Test 2

This morning is heavily overcast, about 15 degrees, and forecast for some rain. As I walked in there were a few spots. Everyone is in their routines now and United Croquet Club very well organised. This year court 7 is the old bowling green, adjacent to the clubhouse, only forty yards from court 5, and much better than the last MacRob, 13 years ago, when court 7 was a couple of tennis courts several hundred yards away.

Stephen and Ian are now warming up, while the TR and three other referees gather around and repair a small hole near the East boundary.

Game 1

Ian Dumergue Won the toss and chose to go first. Red and Yellow
Stephen Mulliner Black and Blue

1. R to E bdry, 9 yards N of IV
2. K to just S of II
3. Y misses R from B baulk into IV
4. U shoots at Y from A baulk, misses by a foot giving Y a rush to R.
5. Y rushes U to 3 yards S of R, sends U to 8 yards S of 3 but hits R in the croquet stroke. Retires both balls to near IV, giving Y a rush to 1.
6. U shoots at R (18 yards) and hits. Rushes Y to 1, approaches 1 but striker's ball goes left of the hoop, level with it. U then hits K in II to much applause. Sets a rush in II for U.
7. Y misses R into IV, leaving a 3 yard rush to 1.

8. U rushes K to 4 yards S of 1, croquets K to 5 yards S of 2, hits Y, sends it to near 4 and rushes R to a yard ENE of 1. Takes off to 2 foot position and sticks in the hoop.
9. Ian calls referee to watch and R hits U gently, makes 1 and has a break.

But he approaches 3 to a close position (difficult to see from here) and bounces off.
10. K, at 4, has no backswing and takes a lift to B baulk, hits R, sends it to 2, rushes U to 1 and has a break, which he takes to 4b, making a diagonal leave with Y at the peg.
11. Ian lifts R from the W bdry to B baulk and shoots at U. Misses to IV.
12. U sends K to 2 yards N of the peg and rushes Y to 1. Bad approach and he bounces off, having to lift his right leg to avoid the fault.
13. Y hits U and has a bad approach to the hoop, walks to IV, walks back to Y and then joins R in IV, leaving the balls less than a foot apart.
14. U has a partial double (1 1/2 balls) or an 11 yard shot at K. He chooses the double and hits.

He makes 1 off K, rushes K to S of 4 and plays a courageous croquet stroke to send K 3 yards NE of 4 and get behind R. U goes to within 2 inches of the boundary but has a good rush. He has a break, but sticks in 3 with R only 4 feet away.
15. R chooses to hit K (5 yards), put K to 4 and rush Y back towards 3, which is R's hoop. He takes off to 10 inches from U, hits it very gently and croquets both balls through. He again has a break.

After 2b he has Y near the peg and rushes K near it so that he has to call the referee to watch as he takes off to his pioneer at 3b. He makes 3b and sets his leave, U peg high and 4 yards from the E bdry, K wired from U about a foot from the peg, with his balls peg-high on the W bdry. Y has a rush towards the peg.
16. U is lifted to A baulk and shoots at Y. Hits! (18 yards). U clip is on 4, Y clip still on 1, the other two on 4b. He makes 4 and has a break.

At 2b his pioneer, K, was in the jaws. He was able to roquet it gently, watched by a referee, and then needed some grass clippings to set his ball for the croquet stroke. He goes to the peg and his leave is: Y 3 yards E and 14 yards S of II, R almost touching the peg, wired from Y, K on the E bdry with a 1 yard rush on U towards the peg.
17. Y is lifted to B baulk and shoots at K. Hits! (19 yards). K goes to 3 yards SSE of 4. He takes off and gets a rush towards 4 on U, which he roquets gently. U is sent to 2 but Y goes too far for a rush on R to 1. He cuts it to the S bdry and rolls 1, getting a 4 feet straight shot, which bounces off.
18. K shoots at R (14 yards) and hits. He sends it to the peg and rushes Y to U and U to 4b, runs 4b, gets a rush to Y near 2, but cuts it, by mistake, to the end of B baulk. He then sends U to 7 yards SW of 2, rushes Y to near the peg, rushes R to penult, is hampered after penult but copes and finishes.

First game to England

Game 2

1. R (Stephen) to E bdry.
2. U (Ian) just S of II.
3, Y misses R from A baulk.
4. K makes double from B baulk and hits Y, rushes R to 1 and over-approaches to the same place the Stephen found in Game 1, just to the West of the hoop. He retires to a yard E of U on the N bdry.
5. R misses Y to the E bdry, leaving them a yard apart.
6. U rushes K to the end of B baulk, takes off to R, puts it 6 yards into court and rushes Y to 1. He makes 1, rushes to K on the N bdry and has a break.

He leaves Y about two feet from 2, wired from B baulk, obviously intending to finish his break at 4b. At 2b he has an angled shot from about 4 inches and, watched by the referee, sticks in the hoop.
7. R is lifted to A baulk and the referee is called to watch. The ball hits the hoop and bounces back to roquet K. He has an easy break.

He sends both U and K to 3b, makes 2b off Y, sends Y to the peg, sends K towards the peg and is hampered after 3b. The referee is called and he sets up for a sweep shot. He copes and sets

his leave: U near the W bdry, K at the peg, only partly wired from U and his balls on the E bdry with a rush to the peg.
8. U is lifted to A baulk and misses R and Y.
9. Y puts U to near 4, Y to 2 and rushes K to 3 yards SW of 1. He makes a good approach and is away on his second break. He attempts the peel after 3 but R bounces off to 2 yards NE of 4b. After 4 he rushes U North but it hits R and sends it about a foot from the N bdry. Y takes off to behind R, leaving U near or on the N bdry, rushes R to near 1, sends R to 6 and makes 5 off K. He has abandoned the triple. He leaves K near 5 and goes to U, sending it to 1b. He has a controlled break.

He takes the break to the peg. K is sent to the W bdry and U is left by the peg, not wired from K. R is left on the E bdry, 7 yards N of IV with Y also on the bdry, 3 yards North.

Lunch

10. No lift is taken and U shoots at R from near the peg. Hits! (13 yards). R is up 4 yards from the E bdry and 1 yard N of 4. Y is rushed to the end of B baulk. He takes off to K and gets a 2 yard angled rush which he sends to 5 yards NW of 2b, his hoop. The approach is not good and he leaves U on the S bdry, 2 yards from K with a rush to 2b.
11. R, from E of 4, hits K (14 yards). r gets behind U , rushes it wide of Y on the N bdry, sends U to penult, rushes Y to 4b and should finish.

England, Stephen Mulliner, wins Game 2 and the match, 2 - 0.