Good Morning! Today is fine with 4/8 cloud, about 19 degrees. The players are warming up and I'm happy to say that the manager has assisted the commentators by assigning courts so the Aust v US is on Courts 1, 2 and 3, with England v NZ on the other three.

I am on the clubhouse balcony, with power and good WiFi. I will try to cover the nearest two courts, with occasional references, when I have time, to court 3, partially obscured by a large shelter.

Court 1.
Game 1.
1. K (Tim O'Leary) to eb.
2. Y (Jeff Soo) to II.
3. U misses K from A baulk.
4. R misses K from A baulk.
5. K makes 1 and is away on a break. After 2 he collects Y from II and intends to send it to 4 but it hits U, which remains 5 y S of 2 while U stays near 6.

Court 2.
Game 1.
1. K (Malcolm Fletcher) supershot, 4y SW of the peg.
2. R (Jim Bast) to eb, peg high - from B baulk.
3. U misses R from A baulk.
4. Y makes a double from B baulk and hits R, fails to get position at 1 and retires to III. R is near 3.
5. K misses U near 2 from N of 1 and goes to N bdry.
6. R hits Y (10y) , goes to K, puts it to 2, rushes U to 1 and is away on a break.

Court 3. Ian Dumergue (R and Y) is playing Rich Lamm (K and U) in their game 1. Rich is making a break with K, with all other clips still on hoop 1. He has gone to 4b and is setting a leave which looks like a diagonal spread, from what I can see.

Court 1.
5 (cont). Tim has left R on 2, but rushable to 1. He has gone to 4b, leaves Y on 4 and sets a rush for the peg.
6. Y lifts to III and misses to IV.
7. This is speculative. U failed to get position at 1 after sending R to 2.
8. R misses to S bdry.
9. U makes 1, rushes to IV, collects Y with a cannon, fails to get position for 2 and clears R to the N bdry, leaving U and K 6y apart near 6.
10. Back to fact: R hits U from N bdry to near 6 (12y), makes 1 and has a break.

Court 2.
6 (cont). Jim is hampered after 6, calls a referee and eventually hits away to the end of B baulk.
7. K at 6 hits U near 2 goes to R, moves it off the boundary, takes off to Y near 1 but fails to get position and retires to the wb opposite 2.
8. R hits Y (29y). He has a pioneer at 1b, his hoop and should make a break. He goes to 4b and sets a diagonals spread.
9. U at the peg is not hampered on the backswing at the oppo's balls. U hits Y and has a break.

Court 1.

10 (cont). He makes 3 with an angled jump to applause, starts a tpo by peeling his oppo, bur eventually sticks in 1b with the peelee against the wire of penult.
11. Tim has all the balls and has reached 1b with U while I was concentrating on other courts. Neither the K or R clips are in sight, so he must have peeled R through 1b and done some peels on K. He is making 4b with R and puts R to 3y NNE of rover and K to the peg. I think he has done the three peels on K. He is playing so fast I lose a lot when I look at another court. He sticks in penult.
12. Y, watched by referee, hits U in penult from 4y. Clips are K on the peg, U on penult, R on 2b and Y , in play, still on 1. Jeff approaches 1 to 1y at 25 degrees. He makes 1 and has a break.

Court 2.
9 (cont). He is hampered after 6, calls a referee and copes. He goes to 4b and leaves Y 4y WSW of 2, R lose at the peg, U in IV and K 9y N and 2y W of IV.
10. Y is lifted to a baulk and misses U.
11. U rushes Y to III, takes off to R, rushes it to between 1 and 2 , takes of to K but fails to get a rush to anywhere and sets up a rush to 2 near IV, probably wired from R.
12. R shoots at U and K but hits 5 and remains mid-court.
13. K sticks in 2 with Y nearby, Rbon the N bdry near 3 and U 5y E of 3.
14. Y hits K, watched by referee to near 1, puts K to 4 and goes to R. The Y clip is on 1. He takes off to U and gets a good rush to 5 y in front of 1.

Court 3. Ian Dumergue has a break and has just made 3. One of Rich's clips is on 4b and the other two clips are on 1.
10 mins later: each player has one clip on 1 and one on 4b. Rich has just failed to get position at 1 and retires to IV, leaving his other ball a few yards N of 1. Ian has a ball in II which he misses from 10y.

Court 1.
12. He breaks down and puts his clip on 2.
13. Tim is about 4 ft from his hoop, penult, at 25 degrees and bounces off.
14. Y misses R to IV (10y).
15. U hits K, goes to Y in IV and rolls. y to rover then hits R to 10y W of penult, sends R to between 3 and III and joins K on the eb. Y is actually 4y W of rover and K may be wired.
I missed the end of this game which Tim just finished. Australia 1 - nil.

Court 2.
14 (cont). Y's clip is on 1b so he must have broken down there.
15. Malcolm is in play with K and has made 4. He is setting up for a delayed peel at 4b but has the escape ball 2 y SE of 4b. He makes 5 and rushes Y to a good position 8 y SE of 4b. I missed a bit, but he has made 6 and is setting up the peel on the way to 1 b. He puts U in the jaws.

Court 1.
Game 2.
1. Y (Jeff Soo) to II.
2. U to IV.
3. R misses U on left, no double.
4. K hits R, makes 1 with a rush to II. He goes to 1b and breaks down while I was watching the other court.
5. Y missed to II.
6. K hit Y and failed to roll 1b, shot at U near 2b and finished in I.
7. Y from S of 2 missed R, near 4 to IV.
8. U missed K, leaving both balls, touching, in I.
9. Y hit R (9y). He calls a referee to watch for the cannon, which he gets and plays well, sending U past 2 and Y to a couple of yards E of 1. But he fails to get position and goes to IV,

Court 2.
15 (cont). He bounces off 1b.
16. Y is lifted to A baulk and should have started a break but fails to get position at 1b and sets up near 1 with U near 2 and K 6y E of 4.
17. u misses to the S bdry.
18. Y hits U, puts it to 2b and rushes R to 4y W of 1b. He fails to get position and sets the ball a foot in front of the hoop with R on the other side.
19. U shoots at R, misses to the N bdry in front of 1b.
20. Y makes 1b, sets a leave with K 7y SW of 2, U near the peg and R and Y on the eb.
21. U shoots from III at R (18y), misses to IV.
22. Y gets going again, makes 2b with a good pioneer at 3b and he has put K to 8y SW of 2. He makes 3b.

Court 1.
10. K hits R makes 1b and misses return roquet to N bdry.
11. Y is lifted to B baulk and hits K, has a set break which he has taken to 4b.

Court 2.
22 (cont). I don't know what happened but he left three balls near III or perhaps Malcolm hit in before the clip was put on 4b.
23. U made 4b and retires with U in II, K 4y in court from the wb a bit N of peg high and R andY near the peg and near the eb.
24. R hits Y (11y), goes to U, sends U to near 1 and gets a rush on K to 6yW of 4b, it's hoop. He rolls the hoop, arms directing the ball to stop, makes 4b and rushes K back to Y on the eb, peg high. He walks back to his oppo and asks something, then returns and rushes R to penult, makes that hoop, rushes R back to K on the eb, rushes K too far, so takes off to beyond U and rushes U back to rover. K is now 7y W of the peg. He makes rover and sets his leave, U 5y ENE of the peg, K a yard from the peg, wired from U, R on the eb, 9y N of IV, with a 1 yards rush on Y towards 4.

Court 1.
11. Whoops! He stuck in 3b.
12. Y calls referee and hits the ball in the hoop, has an easy start to his break. His other clip is on 2b. But he fails to get position and clears R to the eb, U going to the S bdry, 3y W of IV.
13. Y misses R.
14. U hits Y.

Court 2.
25. U misses R.
26. R rushes Y a yard beyond 4b but makes that and finishes.
US leads one game to nil.

Court 3. Ian Dumergue won the first game, 26 - 9.

Court 1.
14 (cont). U makes 1 and 2, collects K from near the S bdry in front of 1 and takes of to U at 3 but finishes hampered by the hoop, calls a referee and misses.
15. U hits Y and has K and R close to his hoop, 3b. I expected him to go further but he only makes 3b and sets a leave. His other clip, R, is on 1. He leaves U near the N bdry, 7y NE of 2, K 5y W of 1 and his balls 6y N of I've with a rush for R towards K. And probably wired from K.
16. U shoots and goes between Y and R
17. R makes 1 with K and Y both nearby and U on the eb.

Court 2
Game 2.
The game started while I was getting some lunch.
Malcolm is in play with K, probably on turn 4 or 5 and sticks in 1 from 2 ft straight. His other ball is nearby and Y is near 2.
Let us say,
6. Y misses U to S bdry.
7. K calls referee, makes 1, hits U to 7y E of the peg, goes to Y and sends it into the jaws of 3, going too far beyond R for the rush to 2. He rushes it to 3y E of I and attempts to roll hoop 2, approaching to 4 yards. He runs the hoop cleanly but misses the 5y return roquet to the S bdry, 5y W of IV.
Y may be just S of the jaws of 3.
8. Jim calls the referee, hands over his mallet and asks for a wiring lift, which he is given. Y is lifted to A baulk and hits K (9y). He takes off to U and gets a rush to 3 y SE of 1. He sticks in 1 from a yard, straight.
9. U is about 7 y NNW of the hoop, so Malcolm shoots at K and hits it (25y). He rolls K into 5 and U pulls up 5y short. He calls the referee and hits Y which stays at the hoop, makes 1 and has a break. He sticks in 5 with k and Y close and R at 6.

Court 1.
17 (cont). He goes to the peg and leaves his balls in II, with a rush for Y towards the peg, U near the eb and K wide of the peg to its W.
18. K is lifted to B baulk and misses Y.

Court 1.
19. Y approaches 4b and bounces off, with U close, R at penult and K near II.
20. U hits R, goes to K and plays a big split, sending K to 4 and U to Y at 3. He has a break. Ten minutes later... The peelee is on the wire of 4b. After 1b he sets up at 4b for the peel before 3b with the 3b pioneer at 4 b. He approaches 2 b badly but runs the hoop from about 5 ft at 20 degrees.
He rushes Y past 4b, sticks the peelee in 4b and rushes R nicely back to 3b. Will he attempt the straight triple? He completes the first peel but breaks down when I was not watching and his clips are both on penult.
21. Y has just made 4b with a pioneer at penult and should finish. He does.
One game all.

Court 2.
10. Y makes 1 and sticks in 2.
11. U calls referee and misses a small piece of Y.
12. With referee watching, Y runs 2 and misses K to the eb, level with 3.
13. K hits R (5y) to 3 y from the S bdry, S of 4, takes off to Y, puts Y 8y S of 3 and joins U on the wb, leaving a double for Y.
14. Y hits K, sets up on eb near 3.
15. U hits R (25y), makes 5 but has some work to continue. He sends K to4y S of 1b, rushes Y to 3y W of the end of B baulk and takes off to behind R for the rush to 6. He fails to cut it and the R goes to the end of B baulk. He sends R to 8y N of 1 but U touches 6 and he does not get position. U retires to Wbof K on the wb
15. Y hits K (10y), bounces off 3. K is near 4 and U on the wb level with 2.
16. K shoots at R between 3 and III. Hits! (24y). He sends R to 6y N of 4 and seems to run 3, hampered, calls referee and hits Y, makes 4 and has a break.

Court 3. They must be at lunch. Ian Dumergue's clips are on 1 and 4b and his balls are at 1. Rich's clips are both on 1 and his balls are near 2 and on the eb.

Court 2.
16 (cont). Malcolm has taken his break with U to 4b. He leaves R 7 y W of the peg and apparently y is not wired from it. U is in IV and K 3y N of it.

Lunch.

It has become a clear day, with 1/8 cloud but a medium wind and about 22 degrees. I am in the shade and still have a sweater on. There are lots of bowlers on the two rinks next to courts 1 and 3, but they are keeping quiet.

Court 1.

Game 3.
1. K (Tim) to eb.
2. R to II.
3. U misses K from A baulk.
4. Y makes double from B baulk and hits K, rushes U to near III, splits it to 5y W of 1, hits R and sets up N of 2.
5. U hits R (28y). Puts it to 2, rushes Y to 6y N of 1, takes off to position but grazes the hoop and misses K (25y) to eb.
6. Y misses U or K (unseen)
7. U has made 1 and is away at speed. He goes so fast I have no time to look at the other games. While I was looking elsewhere he broke down with his clip on 4.
8. R is in play approaching 1. Good approach from the side. He makes 1 and has a break which he takes to 4b leaving U on the peg, wired from K 8y SW of 2, R 2y N of IV with a rush on Y to the peg.
9. U hits Y, rushes R to wb, sends it to 1b and gets a rush... But I looked away...
Turning back to this game, hoop setters are re-setting hoop 5, with Jeff hovering. Clips are K on 1, U on 4, Y on 1 and R apparently in play at 5. Hoop esters depart, he makes 5 and continues his break.

Court 2.
17. Y (Jim) hits R to wb, takes off to U, hits it from 7 y. He makes 5 and has a break, goes to 4b.
18. U hits R, makes 5
Court 1.
Game 2.
1. Y (Jeff Soo) to II.
2. U to IV.
3. R misses U on left, no double.
4. K hits R, makes 1 with a rush to II. He goes to 1b and breaks down while I was watching the other court.
5. Y missed to II.
6. K hit Y and failed to roll 1b, shot at U near 2b and finished in I.
7. Y from S of 2 missed R, near 4 to IV.
8. U missed K, leaving both balls, touching, in I.
9. Y hit R (9y). He calls a referee to watch for the cannon, which he gets and plays well, sending U past 2 and Y to a couple of yards E of 1. But he fails to get position and goes to IV,

Court 2.
15 (cont). He bounces off 1b.
16. Y is lifted to A baulk and should have started a break but fails to get position at 1b and sets up near 1 with U near 2 and K 6y E of 4.
17. u misses to the S bdry.
18. Y hits U, puts it to 2b and rushes R to 4y W of 1b. He fails to get position and sets the ball a foot in front of the hoop with R on the other side.
19. U shoots at R, misses to the N bdry in front of 1b.
20. Y makes 1b, sets a leave with K 7y SW of 2, U near the peg and R and Y on the eb.
21. U shoots from III at R (18y), misses to IV.
22. Y gets going again, makes 2b with a good pioneer at 3b and he has put K to 8y SW of 2. He makes 3b.
23, I lost this, but Jim took Y to 4b
24. Malcolm took U from 5 and bounced off 3b
25. R is lifted to A baulk and hits U, makes 1 and has a break.

Court 3. Ian Dumergue is in play with neither of his clips visible. Rich's clips are both on 1.

Court 2.
25. But breaks down at 3, with his partner clip on 4b.
26. K goes to the peg, sets up on the wb. The U clip is on 3b.
27. R is lifted to A baulk and misses to II. Y is 8y N of 4.
28. Y rushes K to Y, sent to 6y S of 4b, Y is rushed to 3b. U makes 3b has the break and finishes.

One game all.

Court 1.
I missed what was happening while the game on court 2 was finishing.
Clips are now K and Y on 1, U on 4 and R on 4b.
U just hit R near IV, sends it to 5 and rushes K to 4. Y is in III. He smashes through 4 and has a break.

Court 3. Ian Dumergue just pegged out the second game and wins 2 - nil.

Australia leads the US 9 matches to 4.

Game 3.
I have lost the text twice.
However, Tim went to 4b and set a diagonal spread. Each player has a clip on 1 and a clip on 4b.
Jeff lifted the ball at the peg and missed the oppo's balls from A baulk.
Tim failed 1 onto the E wire with his U ball 4 y N of 1 and wired.
Y, Jeff, misses R from near 4
Tim calls referee to watch and hits about 1cm of K showing on the E. He goes around the world (to all the other balls) returns to 1, makes the hoop and has the break. After 1 he sends the peelee to 3 and after 2 he sends R towards 4 but it hits 6. He makes 3 and attempts the peel but the peelee bounces back a few inches from the W wire. R is near 6 and he cuts it towards the peg. He approaches 4 to 3 feet and bounces off. Y is about 3y away, with 3/4 of K.
Jeff fails to call a referee and hits the hoop.
Tim, K, makes the hoop, hits, Y, sends Y deep ready for the delayed 4b peel, makes 5 off R, peels U through 4b but has a bad approach to 6 and bounces off, giving Jeff an easy start to his break.
Y, Jeff, makes 1 and 2 and has U as a pioneer at 3, but misses to the N bdry.
R and K are close at 4 and Tim , K, hits R, fails to get position at 6 and bounces off. R is near 1b, U near THe end of B baulk and Y between 3 and 4.
Y, Jeff, shoots at K, missing.

Court 2.
Game 3,
1. K (Malcolm) to eb
2. Y to II.
3. U misses K.
4. R misses Y.
5. K rushes U to N bdry, sends it to 2, goes to oppo's balls, rushes Y to 3y NW of 1, makes 1 and has a break. He is slightly hampered after 2, calls a referee and copes. He leaves Y 8y SW of 2 after 1b, makes 2b and fails to take position at 3b. He clears R to 9y S of III, K going to the eb, level with 4.
6. Y is lifted to II and he waits for the wind, now quite strong. Jim snicks R and has K and U to get to 1. He establishes a controlled break and has reached 4.

Court 1.
K misses U.
Y hits R and should get his break, starting from 3. After 1b he rushes the pioneer, K, back into the jaws of 1b, manages to send it out of the jaws on a take -off and carries on with his break. After 2b he misses a short return roquet to the N bdry.
Tim lifts U to A baulk and re-establishes his break from 6.

Court 2.
6 (cont). ...reached 2b. Clips are Malcolm's K on 3b, u on 1. Jim's R on 1 and, as he sticks in 3b, on 3b.
7. U calls referee and hits Y from 5 inches, sends Y to 3, hits K, sends it to 2 and gets a rush on R to 4 ft NW of 1. He makes 1 and has a break. Will he try the quad peel? No! He sticks in 3.
8. R misses ? To the N bdry in front of 3.
9. U calls referee, makes 3 and continues his break.

Court 1. Tim approaches 1 b to the wrong side and goes through the hoop to position, with U a foot N of his ball, K.

Jeff shoots U from near 2b at R, near 3, missing to the eb.
Tim calls referee hits U, makes 1b with a rush, leaves U in front of 6, goes to Y, puts it to 3b and cuts R to 6y NE of 2b. He approaches to yard but angled at 40 degrees. He smashes it through. Wow! Now he sends R to 4b and attempts the penult peel on the way to 3b. It bounces off but stays close. He makes 3b, rolls the balls to penult but falls short and has to hit U hard. He sends it back to penult , makes 4b and lines up for a straight double. He uses the escape ball to get position on the peelee, but aborted the peel to keep his break intact. He goes to the peg, puts R near the eb, peg high, puts Y 1 foot from the peg, wired from R, calls referee for the thin take-off and leaves his balls 3 and 3 yards from the wb, about 16 yards S of II.
Jeff is examining whether he can shoot Y at the oppo's balls. He calls a referee to watch his hampered back-swing. He backs off three times, changes his mind and dismisses the referee, lifting Y to the end of B baulk to shoot at the oppo's balls. He misses through the middle.
Tim rushes K to penult, makes the hoop with a rush to R near the eb, rushes R to rover and finishes.

Australia wins 2 games to 1 and Australia leads US, 10 games to 4 (unless there has been another unseen result).

My screen just went blank and I lost 15 minutes commentary. Oh, dear!

Jeff Soo just told me that the wind Is worrying. The flags are standing out square. There is a clear blue sky.

Court 1 Robert Fletcher v Ben Rothman
1. Y (BR) to eb.
2. U (RF) to II.
3. R hits Y, goes to U and rolls it to a couple of yards E of the peg. He gives Y a 4y rush on R to the peg.
4. K shoots at R, hits, makes 1 and is away, with Y on the eb, 10y N of IV.

Court 2. I lost a lot of text and now need to start again. Clips are U on the peg, K on 3b, R on 6 and Y on 4b.
Jim is in play with R, approaching 6 with U between 2 and II and K between 1 and I. He makes 6 and 1b but his rush to I hits k and he will have an awkward approach to 2b.

Court 3.
Ken Bald is playing Danny Huneycutt but the court is mostly obscured from me so I will comment infrequently.

Court 4.
Stephen Forster is to play David Maloof and once again the court is mostly obscured and I will comment infrequently.

Court 1.
I will concentrate on this match.
4 (cont). Robert, playing K, collects Y from the eb before 4.He goes to 4b and leaves R on the eb, peg high, Y between 1 and 2, U in IV and K 1 y N of it.
5. Ben lifts Y to A baulk and misses U.

Court 2.
Jim fails 2b.
Malcolm gets to 3b with K, but bounces off right to corner IV. R is NW of 4. R roquets Y gently and sets up in front of 2b - or did he just have an air-swing? K shoots from IV at Y, misses (21y).
R hits K and should have his break back. He puts his clip on penult and is back in play with Y.

Court 3. Each player has a clip on 4b and Danny has just made 2.

Court 4. Each player has a clip on 1 and the other on 2. Stephen Forster Is in play and now makes hoop 4.

I was wrong when I wrote that Australia leads the US by 10 to 4 because when Tim won that was the 11th match and Australia has won the Test against the US.

Court 1.
6. U sends Y two yards into court and rushes K to a couple of yards S of R. He sends K a few yards N and rushes R to 3 1/2 yards E of 1. He approaches to 1 foot makes the hoop but no rush, so he sends R to 3 and goes to Y, takes off to K but touches it and rolls to 2 , failing to get position, short. He retires to the N bdry giving himself a 6y rush towards R at 2.
7. R hit something, not seen, and makes 1, with a break.

Court 2.
Jim just failed penult with R, his Y clip on the peg. Malcolm hits a 14y shot at Y near penult. Puts it to 3b and rushes and croquets R to 7y NW of 1. He sets up in II with a rush for K to its hoop, 3b. The U clip is on the peg.
Y misses R.
K hits U to 4b, takes off to the oppo's balls, rushes R to 3b and should finish.

Court 3. Danny is in play.

Court 4. David Maloof is in play.

Court 2.
Malcolm just pegged out and wins, 2 - 1. Australia 12, US 4.

Court 1
7 (cont). Ben went to 4b and left his balls in IV with a rush to III, K peg high on the eb and U near the wb.
8. U was lifted to III and missed K to IV.
9. Y put U to 3y ENE of 2, K a yard W NW of 1 and set up near the end of A baulk, wired from K.
10. K shoots at U, hits (21y), takes off to oppo's balls,
Clips are Y on 1, R and K on 4b, U on 2.

Court 3. Danny wins game 1.

Court 4. Each player has a clip on 4b. David Maloof is in play.

Court 1.
Game 1.
10 (cont). Robert leaves Y 3 y N of the end of A baulk, sends R to the eb, 12y S of III and sets up N of 2.
11. Y misses 22 yarder at R.

Court 1.
12. U makes 2 off K, 3 off an oppo ball and has a break. After 4 he sends K 3y past 4b, sends R to 6 and appears to be intent on playing with precision. After 5 he rushes Y to III, sends it to 1b and rushes K to 2yS of 4b. R is very close to 6. He leaves K close to 4b for the peel on the way to 1b. After 6 he goes through a bit far and looks at cutting it, which he does to 12y S of III. He sends R to 2b, rushes K to good position in front of 4b and completes the peel - just. He makes 1b off Y, cut rushes it to 4y N of 4b, sends Y to between the peg and 3, rushes K to 4y in front of penult and splits it to 3b on the way to 2b. He makes 2b off R, rushes it N of 4b and rushes Y down to K, N of 3b. He leaves Y to the E of the line of hoops 3 and 4, makes 3b off K, running beyond Y, rushing Y to 4y NW of IV, puts Y to a yard SSW of penult and rushes K to a yard NE of penult. He takes off to R at 4b, makes the hoop and sends R to peg high, 2y W of the peg. He uses Y to get behind K for a dolly rush to peeling position.

Court 1.
12 (cont). He rushes K to a very close position at about 10 degrees, lines up the peel and Ben comes onto the court with some grass cuttings to assist the setting of the balls. A referee appears with more of the same. He has taken more than 5 minutes for this stroke. It is so close to the hoop that if K is delayed in the hoop the U ball will catch up. But he plays it and K goes to a yard S of the peg, slightly of to the E and U comes through also. Y is put deep to near the S bdry, R used to get behind K and he rushes K from a foot to position too far, a foot to the W of rover. He makes rover, sends Y to a couple of yards N of halfway between 1 and 2, puts R 18 inches from the peg, wired from Y has a good look at the wiring from W of Y. There must be some of R showing. He sets up K 2 Y N of IV, U 4y N of K.
13. Ben lifts Y to A baulk and shoots at Y. Hits. He sends K to 2 and makes 1 off R and has a break. U is about 8y N of IV and 2y from the eb. He sends R 8 y short of 3 and rushes Knto 5 y NE of 2, makes the hoop from a yard, rushes K to the eb near U, puts it to 4 and rushes U back to near R.
He fails to get position at 3 and plays a clearing shot, sending R to a yard E of the end of A baulk and Y to 10y N of I. U remains just S of 3. K can see R from near 4.
14. K shoots at U, 20y, and hits it to the N bdry. He sends U to N of 2, 2y from the N bdry and goes to Y, which he sends to peg high, 4y from the eb while trying to get position for rover. He goes too far and retires to the N bdry, with a rush on U towards rover.
15. Y misses U and K through the centre (25y).
16. K hits Y, gets a better rush on U, rushes it to 2 y N of rover, approaches to a foot and runs rover to the S bdry. He hits R and rushes U into the back of rover, calls the referee and croquets U to a yard N of 1, retiring K to 3y from the w bdry, level with 1.
17. Y shoots at R (30y) and misses.
18. K hits U to 14 y N and 5y W of IV, sends it to between 4 and IV, sends Y 3y W of 3 and r to 3yWSW of 1, sets up near I with a rush to the peg.
19. R shoots at K, hits, sends K to rover, rushes U to near 4b, sends it to penult and makes 4b of Y. He makes 4b, giving a lift. Should he have just set up to do a triple, without giving a lift? He goes to the peg with a reverse diagonal spread, K 8y NE of 4, U 2ft from the peg, wired from K and Y and R on the wb with a rush to the peg for Y. The Y clip is on 3, u and K clips on the peg with K.
20. K is lifted to I and shoots at Y. Hits and finishes.

Game 1 to Australia.

Court 4. Stephen has pegged out an oppo ball.

It is after 7:30pm and I need refreshment. I will return and do some more commentating in an hour or so.