close evening match Jane beat Alan Wilson 25-23. Of course, Jane was on the Buckfast or rather the Buckfast was on her - she’d swapped the Ireland shirt for one with the discreet logo ‘Buckfast Abbey’.

John-Paul had had another very close match in the morning against Roger Adamson. J-P appeared to be well ahead and heading for victory when the match stalled in a defensive stonewalling by Roger until J-P was able to break free and finish off with 19 points as time was called. Roger had 13 points as he took up the final turn and carefully made his way through seven hoops, just reaching 20 points at 4-back before he missed a roquet which he thought had left the match drawn but in fact he had won +1. John-Paul finished the day in fine style with a +20 win over Howard Bowron. One facet of J-P’s game which particularly impressed was what snooker commentators would call his ‘cue action’, in this case his mallet action - a free-flowing swing from the shoulders which sent the ball hard and usually accurately to its target.

In Event 3 George Plant, Hamish Duguid, Kevin Wright, Roger Binks and Joe Lennon all recorded victories, George, Kevin and Hamish getting their handicaps down to 9, 12 and 11 respectively in the process. In Event 4 Kathy Brown, James Thomson, Rob Harvey and Halcyon Byers all had wins. Sorry not to report in more detail on these games but one pair of eyes can only be in one place at a time.

It’s noticeable that quite a few matches, even among the lower handicapped players, are going to time. Perhaps this is partly due to the variable lawn conditions, not just from one lawn to another but on individual lawns, with barer patches and grassier patches. This makes judging pace difficult. However, it’s not due to lack of maintenance but to the unusual weather conditions this year - cold, wet spring followed (late) by hot, dry summer.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that post-match analysis can sometimes seem to go on as long as the match itself. Comment after one particular discussion, admittedly of a close and tense match: “When I had sex I just wanted to sleep afterwards, not analyse my bleedin’ performance.”

A manager’s work is never done, especially when the unexpected happens. Last year it was plumbers arriving to fix the water problem in the pavilion (there was none). Today it was two builders’ or perhaps gardeners’ lorries which turned up at lunchtime but we never did find out why. And then there was the sudden panic as the manager was reminded that today was a bowls day and lawn 3 had to be vacated - and then the bowlers didn’t arrive.

Allan Hawke

Edinburgh Tournament 2018 - Day 3

The weather seems to have turned - a damp, drizzly morning but drier and some sunshine in the afternoon. The damp made the lawns slower, which caught the early birds out but they kindly warned those following, by which time the lawns were drying and getting faster.

The main event of the day was the handicap singles, events 6X (knock-out) and 6Y. There were 13 players and by the end of the day Hamish Duguid and Lorna Dewar emerged as the finalists for 6X, the final to be played later in the week. Some notable results showed just what can be achieved by the bisque system; for example Rachel Frith beat Graham Brightwell, John Campbell beat John-Paul Moberly +26, Brian Cosford also beat John-Paul +26 and finally Hamish Duguid beat Alan Wilson +26 with bisques left standing. Guess who complained to the chair of the Handicap Committee that the handicaps were all wrong. The Chair’s reply: “It must be yours that’s wrong, we can raise it if you like.” It’s also worth noting he’s playing with one of the so-called “bandits” in the doubles.

Other events saw David Lloyd beat the other three men in Event 2 (David Houston, Bob Darling and Allan Hawke) and David Houston beat Allan and Bob. Still some interesting matches to come on Thursday when the ladies join the fray (Lorna Dewar and Rosemary S Robertson).

Edinburgh Tournament 2018 - Day 1

Day 1 got off to a good start in sunshine and cloud in the morning, more cloud than sun in the afternoon, but none of that searing southern heat we’ve heard so much about. As players assembled and tried out the lawns, reactions were …. mixed. Tournament Secretary to Surbiton man: “You’ll find the lawns a bit slow, I’m afraid.” Auchincruive man: “These lawns are incredibly fast.”

Matches were spread across Events 1-4, with Jane Morrison and Graham Brightwell gaining early victories in Event 1 (two each). In Event 2 it was Ladies’ Day, with Lorna Dewar and Rosemary S Robertson each winning two games out of three. In Event 3 Jamieson Walker surprised himself by winning both of his games, with a sleep in between. And in Event 4 Kathy Brown also had two wins.

Diversions of the day included a passing steam train and a display of interesting shirt logos. In ascending order of kudos we had Edinburgh CC, Mid-Argyll Cricket Club, Howick CC (NZ), Ireland and Egypt (yes, Egypt - ask Jola).

And the prize for the most patient player goes to Rosemary S Robertson - both clips still on hoop 1 after two hours, and one clip still there when time was called although it finally went in extra time.

Allan Hawke