Scottish Croquet Association

Aberdeen Tournament 2021

11-12 September 2021, Albury Outdoor Sports Centre

Seven players hoped to win the Aberdeen Quaich, four from the home club, John Owen (2), Bill Strachan (8), Brian Clark (14) and Robert Bell (16) along with Roger Staples (3), David Houston (3½) and John Henderson (5).   The format was 18-point ACp, 2 hours and 5 minutes duration, all play all.
 
Saturday
Round 1 started with the four home players against each other. Bill S beat Brian C 18-6 and Robert B had a surprisingly easy win against John O 18-4. Roger S beat David H 18-14.

Round 2 was interrupted by a heavy rain shower. It did little to deter Bill S who took a break from Hoop 1 to peg but the lawn was then declared unplayable. David H and Brian C also abandoned their game. John H and Robert B played through the rain with John H narrowly winning 16-15. After 40 minutes and some water clearing by John O and Bill play resumed. Bill continued playing well and won 18-2. David H beat Brian C 18-12.

Round 3: John O beat John H 18-1, David H beat Bill S 18-7 and Brian C beat Roger S 18-2.

Round 4: Brian C beat John H 18-10. A meal had been booked for early evening, so the tournament manager decided play would stop at 6.00pm, with any unfinished matches pegged down. John O v Bill S and David H v Robert B were pegged down with about 1hr remaining. These matches would be completed after the Sunday rounds should they impact on the final results.
 
Sunday
Round 5: John O against David H, a crucial match. David H occupied the lawn for the first 45 minutes but John O hit in and took one ball from Hoop 3 to peg and cross wired David H on 3-back.  David H eventually hit in and took the lead by one hoop but bobbled rover and with time running out took three minutes to decide his next shot. John O ran an angled 3-back hoop then making one more hoop sent his ball to Corner I. David H failed to hit in and John O won 14-13. Robert B beat Bill S 18-12 and John H beat Roger S 18-12.

Round 6:  David H beat John H 14-7, Brian C beat Robert B 17-12 and there was a remarkable game between John O and Roger S. Roger hit in on the third turn and set off on a three-ball break but bobbled 2-back, using his half bisque to avoid leaving John O an easy roquet. John O hit in on turn 4 resulting in a boundary cannon which failed. Roger missed the roquet. John O then hit in and took his ball to peg, his leave almost cross-wired Roger on 3-back. Roger narrowly missed the roquet allowing John O to go round and peg out to win 18-7 on turn 8.

Round 7:  John O beat Brian C 18-4, John H beat Bill S 18-12 and Robert B beat Roger S 18-12.

With John O on four wins and David H on three, the pegged down games would decide the winner. David rearranged his return bus but although he beat Robert B 18-8, John O beat Bill S 18-9 to win the Aberdeen Quaich, the first ACCC player to win the trophy.

Bill Strachan

Results