El Mahdi (BK) leads 3-2 after a combination of some big hitting and quite a bit of delicate play around hoop 4. However, Nasr wins the hoop 6 duel for 3-3.

K to 3y NNW 7. Y (from Eb) to 4y N 7. B to 4ft N 7. R (from 13y E C2) gently to 4ft NNE 7
K cuddles Y leaving 2cm gap. Nasr looks for the rush line and manages to clip K past 7 while B goes to 20y S C2. B hits R!
R to 3y N 7.

K clears R to 3y E C2, K to 8y E C2. Y to 3ft NNE 7. B 4ft NNW 7 blocking R at 7. R clears B hard to middle Sb, going to 7y E peg itself.
K runs 7 by 1ft with spin-help. 4-3 El Mahdi

Y to 2y NNW 8. B clears Y from middle Sb, both B, Y on Wb. R to 2ft N 8. K to 4y N 8.
Y 2ft NW 8. B clears R to middle Sb, B to Eb. R clears K hard to 13y S C2, R following through to 3yd S C2!
K to 2y SW 8 so Y to 2ft NE wired from K.

B from Eb misses Y. R to 3y NE 8. K fails to get through hoop from behind and Y runs. 4-4

B to 3yd ESE 9. R to 5y S 9. K to 4ft SSE 9. Y softly to 3y SSW 9.
B cuts R as much as possible to 5y E C1. But R clears K to Eb, R to 3y N C4.

K at Y - snicks it to 7y S 9, K to 11y E C1. Y at the hoop - has huge bounce-back off the W leg and spin-through for 5-4.

B to 2y SSE 10. R has to go for the ball-hoop target and has the hoop firmed up. with the hammer. Runs a brilliant clean hoop from 23yd for 6-4!

K to 5y NE 11. Y, hampered by 9, can only get to 4y NNW 10. B to 2y N 11. R softly to 4ft N 11, just off B's line.
K goes for block of Y on B and the hoop - looks happy. Y gives up and goes 1y NE peg.
B nicely through for 5-6 but runs into B.

R to 2y N 12. K probably has a hoop/ball double, has hoop firmed up and clears R, both balls to Sb. Y to 3ft N 12. B runs 12 for 6-6!

R from 8y E C1 to 5y NW 13. Not ideal. There is quite a swale coming up to 13 and it looks as if it had its effect.
K is bombed off the Nb 10y E C3. Y to 4ft N 13 - great shot. B to 18in N 13!

R is lined up carefully. The hoop is just open. But R just blocks K - presumably at both the hoop and B.
El Mahdi goes for the hoop but clears B instead. Y is thrashed through for 7-6 and 1-0 to Ahmed Nasr.

Game 2
K to 5yd SSW 1. Y to 3y S 1. B to 2y S 1. R clears B to Wb! B clears R to Sb. R missed 1. K runs 1. 1-0 El Mahdi.

Y to 2y S 2. B misses Y to Nb. R to 3y S 2. K snicks R but missed Y. Y runs. 1-1.

B to 2y N 3. R to 6y NE 3. K half-ball blocks Y very nicely. Y lines up cut-rush and only just misses B! B runs 3 and almost has 4 as well, bouncing off E wire. 2-1 BK.

R to 7y N 4. K into the jaws! Y to 7y NW 4 to shorten shot at 5. B at R - hits well sending R to 5y NE 6 and B to 2y SW peg. R to 2y E 4. K runs to Sb. 3-1 BK.

Y to 2ft S 5 wired from B. B to 2y SW 5. R to 2ft SE 5 blocking K at hoop. K just misses Y. Y runs to just SE peg. 3-2 BK.

B to 4ft S 6. R hammers at the ball/hoop double and hits the W wire, this time spinning past the hoop to 5y N 6. K to 5y SSE 6, over-ruuningthe block on Y. Y runs 6 from 7y! 3-3.

B to 7y N 7. No messing around here. Y is already on Nb, 10y E C2. R to 4ft N 7. K nicks R northwards, still blocking B at 7. Y to 5ft NNE 7. B stop shots R to 14y SSW 7. R back to 2y NNW 7, just not blocking K at Y. But K just misses from 7y. Looking ominous for BK. Y runs to C1. 4-3 RY.

B to 2y NNW 8. R to 4y NNW 8. K to 2ft S B, not blocking Y at B. Y power-clears B to 3y S C3, ending 5y W peg. B misses 8 - might have been wired on R by the peg. R hammers at 8 but fails and stays in the jaws. K has a difficult angled jump and they decide to reset the hoop!

K doesn't rise enough and peels R, staying in the jaws itself. Disaster looms. 5-3 RY.

Y to 2y S 9. B misses Y. R to 4y SSE 9. K is obviously not in the jaws after all and clears Y! Y to 3ft SSE 9. B to 7y S 9. R at 9 from 45 degrees and powers it through almost to C3! 6-3 RY.

K to 4y S 10. Y to 3y S 10 just off K's line. B from Sb to 2ft NNW 10. Just over-hit. R clears K via the peg to 10y E C1. K at Y - hits! Great shot when it mattered most. Y to 4y S 10.

B to 2ft S 10 but may have wandered off line and R has a sight of the hoop from 18y due S. Snicks B instead to 12y E C2. K does controlled clearance on Y but ends up peg-high. Y to 3ft S 10. B to 3y SSE 10 leaving K clear for the hoop and Y. R to 3y S 10 blocking K on Y but not the hoop. K at 10 but the ball bounces all the way and misses left. Y from 3ft for 7-6, 7-3 and an impressive victory.

Next up - Hamy Erian v Mostafa Nasr.

The players are warming up. Hamy is the Nigel Aspinall type - does what is needed and only uses maximum power when the occasion demands. Mostafa normally has only one approach - flat-out attack which is hugely entertaining to watch. His four hoop blitz against Salah Hassam in the 2006 GCWC final in New Zealand will not be easily forgotten by those who saw it (B cleared to near C3, so B runs 3 hard. Next turn K runs 4 from 20 yards to S boundary. Two turns later, K runs 5. B is cleared to C1 from in front of 6 and then promptly runs 6 from C1. You get the picture.)

Hamy has BK. We pick up play after 2 rotations and a messy opening. K from 10y N 1 parks itself om the back of the E upright of 1. Y clears to Eb. B to 5y E 1. R to 2ft S 1 wired from K. K hits Y to C4. Y to 4y SE 1. B clears R to 3y E C1. R to 4y S 1. K misses Y. Y scores 1 at pace. 1-0 RY.

B 4y S 2. R 1ft NE B. K 3y WNW 2. Y to 6in N 2? B stops R to Nb, R to 5y SW 2. K goes for the angled 2 - jaws. Y sends K to 7y SSE 2. B runs 2 cleanly from 4y. 1-1

R 4ft N 3. K 3y NNE 3. Y 2ft NE R. B aims off a little to the right but still just misses R on the left. R slams through 3 to C4. 2-1.

K 4y N 4. Y to 1ft SSE K. B 2y NNE 4. R cannot see K so 2y N 4. K tries to cuddle Y but it looks as if Y still has a shot. Y clears B to 5y W C4. B misses R from 9y. R scores. RY 3-1.

K 3y SW 5. Y 5y S 5. B 2y WSW 5. R 4y SE 5.
K stops Y to Sb, K ending 8y SSE 5. Y to 3ft S 5. B clears R to C4, ending 7y SSE 5. R clears K with a huge hop which just takes enough of K to get it to 2y of the Wb. R meanwhile has already galloped off the court. Now K misses Y. Y scores at pace to the Nb. RY 4-1.

B to 4y S 6. R 5y SW 6. K to 2ft SSW 6. Y 5ft SSW 6 not blocking B. B runs 6 smoothly. RY 4-2.

R 4ft N 7. K 5y N 7 not blocked by R. Y 2y N 7 blocking K. B clears R to Eb, slightly S. Mohamed checks if K can see the hoop. It can so he lets rip a shot that clears K eastwards and R rears over the barrier into the crowd. No-one hurt, luckily. K nicks Y past the hoop ending on the Eb. Y 2ft N 7. B 2y NNW 7. R from Nb clears B with cut to 10y NE 8 and R has another go at reducing the spectator numbers. K smoothly clears Y. Y 5y N 7.

B 7y N 7. R 4ft NNE 7. K cuts Y to 5y E C2. Very runnable. I have a 4ft view of Mohamed's stance which appears to leave no space for the mallet at all! He rolls out on the outside of his feet to allow the mallet to swing. This time he misses well on the right. However, B misses R and the hoop and R makes no mistake from 4ft to score. RY 5-2.

K 10y NNW 8. Y 3ft N 8. B 3y WNE 8. R misses K (that's why K was so far N) and K clears Y with stop. Y to 4y W 8. B 2ft N 8. R 7y N 8. K 2yd N B, blocking R at 8. Y clears B to near Eb, Y staying within 6y of 8. B 3y NW 8. R tries the jump but misses west. K runs 8. RY 5-3.

Y 3ft SE 9. B misses Y because K did not reach the Sb and is vulnerable to R. But R 4y S 9. K misses Y. Y hammers through from about 40 degrees to Nb! RY 6-3.

B 2y S 10. R 6y S 10. K 5y S 10. Y misses B from 12y. B runs 10 smoothly. RY 6-4.

R 2y NW 11. K 2y N 11. Y 3y N 11. Vital clearance for B on R. B misses R. R stops K to Eb, R possibly blocking Y at 11. K at Y - clips Y to 4ft SSW 11. Y 2ft N 11, not quite blocking B at R. B clips Y so R has 2y for game - smashes it through. Mohamed leads 1-0.

Game 2. B runs 1 after B, R and K take position and Y misses B. BK 1-0.

R 3y 2, K misses R. Y 3y SW 2, B misses R, R scores 1-1.

K 4y N 3. Y 2y N 3. B 2ft N Y but open on 3. R tries to block K at 3 but goes too far, K runs 3 very cleanly. BK 2-1.

Y is blocked by 3 and so can only get to 12y S C3. B 10y N 4. R 4y N 4. K clears R to 8y S 3. Y 5y NE 4. B tries 4 but bounces of E wire to C4. R clears K and R to Sb. K clears Y at controlled pace - Y peg-high. Y 2ft N 4. B clears Y with control - Y by 5, B 8y N 4. R 6in SE 4? K 2y N4. Y cuddles K from 7y! B 4y NE 4. R clears B to 15y S C3, R to 10y N C4. K has hampered shot at 4, plays it well but catches the W wire. Y scores, 2-2

B 2y E 5. R 4y S 5. K 2y S 5. Y from Sb to 1ft W K. B cuts R to 4y E C1. R misses K. K runs 5 to 4y NNE 6. BK 3-2.

Y 5y S 6. B 6y SSEbyS 6. R 3y SSE 6. K only nicks Y to 6in E peg and goes to Wb. Y clears B to Nb. B is wired from R and tries to drift into the hoop - ends ip 2 feet past. R stops B to 3y E C2. K 5y S 6. Y 2ft SSW 6. B at Y - misses by a bit. R clears K to 2y N C4. K just fails to hit Y at controlled place to stay on-side for 7. So Y 4in S 6. B plays to 4ft SSW K - may be off-side for 7. R 3ft S 6. K tickles Y to the side so Y enters the jaws. K is only 5y SSE 6 after that effort. B tries to clear R hard but ony cuts it ti 6y E 6. R murders K to middle Sb. K 12y E C2. Y runs with good angle to 10.5y E C2. 3-3.

B 4y NNW 7. R 4ft NNE 7. K 3y N 7. Y clears B to 14y S C2, Y 4y S C2. B at R from 9y and clears well to 12y E C2. R at K - hits hard, R and K ending 12y S C2. K 3y N 7. Y 2ft W K. B clears Y gently to 5y WNW 7. R just nicks K but it's enough. K 6y NNW 7. Y cut-clears B to 2y S C3 and Y ends 6y E C2. B 3y NNW 7. R 2y N 7. K going at 7 - but misses to the left, ending off the wire and 5y ESE 7. Y clears B to S boundary.

B at R from 28y but misses well left onto Nb flicking the hoop. R scores taking lots of wire to 10y S 7. RY 4-3.

K 4y NW 7. Y 3y NW 7. B hits Y (there is a big curve here) and clears K at 8 with B 4ft NNW 8. R at the hoop from 11 yards but misses hoop and B to the right. K clears Y to Sb. Y misses B, hitting the hoop. B grovels through. 4-4.

R 3y SSW 9. K 6y S 9. Y 2y S9. Not sure how much B can see from its "just through 8" position. Plays gently to 2ft short R. Mohamed now misses a relatively easy hoop! K runs 9 just with a bit of spin-through. BK 5-4.

Y 5y S 10. B 4.5y S 10 not blocking. R 2ft SE 10. K from just beyond 9 runs 10 cleanly to a smattering of applause! BK 6-4.

Y 5ft NW 11. B 5y NNW 11. R 4ft N 11. K misses Y to Wb.
Y clears B with some cut to 8y W C3. B at R - misses. R runs with control to 5y ESE 12. BK 6-5.

K 5y NW 12. Y 5y NNW 12. B 2ft NNW 12. R clears K to Wb, R ending 8y E C2. K hits Y to 11y E peg. Y tries a controlled clearance on B but just misses. B scores for a 7-5 win and 1-1. Slightly against the run of play but well done Hamy for remaining completely unflappable while Mohamed was raining thunderbolts all over the place.

Game 3. R to 2ft SW 1. B 3y S 1. Y 3y SE 1 - doesn't look like a block of B on R. B misses R. R hammers through with wire by 8y. RY 1-0.

K impeded by 1 so 6y WSW 2. Y 2ft W 2. B 2y SW 2. R 4ft S 2. K hits R to 7y NW 3. Y tries t block B but fails. But B's attempted jaws ends up on the E wire. R 4y SW 2. K clears Y to Wb, Y 3ft ESE 2. B into jaws but most of the ball is outside . R clears K to 7y E C2. K at Y - but just nicks it to the E. B should be extractable but Mohamed wants something checked so the ball is marked and removed and the sand in the jaws smoothed. Y squeezes B to 6y SSW 2 while Y ends up 4y NNE 2. B 2ft SSW 2 wired from Y. R to 3ft SSE 2. K from Sb 2.5y SW 2. Y swerves into the back of the E wire and Mohamed throws his arms in the air in disgust! B clears R to just beyond 6, B ending 5y SE 2. R 3ft SE 2. K runs from 4y angled. 1-1.

Y 2.5y N 3. B misses Y with K vulnerable to R. R 2y N 3 but not blocking Y. K misses Y. Y sings through to the Sb. RY 2-1.

B 5y NNE 4. R 8y NNE 4. K is over-hit to 4ft SSW 4. Y 2y NNW 4 open to K. B runs from 5y very cleanly. 2-2.

R 4ft SSW 5. K 4ft S 5. Y 1ft SW K but no block of B on R. B now hits solidly and drives R to 2y NNW 2. R at K but the lawn takes it into Y instead. K runs smoothly to 4y past 6. BK 3-2.

Y 5y SSW 6, possibly wired from B. B 2y SSE 6. R from Sb to 3y SSE 6 apparently blocking Y at B. K misses Y from 9 yards. Y goes for 6 but misses on the right with Y crawling round the wire to 2ft E 6. Y at 6 from 2y - runs without touching a wire to 12y E C2. BK 4-2.

R 2y N 7. K 4y NNE 7. Y 1yd NNE- 7 (almost straight). B at R from 8 yards but only tickles it. R scores to Sb, 3y E C1. BK 4-3.

K 4ft NE 8 and wired from R so Y is going for 8 from 22y. Just misses on right, coming off the wire.B 3y NNW 8. R tries for the jaws but end sup 6in E 8. K runs for BK 5-3.

Y 2y SW 9. B 2y S 9. R 2ft W B. K at R but misses. Y stops B to Eb, Y staying 2y SSE 9. B hits R from 7y (a good shot because the slope is vicious and sends everything to the left). R 3ft S 9. K 5ft S 9. Y clears K to 4y S 2, Y 2y N 9. B clears R into W wire. R 2ft S 9. K 7y S 9. Y clears B to Eb. B now misses R down the slope. R runs under control to 5y SSW 10. BK 5-4.

K 3y SSE 10. Y 1y S 10. B 2y SSW 10. R clears B - almost peeling it but it stops 1ft S 10. K cuts Y to 10y E C2. Y at B - key shot - just misses on right at 40 mph! B runs by 4ft to shorten the clearance. BK 6-4.

R 4ft N 11. K 3y N 11. Y 2yd N 11. B at R from 8 yards - good clearance to 2y of Wb. 25y return clearance needed - gets it brilliantly especially as Y must have been slight;y in the way. K now hits Y under control to 3y S 11, K 3ft N 11!. Y 4y N 11. B 3.5y N 11. R 4ft NW 11. K now turns down an apparently only slightly angled 11 in favour of clearing Y to Nb. Y now clears B to C4! B to 6in pos round the hoop! R stops B to 12y E peg, R holding 2ft NW position. K misses 11 at controlled pace, ending N of the peg. Y 8ft N 11. B 4ft E peg. R 3in N 11.

K was NW of the peg and chips R 3ft E 11. Y now has 2y 11 and runs smoothly to 2y SE 12. BK 6-5.

B 3y NW 12, may be open to Y. R 1ft NNW 12! K from Nb hits peg and ends 2ft E peg. Y 4ft N 12. B clears R gently leaving easy stop clear for R who tales it, sending B to 8y S C2 and R 3ft NNW 12. K has a shot at 12 for the match - and gets it.

Hamy Erian wins 4-7, 7-5, 7-5.