Scottish Croquet Association

Middle Bisquers 2022

11-12 June 2022, Balgreen

The Adam Trophy was won by David Houston in a tight contest.

With only six entrants, all-play-all games were three rounds on day 1 then two on day 2.  Use of three lawns avoided double-banking.   Games had a 3 hours time limit for standard 26-point Level Advanced play.  If needed, tie-break resolution was published as: (1) games won 26-n; (2) total hoops for; (3) net hoops.

The expected rain proved to be very occasional light showers, but the high and gusty wind often caused difficulties, even for those with aero-dynamic metal mallet heads.  Despite this, the sun shone on both days.  Jane Morrison called to review progress and, for a while, Kathy Brown watched to pick up some tips.  We had a brief visit from Susan Menzies (Sportscotland partnership manager) and a man from Currie dropped in to enquire about group tuition at Balgreen.

It was good to welcome Adrian Craxton, who had recently resumed playing after a 25 year break using his former handicap of 7; although he did not secure a win there were close contests across the field.  The handicap range was 3 to 8, Kevin Wright having replaced Kathy Brown (12) latterly.

Most games began at 9.30.  By the end of round 3, Rosemary has won each game 26-n, whilst David was also on three wins in much tighter contests.  Other results were mixed, with Stefan, Kevin and Roger on one each.

Pairings for day 2 placed Rosemary and David in round 5.  In round 4, Rosemary defeated Kevin and Stefan notched a win over Roger.  The other contest saw Adrian in the lead for much of the game, only to be overcome by time and David’s tactics; during the extension period David caught up at 12-11, but went on to widen the gap for the nugatory benefit of more net hoops.  Round 5 for Kevin was success over Stefan, and Roger went to peg against Adrian.

The decider between Rosemary and David was closer than the 10pt margin suggests. Rosemary had the longest break to 4-back after David missed a roquet in corner 3.  David had several smaller breaks, cautiously keeping Rosemary well distanced thus reducing roquet opportunities.  After Rosemary failed hoop 4 in her last turn, David had his first ball on peg but only reached penult in his final break and so won 22-12.  Commiserations went to Rosemary who had achieved such good wins in her other games.

Stefan Colling assisted with lawn setting.  As manager, Roger Binks also answered those limited calls for referee decision.

Roger Binks

Results

 (The results are also on Croquet Scores)