So the question is, Who are the swingers in the local croquet community? Well, Alan Wilson is a swinger. John-Paul Moberly is a big swinger. James Hopgood used to be a swinger but isn’t any longer (that’s new fatherhood for you). I refer, of course, to the practice of swinging the mallet several times over the ball before you hit it - casting as it’s called. The hot topic seems to be to cast or not to cast. Well, the answer seems to be horses for courses - what works for one person might not work for another. But it’s interesting to see the different styles of grip and swing that people use and wonder whether any of them can be the magic road to accuracy for oneself.
To the events of the day, played in dry weather, some sunshine but still a cool breeze. In Event 1 Alastair Burn-Murdoch had a very good day, beating John Surgenor +4, James Hopgood +15 and Andrew Symons +24. James beat Alistair Malcolm and John Surgenor, and in other games John-Paul Moberly lost to Graham Brightwell but beat Alan Wilson in a three-ball ending, after he was pegged out with his other ball for 3 against Alan’s at 1b. Hitting in across the lawn and a two-ball break from 4 to 3b changed the game. So who will play Jane Morrison, winner of the other block, is still up for grabs.
Event 2 was decided. Lorna Dewar and Rosemary Saunders Robertson swept all before them before playing each other in what was in effect the final. In a long-drawn-out match as the sun set and the cold crept in Lorna eventually won by two hoops. The score somewhat surprisingly was just 12-10. All that time and effort for 22 hoops between them. As Lorna said, she was ‘croqueted out’. Rosemary also claimed to be tired but was seen jogging and dancing around the lawn leading up to time, although this may just have been to keep warm.
In Event 3 Hamish Duguid and Kevin Wright are to play off to decide who meets George Plant in the final on Saturday.
The Event 4 final will be played on Friday at 9.30 between Kathy Brown and Brian Cosford, Brian having beaten Robert Lay, George Geis and Kevin Russell today.
The other singles event, handicap Event 6X, will be played between Hamish Duguid and Lorna Dewar on Saturday. In contention for the 6Y Event are Brian Cosford, Rosemary Saunders Robertson and Alan Wilson. (You will notice how some names keep cropping up.) There will be more than Lorna that’s croqueted out by the weekend.
The good news is that we’re to have a lunchtime barbecue on Saturday, with complimentary Pimms. Orders for carnivores and vegetarians to Hamish by Friday morning please.
And the surprise visitors for the day? Two council infestation officers to deal with the wasps nests in the pavilion. Apparently we should all preserve and encourage bees, but wasps are a different matter.
Allan Hawke
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.
There was some excitement too, with close finishes, the closest being the match between Lorna Dewar / Alistair Malcolm and John Surgenor / Bill Strachan. As the end approached John and Bill were ahead by six hoops, but Lorna caught up hoop by hoop to make it a draw. Golden hoop necessary, and Alistair scored it. No wonder Lorna and Alistair went on to play and win a semi-final against Jola Jurasinska and Jamieson Walker.
Read more: Edinburgh Tournament 2018 - Day 4
