Well, I've just joined the commentary team with Danny failing hoop 2 with black, off partner.
Chris, for hoop 2 with red and the other two clips on one, has hit his nine yarder and should be off.

Doesn't have a good three pioneer, but has good control of the other balls, so should be ok.
Paddy is currently contemplating a longish wait to start.

Hmm...last comment doesn't appear to have appeared. Ok, just in case...
Chris had a go at peeling his partner ball through hoop one on the way to hoop 5. It bounced out to about a foot in front of the hoop.
He has just has another go on the way to six, and this time bounced to about three feet and a bit of an angle,perfect red though...his croquet strokes are exceptional.

Making 2back off blue, so he will need to do some work to get black on the wire...might be an NSL...nope...looking a bit spread like now

Chris has now made 2back and is putting yellow up near hoop 2...I'm expecting lots of balls on boundaries here.

Through 3back. Black (for hoop2) in the middle of the east boundary. Blue (for 1) going just south of corner 2, and Chris will be going into corner 4.

Just to set the scene a bit...about 50 spectators here, some volleyball event going on in the park outside the lawn 6 fence, some good reggae music welcoming the new year, and Paddy and I are between lawns 1and 6, next to a very quiet group of Americans. They are a really nice bunch of people.

Danny is shooting with black from where it lies down at about 1.1 balls target, misses in lawn and lines I tin. About six inches along the south boundary. Let's see what Chris can do with this...

Hits black and nudges it out a bit, rushes partner to about four feet south of blue, which is itself about two yards south of corner two.
Thick take off and gets a good rush to one, which pulls up short and west. Needs a decent takeoff here with the area of hoop one the only place with a hint of pace. Turns out he was further south than it looked, plays a lovely hoop approach and he has a a great chance to finish, making two off partner, with partner currently between corner two and hoop two.

Yay...back online...I just posted this to the nots list as an update... After danny missed the defensive osl chris picked up the break well, getting the first peel after three, but leaving in in the jaws.
He left the peeled until after five, played another lovely croquet stroke to come up north of the peeled...but then only managed to rush it back to mostly thru on the south of the hoop.
Chris came back after six, smashed peeled through to the boundary, played a nice stroke putting peelee in position for a deathroll, but hasn't peeled it yet, and its going to be a straight double. Peeled is nicely placed near the hoop for this.

Right...so..Chris smashed through fourback, came down to nudge partner in front of penultimate...and it rocked back to an unpeelable position!
He has now made rover and it's hands on hips time again.

Toby has just returned and mentioned..."8-0"...Aaron has just pegged out on lawn five. Yay. (For unbiased commentary, please select another channel)

The leave...
Chris: red which is for penultimate is just south of corner two, yellow, for peg, is south of this, but he is about to play a scatter putting red into corner four. Black mid west boundary still for hoop 1, blue near the middle of the east boundary. Red near the corner and yellow about four feet south of this now.

Danny shooting with black from where it lies (which is on west boundary about peg high)

Hits yellow, rushing it into the corner. CORRECTION...black, which has hit, is for hoop 2

Paddy Chapman (NZ) and Ben Rothman (USA) now warming up on lawn five, while final hoop checks are taking place. This is the final late-start match of the day.

Danny didn't have a cannon, rushes to two, makes it but without a rush back. Nice takeoff to get a rush on yellow to hoop 3. Blue is halfway up the east boundary, in a couple of feet. Looks like my dad has turned up to join Chris in his shelter...happy new year dad :)

Rush to three is over cut, giving a two yard take off from south west, very nicely played. He has now grovelled through the hoop, but has a clean shot on yellow to nowhere useful.

Taking off north of hoop 2 to red which is well in lawn. I'd expect Danny to cope with picking up this break from here.

Over on lawn 5 Paddy is in a smart black team fleece , black cap with silver fern and black track pants. Ben has his wide brimmed hat and a shirt with an American flag covering the front of it...and another covering the back of it. Looks great .

Meanwhile Danny is still working on that break...and over rolls hoop four from a long way back and east. Can't run that. Partner nearly went off in that approach too. Off to corner two leaving Chris a few yards southwest of hoop 6 (yellow) and a few yards east of five (red, for penultimate).

Chris is shooting with red at blue south of four...nails the middle of it!!

He has now played another great croquet stroke putting a ball about seven yards north of hoop one and getting a short straight rush to penult. Runs penultimate by a long way, hits his return. Has rushed well to rover and made it...takes off back to partner near penultimate and has a four yard rush to the peg...26-3 to NZL in the first.

(Gosh that's a short duffer tice from Ben against Paddy..about an eight yarder!...whichPaddy has missed to near rover.

GAME 2. Looks like Danny has the toss this time, and Chris has taken the pretty colours.

1 Danny with blue to quite high the east boundary.
2 Chris with red to south of corner two.
3 Danny on his way up here to take an angled shot at partner from about five yards along from corner three

Misses to the left to get a three yard join.

4 Chris on his way up here with yellow...taking on the double...

Hits the front ball. I'm just off to make dad a cuppa...

Right...Chris rushed black to c2, red to hoop 1, made the hoop, rushed across to the east boundary, powered blue up to c2 and has now rushed black to hoop 2 for a lovely pickup.

Still working on getting the break established, black is still in the vicinity of c2, he has rushed blue to hoop 4, taken off to get a rush pointing somewhere near c3, and cut it well to one yard s of three. Longish hoop for the break...and he is through with a forward rush that he taps as the backswing was hampered. Nother excellent croquet stroke and he's off.

Referee out after he tries to get a rush out of. Hoop five and is hampered. Slightly ungainly posture kneeling with knees on either side of the hoop, but makes his roquet. Then plays another inch-perfect croquet stroke.

It has been getting rather hot here, some welcome cloud and cool breeze now.
Chris has made 1back off partner and opts to leave it up by hoop 2...expect another defensive leave here. Remember...all clips still on hoop 1

Blue is in the middle of the east boundary, black is up near corner two, and red and yellow in corner four. Very nice fourth turn.

5. Danny this time has lifted black from corner two, and has brought it about a yard in from c3 to make some sort of target. Steers it a bit and just misses inside blue. Somehow stays on the lawn long enough to reach corner four...he'd have hit that if the hill had come into play earlier.

6. Chris hits black, chips it in a couple of yards, rushes yellow to a few feet west of blue, and has rushes this well to one.
Looks annoyed with his hoop approach and is stalking it from a couple of yards east of corner 1. It's very close, but should be fine...

Hits the hoop stroke mid pace...mallet in the air...he is through and has a straight shot on blue...rushes it off the middle of the north boundary...not that useful a spot with black near c2 and yellow halfway up the lawn just in from the east boundary.
Opts to take off and rush yellow south, gets it two y s of hoop 4 and plays a good takeoff...rushes black 3-4 yards south of hoop 2

Argh...moved camp to under the tree out of the sun and with a crunch Chris has failed hoop two off black.

Danny has played black, rushed red 10y NNE of hoop 1 and taken off to yellow,rushes that a couple of yards NW of one and going all out for his takeoff. Told ya the fastish bit of the lawn was in front of hoop 1... His takeoff rolled on a bit to givea. Long hoop...which he has just run very nicely for a good chance of a break.

Yellow goes to four, and he has a long tonk on red to the middle of the north boundary where blue is waiting just south of the end of b baulk.
That's a decent shot But the subsequent croquet stroke leave a bit of a cut, and now he has a sidey hoop approach.

He is now through two, but is kneeling and contemplating a nasty looking sweep at a five footer...

Playing it right handed, but with his bottom hand very high off the ground. Hits the middle of it. A spectator has suggested playing that as a hammer stroke. I have only seen a couple of hammer strokes that I felt were remotely clean, one of which was a stunner played by Ian Plummer, to run a very angled hoop which had a huge rabbit run at Surbiton.

Meanwhile, Danny has taken off to red, having had yellow at 4, and approached the hoop well...so with an 8 inch hoop I was about to pronounce him well and truly in a four ball break. Bounces out of hoop three.

Chris hits with the reception ball, red, which is for hoop2. Takes off from black, disappointingly just short of partner near hoop four, and has blue waiting about 2.5 yards NNW of hoop 2, where his red clip is presently sitting.

Good takeoff, and he should get a rush down to 4 to start his triple on time.

Ugh...rushes it nowhere particularly near hoop 2, nice croquet stroke, and he has a 18 inch hoop... Makes sure of that, and has a cut south which he hits well to get a shot at a standard TP for the match. (Paddy has one for game one also, but with very northerly pioneers at 2b and 3b... Got the second peel though and I reckon he'll cope)

Chris putting out peelee from north boundary...great shot, under three feet and pretty straight in front of 4b. Runs the hoop, get to shorten the peel and has a wee one-footed dance before putting a slightly angled peelee into just about the front of the jaws of fourback.

Opting to leave it until after 5...Chris often does this, and red was a bit south and possibly a bit west of hoop 5. He's not a fan of long takeoffs when there is another option.
Has a good hoop six pioneer, although he would have preferred it a bit east of the line of the hoop, and gets a sideways rush after five which he cuts up lawn a bit. Will be playing to rush peel...oneback pioneer a bit short as an optional ball (giving the change to peel to it after putting out a 2b pioneer after six if needed) and he has given himself a one-foot rush peel. Nice roll across and hits partner immediately after making hoop 6.

Peels yellow by 18 inches ...looking favourite to be the third kiwi match to finish.

Making 2back with the peelee in front of rover, gets a lot of wire, but all looking good. An imperfect croquet stroke sends blue a yard north of fourback. Peelee is through, makes threeback and puts black to rover, good rush up to corner three .. Finish in stretch now, and chris is a very strong finisher.

Crowd applauds a nice seventh turn TP from Paddy after a fourth turn gift withBen failing hoop 1. Ben has played well so far this test, and will want to come back strongly.

More applause...Chris wins 26TP-3 eight turn. Off for.a hug... :)