Players have finished the warmup and we are underway.
Clarke Blue - to EB 10y N of C4
Forster Red to just S of c2
Chapman Blakc - didn't shoot hard, was he just going 1y N of partner on purpose?
Fletcher Yellow, shoots at B an K from SB...

Surprise surprise.. he's hit! Only half ball to be fair though ha.
Taking B to H1

Fletcher makes h1, has a southwards rush and will be rolling to h3 going to c2 from 3y SW of h1

Good roll out out c2, good hoop an will be round

Grovels through H3.. is hampered, how bad is it? Referee is on the lawn.. reception ball is 4y NNE shouldnt be a problem though.. snicks it!

No problems.. currently approaching 1b. Making the lawns look very easy

What is fletchers leave going to be?

It's looking very white an green out on the lawns at the moment. Australia on all 3 courts

Grovels through 3b... hasn'tt got much of a leave set up yet..

Its going to be a spread with Clarke at the WB and Paddy at the Peg

First ball to 4b by 9.30 an O'eary was close on l6 but failed 3b by the looks of things. Toby in play now on l6

Paddy shooting from the Peg.... Hits. Chris just informs me it was a ball an a half with B an K completely open as well

Paddy has made 1 an just good a hoop an roquet at h2.. h3 pioneer 4.5yN of h3 so still needs a good shot here...

Good shot.. but Paddy fails 18inch h3 to a nasty Position.. don't think he can run the hoop.
T6 Forster has a 9 yarder on partner.. middles it

Forster falls short of ball on NW side of h3.. rushes B up.. plays a promotion.. Has a 1ft rush pointing at h4.. cures to SB level with 5. Tough approach

Forster fails to approach h1 again after Champman cornered
Chapman hits 21 yarder... ball in c3, gets a rush on it playing a croquet stroke from y7 NE of h4.. should be a break now as he has made h3 and is approaching h4 from 1y

Chapman misses something.. I think a roquet trying to get a 4 ball break out early.. clip goes on h5
Forster in play again.. fails to get a rush to h1 an approaches from 10y NE.. doesn't get in front. retires to yellow near h3 and gives r a 2y southwards rush at h4. B by h1, K by h2
Clarke is shooting from h1 at the ball at h2...

Clarkey hits the 21 yarder.. heads to r an y, rushs y to 2y SE of 1

Good approach.. grovels through h1..
Referee called.. no problems. Approaching h2 fro 1ye.. no thought of putting the 4b ball to h3 for the TPO.. this will be a break to 4b

Up to h6.. still in control..

Round to 4b. Leave is;

Forster 2y N of h5
Fletcher on the EB peg high
Chapman in c4
Clarke 1ft N of chapman

Clips
Clarke an fletcher 4b
Chapman h5
Forster h1

Forster shoots from where he lies into c4.. hits.. Digs k out of the corner a bit, gets a rush on B to y.. rushes to 6y S of 5.. approaches and has a 2y 25 degree h1... ugh oh, on his way to h1 stops and limps. hope he's ok! Has a quick breather and carriers on. Looks ok. Fails h1 but stays in the jaws.. don't often fail from that distance to there.
Clarke an Chapman having a look at what to do

Chapman misses a 20 yarder.. Forster makes h1 an as a leave..
Clarke shooting from 6y E of h3 at partner which is 4y s of h5

Swing looked ok.. nope... misses to SB.
Forster has a cut rush to h2 from WB between peg an 6

Fails 2 from 2ft straight

Chapman hits 10 yarder.. couple of very good shots an a good h5 an should be away now

The crowd has quadrupled doday.. we now have about a dozen club members along with a few names you might recognise; Prince, Murfitt, Steve Jones, Mike Crashey Jim Wardle John Versey and Josh Smith (commentating lawn 6). I've just gone in for a feed an the sausage rolls/mince pies/pickelets with cream and jeam have been gulfed down by myself to no complaints. Kapai (good job) Marewa catering team!

Chapman on a break to the peg.. bit of trouble at 1b which needs a referee but no problems

tough 2b.. 25 degrees.. cleanly through to the SB. Good shot

Approaching 3b from 8 inches.. looks like thats fallen down a hill. By the angle he's lining it up at this must be close to 40 degrees. Is it even runnable?

Goes in for the jump. Good looking shot but finishes in the jaws. Luckily (for NZ) it is fletchers 4b ball with b an k down by 3b with forsters h3 ball down at 4b

3b an 4b (NZ) vs 4b an 2

Fletcher plays an is making 4b with a pioneer at penult an the 3b ball still in 3b

Fletcher playing Y.. after 4b sends r to the peg going to B (4b) at penult.. he wil be stopping at rover. What will his leave be? Poor rush to penult and this is the first time this test I have seen him playing a backwards takeoff.. tough shot here.. 2y south and not quite directly behind

Takes off.. bobbles into the jaws? or is it on the wire? may not be able to scatter B which would give clarke a 4y southwards rush on R with the possibility of rush peeling K through 3b on his way to 4b.. somehow I don't think he will ahve that option at the end of the shot

Retires to EB inbetween 6 an peg.. what will the kiwis do?

Clarke plays.. rushes r just out of c1, rush peels 3b.. doesn't go through cleanly. croquets it to 1yN of 4b going to y. Sends y to 2yE of h2 and gives himself a rush on K to 4b. I'm thinking he wanted y much further W?
Have a guess what happened...

yeap, fletcher middled it!

He's for penult, will we see him on the peg with a crosswire sometime? I hate trying to guess what these top guns are trying to do since my level of understanding is so minimal compared to them.

Fletcher playing Y.. croquets K to 3y off NB level with 6 has a rush to penult... thinking about it..

Makes penult.. he was going for a crosswire at h2 but didn't want to position the ball having to go accross the rushline after the 2nd rush falls short.
Aborts, sends k between 3 an 4 going to r in c1.. but goes out in the croquet stroke. B is 2y NE of 1b. Kiwi's out on the lawn discussing what to do now

Clarke shoots at K from h2... looks on... nope

Misses to 1yN of c4

Forster hits his 2 yarder, takes off to b near c4.. is it going out...? Nope, perfect weight pulls up 1y short

Big croquet stroke coming up here... good h3 pioneer... r has gone to far an roquets K.. big approach

Bloody good effort!!! 1y 15 degree hoop with K just off the yardline.. will he take it on?
Goes to look if B an K are wired.. im off for a look

Looks like he's taking it on..

Nope, change of plans, retires to c1 giving him a 1y northwards rush

Lachy Hughes has just arrived.. young fella from Wanganui. Watch his name over the next 5 years along with Tony Stevens. Great to have more kiwi supporters here

Chapman goes to c4

Forster rushes to 5y SW of h6.. approaching h2 from there

lands in an idential place to last time, fails the hoop to 7yW of 2. Is it open on b?

Clarke has a 10 yarder on R.. misses

Forster hits the 8 yarder on the NB, takes off to Clarkes B on WB.. sends that to 3 going to take position at 2..over approaches.. retires to sb having a 3y rush on Y to middle of EB. Clarke moves the ball at 3 an goes to the middle of the SB - remember Chapman is still in c4

Forster plays some really good shots, all the hard work done but over approaches h5. Clarkey misses a 16 yarder at partner on the WB peg hig. Fletcher is in front of 5 an Forster on the NB,
Fletcher shooting at B an k.... middles again. How many 13 yarders in a row is that now?

Having a leave.. K near the NB by H2.. B on the WB peg high.. Im fairly confident wired from K.. R an Y laying up in c4 with a rush to h5

Kiwis walk on to decide what to do.. both have their mallets with them

Chris takes the shot... this one looks better.. holding his mallet up...

Shakes his head.. hilled off?

Forster in play, 1ft rush to h5

Good pickup from Forster, grovelled through a couple of hoops but a good turn. Straight rover peel, front ball no worries, back ball middles the outside wire but bounces back in front. No problems with the finish an AUS takes g1 26-18

Players have breaked for lunch. on court 6 Toby has gone to rover with a defensive leave. Aaron on 4b along with O'Leary and Dumergue on 1b

G2
Forster EB
Clarke Duffer
Fletcher misses to C4
Chapman misses duffer

Fletcher hits EB ball, rolls that to 2 going to duffer, gets a rush on that to ball on the SB, really good approach to h1 an going round

Misshits the rush to h3, take off from behind the hoop gives him a very tough h3, if he runs it shouldn't be a problem as reception ball is directly s of it, big shot, unlucky not to go into reception ball, hits 7 yarder at h4 off the sb, takes off back to reception ball at 3, big shot here getting a rush to 4.. for some reason I'm sure he will cope

maybe its because he's quite good?

Good shot, h5 pioneer is 1ft e of it an has a 1ft rush to h4

overhits.. looks 1..5y S of 4? Not straight so can easily take off down the eastern side

Rolled an wobbled... 18 inch 30 degrees

Failed to 2y NE.

Clarke walks on plaing Y an hits the 3 yarder, good croquet stroke loading h2 with a 2y rush to K on the sb with r

A bit unlucky, gentle rush cannoned into K on SB but finished 1y apart so should be fine. Good rush to h1, approaching from 1.5y SSE

Runs h1.. hits 4y return, should be fine now

Round to 4b no worries, Forster standing in the middle of the lawn while Fletcher adjusting the line balls in c4.

Leave;
B (Fletcher, h4) on the EB looks N of the peg
K (Forster h1) 2y SW of h2 - hidden from baulk by the looks of it
Clarke an Chapman (4b a h1) laid up in c4

You'll never guess who's taking the lift ;)

Head up to 2y E of the end of B baulk an shoots K.. middles it! Good take off to c4 but still a bit of work to do for a break

Another really good pick, was just about to start discussing his leave with you, but he beat me to it an has stuck in 3b. Chapman (h1) is 2y S out him with the other two balls in lawn - K 2y e of the peg an Y 7yS of k
Chapman hits the ball in the jaws. loads h2 (which falls 7 yards short ;/ ) has a 1ft rush to h1 and will bbe approaching from 1y E.. still a tough shot due to the hill

Runs h1.. has a 6y return on k...

No problems! On a nice tidy break now, currently up to h6

Ugh oh - there is a clip on 3b!
Forster now in, approaching h1 but no h2 pioneer. Other balls are b3b an 4b... fails 18inch h1
Chapman has a 3 yarder with a ball at his hoop

No worries, some good shots an has made 3b an 4b, making penult with no pioneer at rover intenionally. The clip will be on rover at the end of it with B (3b - Fletcher) in c2, K 5yw of the peg (Forster - h1) and R an Y tight in c4 with a northwards rush. Will Fletcher take the short shot an hits his x consecutive 13 yarder in a row?

Nope, same shot again, Forster shooting from where he lies... missed by absolutely nothing I don't think he can believe it. However, another really good display of control. Something that has impressed me immensly with all of the players is there ability to control their emotions. I'm slowly getting better at it but hope that soon I can get to their levels of control!!

Bit of discussion but Clarke decides to play, digs K out of the corner a bit, rushes up to 4b, 2 balls 4b penult an rover with partner, snicks the 6y return after rover.. never in doubt some would say? ;) After that, croquets R to max distance on EB going to K, croquets K to 2ft W of peg.. dont think its wired from EB ball. Leaves r a 2y rush to c2 -- I think that might be wired from Forster at the peg. Fletcher still in c2

Very defensive shot, Forster goes to c3 an is shooting down the line... think the Kiwi's will be happy with that.
Stalks.. Mallets staying in the air, he must have it?? Yeap! Good shot

Good approach to h1 after the rush finishes 4yS of it, has made h1,

Forster is approaching h2 from the EB... good shot leaves 2ft straight hooop which he creams through. I think this could be the end of Chris for this game if he can get to the peg

I went over to watch the exciting finish on lawn 6. Brilliant turn from Tim O'Leary to finish with 3 balls and take the game 26-25. Read Joshes commentary for more details.
Since I've been gone...

Forster grovelled through 4.. referee called but no dramas.. grovelled through 6.. hampered and shoots at 1b pioneer.. misses
Chapman misses 8 yarder
Forster runs 1b.. misses return 10 yarder
Chapman misses 6y lift from edge of Baulk
Forster hits 12 yarder with control, fails 2b from 18 inches 15 degrees
Clarkes turns down 12 yarder into c1 on B an shoots at R in c2.. not quite
Now we are back to live

Runs 2b, beautiful cut rush to 3b, under/over approaches then fails 3b. Come on Padster, you can finish mate

Bit sweaty.. but Makes rover an has a leave, B 3y off the EB level with 5 (Fletcher), Forster is 2y off WB just N of h1, R an Y laid up with a rush to the peg in c2

Fletcher taking the shot, shooting at K

Liked it.. unlucky to miss that I think he was interested for a long time

Clarke walks onto the lawn... rushes to 4yW of the peg

Chapman lining up the shot with Clarke on the other side, referee called onto the lawn
Middles it!! We are going to a 3rd. Brilliant match so far

G3

Clarke playing B EB level with 5?
Forster playing R just S of c2
Chapman hits EB ball, digs it inlawn a bit taking off to c2. Rolls it peg high on the WB.. I don't know if they would normally do this if it was anyone other than Fletcher but if he hit's he is probably going to go round regardless of if there is a ball in the corner. This adds the extra pressure to the shot. Nice turn Chappy

Fletcher playing Y misses to c4. Good chance for Chapman here, you can do it bro!

I do enjoy commentating, it is hard sometimes doing it on my own team so apologies if some of it appears far to biased!! Hope the readers are enjoying it

Chapman fails h1
Forster hits, fails h1?
Chapman hits fails h1, reject this time rather than in the jaws
Forsters hits, makes h1. This turn will play a very big part in the match

I thought he made h1 to quickly!! JP an RM just asked me if I saw the shot - Forster overhit his approach to h1 from the SB, during the croquet stroke it went through h1 and gave him a rush up the boundary. The cheeky bugger! ;) Got to take everything you can get in this game though I suppose

I guess that makes it one shot each to AUS an NZ like that actually - yesterday, Jenny ran h4, missed the 5y return, rejected out of 3b an hit the reception ball to make the roquet! Some good stuff going on

Forster fails 6 from what appears to be nowhere - was a really nice turn up until hat point.
Clarke his his 3 yarder an has a break laid out for him already, Hoop an roquet after 1, should go round of this

Made h2.. looking in control

Through h4...

Making 2b.. still not clear what the leave will be. Im guessing Forster inlawn somewhere, an Fletcher on a boundary with Clarke an Chapman laid up in a corner

Tough 3b hoop... fails it. Fletcher reception ball or forster has a 1 yard southwards rush near the peg on K

Fletcher playing.. approaching h1 from 2y N

Runs 1 down to 2.. roquets h2 pioneer off the NB level with 3

Thick takeoff going to R, rushes R to K loads h3 getting an ok rush on K approaching 2 from 7y S of 2

Great approach, has a 18inch hoop, creams it through

Will be a tidy break from H3.. will let you know if anything interesting happens...

Approaching h4..

Runs h5, goes inbetween R, B an the peg before stopping 2ft S of his h6 pioneer.. rushes it N, takes off to reception ball at 5 loading 1b in the same shot. Gets a 2ft rush to 6..

Copes no worries.. what will his leave be? Remembering Clarke is on 3b, Chapman on h1 an Forster on h6

Fletcher was going for a horizontal spread. Went wrong so had to abort to c2. Clarke hit, rolled down to c1 an laid up for Chapman.
Forster shot from EB peg high, missed into c1
Chapman hits 4 yarder, loads it to 2 best he can an is approaching h1

He's made h1, rushed into c2 so will have a tight rush to h2. Approaching from 1ft E

Chapman past h4 and after h5 should be in complete control

5 yard return after h5...

restalks..

3/4's it. Thata boy

If the break can continue i will suspect it will be similar to before where he will stop at Rover

Commentators curse ;/ Fails h6.. Forster has a 6yarder for everything of Fletcher has a 3 yarder an can make a leave

Both out on the lawn discussing

Fletcher plays. making a leave

He is looking for a crosswire at h6.. hasn't got a good rush to where he wants to go for the second ball so will take a good cut. or is it a change of plans now?

Change of plans. K is 3y NW of h6, B has been rushed to the NB an is going to be going well south.. finishes 5yW of h1 He hasn't got a rush to c4 which is where I think he wanted it? where will he go...

Rolls off to c4.. I think Y is 2y E of the corner an R is N of the corner so doesn't have a rush to B near h1
Chapman plays to c3

Clarke plays to EB peg high.
Forster rushes partner to NB level with 3. Croquets Y to 5y NW of h3 going to the ball in c3. Croquets that to 3y w of h5 going to B on the EB. Croquets that towards c2 and comes an leaves a rush to h6

Clarkey hits the 25 yarder.. great shot! leaves a ball at 4b and gets a rush to the other ball in lawn, will be going to penult or rover?

Leave is a horizontal spread? Forster at the peg an Fletcher at WB
Forster shoots from c3.. misses to c4

Chapman rushes across, has made h6 with a hoop an roquet, not a great croquet stroke after 6.. 2b pioneer finishes 2y WSW of 2b an has a 3y rush pointing at h6.. good cut an approaching from 2ft E of 1b off partner

1ft 1b.. played at a very gentle pace.. takes a lot of wire just goes through.. then bobbles to give him a cut rush towards eb
Chapman plays a great cut, finishes 9y N of c4.. assuming he will roll that in going to R in c4 then take off to 2b?

Has made 4b and the rover ball is at rover...

Currently approaching penult...

Is through the danger hoop. Leaves yellow behind... red is the side ball.. 1ft rush on rover peele.. rushes to 3 inches 10 degrees?

Calls Clarke onto the lawn...

Peele is through.. back ball is jawsed.. 2.5 yarder pointing at c3

on the escape ball* going to Y now to get a rush back to the ball which has been peeled

Rushes y to 4y SW of b...

Takes off gets a rush to the peg.. its pointing at c3..

Cuts to 3yS of the peg

Both out there lining up the peel

Both happy with it...
Front balls good... back balls good. 2-1 match to NZ giving NZ a 3-0 overall lead with 2 matches in play and 1 incomplete