MacRobertson Shield
Test 3 Last Day Aust v US by Tony Hall
Good Morning! Today is fully overcast, but about 20 degrees and only a gentle wind. I'm in shirtsleeves.
The Aust v US matches are on courts 4, 5 and 6, so I'm in a tent remote from the clubhouse. I will try to cover the thre matches but will miss parts of each.
Court 4. Robert Fletcher & Tim O'Leary v Jeff Soo & Rich Lamm.
1. Y, Jeff, to eb.
2. K, Robert, short duffer, 1y NNE of 6.
3. R, Rich, hits Y from III, takes off to rush K, but K runs into the back of 6. He leaves K 8y SSW of 2 and returns to the eb behind Y.
4. U, Tim, hits R from A baulk, rushes Y to K, K to 1, makes 1 and has a break. After 1b he leaves Y against the W wire of the hoop, not rushable to 1.
Court 5. Ken Bald & Malcolm Fletcher v Danny Huneycutt & Jim Bast, partially obscured from where I sit.
Danny is in play. He misses a 10y return roquet after 3.
Court 6. Ian Dumergue and Stephen Forster v Ben Rothman & David Maloof.
Ian is in play. He has made 1 and has a cut rush from IV to the N bdry, 4yE of II. An oppo ball is in II.
15 Jan 2014 9:16AM (Tournament); 41 Readers
Court 4.
4 (cont). Tim, U, goes to 4b, leaves R at 4, but partially exposed to A baulk. K has a rush to 1 from 10y N of IV.
5. Y, Jeff, hits R from A baulk, uses K, leaves K and R only 7y apart and rushes U to the wb level with 1. He takes off to bad position, 1 1/2y at 50 degrees. They consult. Y retires to IV.
6. K, Robert, hits R to U, within a foot.
Court 5. Danny is in play again. His clip is still on 4.
Court 6. Each side has a clip on 1 and a clip on 2. Ian just hit with Y, clip on 2 and will use the oppo's balls on the S bdry to get going.g
15 Jan 2014 9:31AM (Tournament); 82 Readers
Court 4.
6 (cont). He makes 1, rushes K to I, sends it to 6yW of 3 and gets a good rush on R to 2. He is away.
Court 5. Danny has reached 4b but one Australian clip is now on 2. Danny is making a leave which looks like a diagonal spread.
Court 6. Clips are still the same, one of each side on 1 and on 2. Ben has just rushed K to 1, makes 1, hampered, calls referee, copes, has a break.
15 Jan 2014 9:39AM (Tournament); 87 Readers
Court 4.
6 (cont). U, Robert, has reached 5. He fails to peel 4b before 6. The peelee is not in the jaws but may be rushable. Yes! He completes the peel after 6 to applause and sends the peelee to 2b. R remains near 4b. He approaches 1b to 6 inches, straight but sticks in it.
7. Y, Jeff, hits K and has a laid break.
Court 5. Danny's clip, U, is on 4b and Jim Bast, K, is in play. He makes 2 and has a break, with the Australian clips on 1 and 2. His partner clip is on 4b.
Court 6. Ben is making 1b, under control.
15 Jan 2014 9:50AM (Tournament); 100 Readers
Court 4.
7 (cont). Y makes 1,
Court 5. Jim's clip is on 4, Danny's on 4b, Malcolm's on 2 and Ken is in play, has a controlled break with all the balls and has reached 4.
Court 6. Ben has gone to 4b and is making his leave. Y is 9y SSW of 2, R at the peg, wired from Y, U on the eb, 9y N of IV with a rush on K to the peg.
15 Jan 2014 9:56AM (Tournament); 109 Readers
Court 4.
7. (Cont). Y, Jeff, has a controlled break and has reached 1b.
Court 5. Ken Bald has reached 1b.
Court 6. Ian lifted his ball to III and hit his partner ball at the peg to 7y N of 1. He splits his partner to 4y beyond 3 going to the oppo's balls on the eb. His clip is on 2 and he rushes an oppo ball to 1 ft in front. He has a break.
15 Jan 2014 10:03AM (Tournament); 123 Readers
Court 4.
7 (cont). Jeff has gone to 4b, left K 8y SW of 2, U at 4, and R on the eb, peg high, with a rush on Y to K.
8. U, Tim, is lifted to III and he misses R to IV.
Court 5. Jim Bast hit in, has made 5 and has a three-ball break. Danny and Ken's clips are on 4b, Malcolm's on 2. Jim has lost some control and bounces off 6. Malcolm hits in and has a break.
Court 6. Ian has full control, making 6 with all the balls.
15 Jan 2014 10:15AM (Tournament); 124 Readers
Court 4.
9. Y, Rich, rushes Y to 2, rushes K to 1, gets his break. I don't think he tried peeling but am not sure as when I look back at this court he has reached 1b with the peelee at 2b and the clip still on 4b.
Court 5. Y, Malcolm, has made 2, 3 and 4 but bounces off 5. Jim, K, hits U, splits it to 2 but goes 8y past Y at 5, calls a referee and hits Y, has a break.
Court 6. Ian leaves K on 4, U SW of 2 and his balls both on the eb, with a rush N for his partner. David lifts his ball from SW of 2 to III and hits R to applause.
15 Jan 2014 10:29AM (Tournament); 136 Readers
I need a coffee and nibble, so will be back shortly.
15 Jan 2014 10:31AM (Tournament); 138 Readers
Court 4.
9. While I was away his clip has been put on 3b so I presume he broke down ther.
10. K, Robert, is I in play, has made 1b and 2b and is leaving U in front of penult for the peel, with R in position to be rushed to 4b and Y is the pioneer for 3b. ... As I look back, he makes penult with the peelee at rover, so must have completed the penult peel earlier. He has very good position , with the peelee less than a foot from the hoop. He completes the peel and finishes.
Australia 1 - nil.
Court 5. K, Jim's, clip is on the peg, U, Danny's, is on 4b, R, Ken's is on 4b and Y, Malcolm's on 5. The Us players have just made a leave with no lift, and Malcolm shoots at their balls, 18y, and hits.
Court 6. Ian and Ben's clips are on 4b, Stephen's on 1 and David just stuck in 3b with Stephen's ball about 2 ft away. Stephen hits the ball in the hoop and has a break.
15 Jan 2014 10:56AM (Tournament); 142 Readers
Court 5. Malcolm' clip remains on 5 and the US has just made a leave in II with Ken's ball in III and Malcolm, near I. Ken misses the oppo's balls.
Court 6. Stephen has just jawsed his partner ball in 4b, rushed an oppo ball to 6, made 6, sent the oppo ball to the peg and roqueted the partner ball, peeled it and rushed the other oppo ball which was close to 4b, to 1b.He gets a good rush on the ball near the peg to 2b. He has completed the penult peel and is lined up for the rover peel. Y goes through but R doesn't and he calls a referee and makes the hoop, without touching Y. He finishes. Australia 1 - nil.
Court 4.
Game 2.
1. K, Robert, supershot, to 1y NW of 5.
2. Y, Jeff, misses it to 6y W of the end of B baulk.
3. U, Tim, hits Y from B baulk, makes 1 and 2 and looks to be away but bounces off 3.
4. R, Rich, plays from B baulk and is having a problem getting his rush on Y to 1 as he rushed K into its path. He eventually rushes Y to 5 y N of 1 and sets up with Y on the S bdry and R on the wb, both a couple of yards from I.
5. U, from between 3 and 6, misses K, between 4 and the peg (16y) to the S bdry, S of 4.
6. R hits Y, goes to U, sends U to 2, K to near 4 and sets up near I.
7. U misses Y.
15 Jan 2014 11:17AM (Tournament); 141 Readers
Court 4.
8. R, Rich, plays, makes 1 and bounces odd 2.
9. U is wired from r and shoots at Y near 3, misses to the eb.
10. Y from near 3 hits R, takes off to U, takes off to get a rush on K, near 4, to 1. The rush goes to 5 y W of 4, so he sends K to 4y SE of 1, hoping to wire it from R on the wb, level with 2. Y is left just N of R.
Court 5. Ken has pegged off Jim's ball. Danny just missed a 35 yarder at the Australian balls and Malcolm has made 5. He leaves Danny's ball near IV and approaches 6, but will set up on the N bdry.
Court 6.
Game 2.
1. K, Stephen, supershot.
2. R, ?, duffer rice.
3. U, Ian, smashes the duffer, R almost to 1. He has a 3 ball break.
15 Jan 2014 11:39AM (Tournament); 142 Readers
Court 4,
11. K mises U to III.
12. R, Rich, takes off to Kputs K to 6y SE of 5 and rushes U to a yard W of 2, sends U to 3y NW of 6 and runs 2. Misses the 6 yarder at Y.
13. U, Tim, hits the 14 yarder at Y, puts Y out 2 yards and rushes R to K and K to 3, his hoop. He over- approaches with K 10y S of 3, R near 4. U retires to III.
14. R misses Y to II.
15. K misses Y, 10y. R leave K near II, rushes Y to 3y W of III, puts Y 3 Y ENE of 3 and sends U to 6y N of 4, runs 3 and should have a break.
Court 5. Y, Malcolm's, clip is now on 2b and Danny's still on 4b.
Court 6. Ian completes his 3 ball break to 4b, leaves U 3y in from the wb, 18y N of I and K on the eb, 10y N of IV with a rush on R to U. David plays Y gently from A baulk and hits R.
15 Jan 2014 11:59AM (Tournament); 159 Readers
Court 4.
15 (cont). He bounces off 5.
16. U at 6 hits K at 1 b to the wb. He takes off to Y, puts it to 7y NW of 4 and rushes R to 7y SW of 3, takes off to position, runs 3 and rushes R to a yard NW of 2, gets behind K, rushes it to 5 and has a break. He
Leaves R on 2, rushable to 1, after 1b, He goes to 3b with Y on 4, leaves K in IV and U in II
Court 5. Malcolm and Danny's clips are both on 4b. Danny just hit a 26 yard shot and hit Ken's ball. He rushes Malcolm's ball to 3b and just makes the hoop with no rush. He is taking croquet from the N bdry. He gets a 3y position for penult with Malcolm's ball at rover but bounces off.... When I look back Malcolm is in play with all the balls. He has made 4b.
Court 6. David's clip is on 4 and Dtephen is in play. He is making 4 with the peelee on the wire of 4b.
15 Jan 2014 12:16PM (Tournament); 150 Readers
Court 5. Malcolm finishes.
Australia leads 1 - nil.
15 Jan 2014 12:18PM (Tournament); 150 Readers
Court 4.
17. R, Rich, misses U (9y).
18. K hits Y (9y), walks across to exmine the other two balls. R is on the corner spot with U 3 inches South.
He rolls Y to between 2 and 6 with his ball passing it to 7 yards from II. He hits U which hits R to a few inches E of the corner, so no cannon. Then he rushes R to 1, makes a bad approach and bounce off.
19. R hits K (7y) gently, takes off to behind U, 2 inches from the boundary, gets a rush to Y, between 2 and 6,
Loads 6 and rushes Y to 5, his hoop.
Court 6. Stephen's clip is on 2b with his partner jawsed in 4b, it's hoop. David has just stuck in 5 and Stephen hits that ball our of the hoop. He has an easy start to a break from 1b.
Court 5 are at lunch.
15 Jan 2014 12:32PM (Tournament); 153 Readers
Court 4.
19 (cont). After 6 he rushes U to the wb, level with 1, takes off short to behind K, near the S bdry, rushes it to near the eb, level with 4, takes off back to Y at 1 b, approaches well, but tries to get a forward rush and hits too gently, bouncing off 1 b to its E wire. Y is a yard S of 1b.
20. U hits Y (22 y) to the N bdry, puts it 4y NW of 2, moves R to 1y SE of the hoop, wired from Y and leaves his balls between 4 and IV, with a cut-rush for K to hoop 1.
21. R to III. (Rich)
22. K bounces off 1. (Robert)
23. Y misses U (16y). (Jeff)
24. K misses Y (6y). (Robert)
25. Y makes 1, establishes a break, but bounces off 3, probably to a position wired from U which is 4 yards S of the hoop.
Court 6. Stephen goes to the peg, leaves R between 1 and 2, Y at the peg, wired from R, U and K both on the eb, with a rush to 4b for Ian. David misses his partner from A baulk into II. Ian rushes to the N bdry, near III, goes to Y, leaves it near II and takes off to R, leaves R 5y N of 1, takes off to position at 4 b and bounces off.
Both courts have now gone to lunch.
15 Jan 2014 1:00PM (Tournament); 138 Readers
Court 5
Game 2 started while I was collecting my lunch. Danny is in play with all the others clips still on 1. He has reached 3 b, under control. He makes it and leaves a diagonal spread, but with a ball further East the normal. Ken made a triple from B baulk and hit in. He is in play and makes 1 with no pioneer at 2, but rushes U to five yards S of the hoop and makes 2. He rushes back to an oppo ball near the peg, loads 4 and rushes to wide of 3. He makes 3 but has a 10y return roquet which he misses to the N bdry. Danny misses (25y. Malcolm hits his partner ball (30y).
Court 4 returned from lunch and have played several turns while my back was turned. K (Robert) is near I with a rush to 1, it's hoop. R is 8y N of 4.
Y, Jeff, shoots at R from near 2, misses.
K makes 1 with a rush to A baulk. He sends his partner to 7y WSW of 4b, it's hoop, going to Y, 4y N of IV. Y is sent to 3 and R is rushed to 2, 1y in front. He makes 2 and is set up for the standard triple. He peels 4b after 3, sends the peelee and another ball to 6/penult, makes 5 and is on time with the triple.
Court 6 is back.
Clips are Stephen's on penult, Ian's on the peg, David's on 5 and Ben's on 1. David has a hampered shot from near 5 at Ben's ball, misses (13y), leaving himself a short rush to his hoop, 5. K is at the end of A baulk. Ian shoots at the oppo balls from near 6, misses.
15 Jan 2014 2:03PM (Tournament); 120 Readers
I just had to walk right back to the clubhouse to send the last lot of text. I suspect the WiFi is becoming overloaded as there are so many people cconnected.
Court 6. Stephen has pegged out.
Australia wins 2 - nil.
Court 4. Robert, K, is making 4b with the peelee's clip, U, nowhere to be seen. He sends R to W of the peg by a foot or two, sends the peelee to 4y N of rover and makes penult off Y. Obviously he has already done the first two peels. Y is sent to 3 y W of rover. R is sent to 3y SE of rover. The peelee is rushed to 2ft straight. He lines them up and both go through. He finishes.
Australia wins 2 - nil .
I will move to get a better view of Court 5.
15 Jan 2014 2:31PM (Tournament); 129 Readers
Court 5, the only remaining match in the Aust v US Test.
The US clips are on 4b and penult. Malcolm's is on 4b and Ken is in play, just made 4, collecting Y from the N bdry and getting a rush on R to a yard W of. 6. He makes the hoop, no forward rush, and goes to U to tidy up his break. He seems to have abandoned any peeling as he just sent the peelee, U, as a pioneer to 1b. After 1b it is sent to 3b and he has good control. But he misses a 3y return roquet after 2b!
There is a clear blue sky, about 2/8 cloud, mostly on the horizon. There is still a nagging wind which makes it a little cool in the shade. I just tried to send the above three paras of text but it did not go, so must have been dropped off the WiFi again. I will continue to comment and will send all the text from the clubhouse when the game is finished.
Danny lifts his R to B baulk, hits Ken's ball, makes penult and Jim comes out for a discussion. He sends his partner ball towards I and does not intend to make rover. U is sent to 2y E of 3, K is left 2y N of 2, probably wired from U, Malcolm' ball. The balls are left in I with a rush to the peg. Malcolm shoots and misses the 40 yarder. Jim goes to the peg and leaves his balls near II, with K 9y NNE of 4 and U 10 yards NNW of 1.
The Australian clips are on 3b and 4b. The red clip is on rover. Malcolm lifts his ball from near 1 to the end of B baulk and misses them.
Danny, R, finishes.
One game all.
15 Jan 2014 3:35PM (Tournament); 28 Readers
Game 3. They started while I was getting a coffee. Apparently Danny, on turn 5, went off the court. Malcolm is in play and has made 5. All the other clips are on 1. He has all the balls and is in control. He goes to 4b and tried to put U on the NE wire of 4 but it rolled to where it is open to A baulk. R is sent close to IV and Y goes to II.
Jim lifts his K ball to the end of A baulk and misses U to the eb, 12y N of IV.
Ken, R, misses K to the eb, 10y N of K
Jim , K, shoots at U, hits the wire and goes to the S bdry, wired from U.
Ken, R, to I to avoid the wiring lift for U.
Danny runs 4 to the S bdry, a yard W of K.
Ken, R, misses the double.
There is now 4/8 cloud cover and it is cold in the shade. There is still a wind, but not apparently troubling the players much
Jim rushes U to 1, too hard, but it hits the hoop and stops in front. He makes 1, rushes U to 8y N of 4, takes off to K but fails to get the rush to 2 or Y in II. He rushes it to 4y SW of 1 and plays the big split, sending R 4y past 3 and almost going off the N bdry close to Y. He rolls hoop 2 but puts Y S of the hoop and is wired. He shoots at and just misses U, a few yards NE of 4.
R, Ken, shoots at Y misses.
Jim, K, hits U, takes off to R on the wb, sends R into court but 7y and rushes Y to his hoop, 3. He makes the hoop and has a 4 - ball break. He reaches 2b with a wayward pioneer at 3b, half way to IV. He goes to 4b, making 3 b from about 5 ft to applause. He makes a diagonal spread leave.
Court 4.
The pegged-down match from yesterday has been re-started. Robert won the first game and this is the second.
Robert Fletcher has R and Y, Ben Rothman K and U. Clips are Y and K on 4b, R on 1 and U on 2.
Neither has control. I have seen Robert miss two 14 yarders and Ben miss a 10 yarder.
Ben hits a 12 yarder, makes his hoop 2 and is away with 4 balls and a likely peeling turn. He gets excellent position and makes the 4b peel after 3 with a good rush to the S bdry. Y is the pioneer for 4.
15 Jan 2014 4:27PM (Tournament); 31 Readers
Court 3, not 4 for the singles game, Fletcher v Rothman.
He moves the peelee and an oppo ball to 6 before 5. And peels penult after 6 but bounces off 1b with a jump that goes up to the cross bar.
Robert hits that ball (7y) and has a pioneer at 1. We can expect a peeling turn. He jawses the peelee in 4b after 3,
Court 5. Whoops, not a diagonal spread. His balls are in IV and 5 yards N of IV.
An Aussie misses, not seen, and Danny is now in play. He attempts a roll to 1 from N of 5 but only has a 5 ft position and retires to the N bdry.
... As I look back at this game an Aussie must have missed as Danny is back in play. He attempts to roll 1 from the wb, 10y N of I, but does not get position and retires to the middle of the eb. K is on the wire of 4b, presenting a nice target from there.
Ken Bald, R, from near 1 misses Y, near 2,, to the N bdry.
Danny, U, misses K, watched by a referee, to the end of B baulk.
R hits U, approaches 1 from due N, makes the hoop and is away on a break. His partner clip is on 4b so we may see some peeling. But no, he puts the potential peelee to 4 as a better pioneer and concentrates on keeping his break precise.
15 Jan 2014 4:49PM (Tournament); 27 Readers
Court 3. Robert, R, makes 4 and rushes K to 3y past 4b. He sends K to 6 (with U at 5) and gets a good position to do the rush-peel. He hits it hard but the peelee comes out of the hoop by 2 ft to the SW. He takes off to U at 5, putting the peelee, Y, back in front of 4b, 2 ft out. He makes 5 with a backward rush, sends U to 2y S of 1b and R going to 5y W of Y, which he hits to the eb. He sends Y to 2y E of 1b, going to K at 6, makes 6, sends K to mid-court, rushes R back to the N bdry, sends it to 2b and makes 1b off the peelee, which goes to 3b. His half-roll to send Y to 3b and R to K mid-court was remarkably gentle. Obviously the court is faster than earlier as the wind and sun do their work. He has abandoned any peeling, I expect. He goes to the peg, pegs off K, puts Y in IV and R 12 y N of it.
U is lifted to A baulk and hits Y, leaves it there, goes to R and attempts to pass-roll to 1b. His ball goes nearly to the boundary and he takes position, daring Robert to hit the 10y shot with R.
Robert calls a referee to watch exactly where his ball goes off and hits it to the eb, wired from U by 3.
Ben makes 1b to the S bdry, takes position at 2b.
Robert shoots Y from IV at R, 28y. Hits! R goes to the eb level with 4b. He plays a thick take-off, intending to rush Y back. His ball almost comes to rest against the N of 1, but rocks back and he is able to hit U. He sends Ben' ball to SW of 1 and retires to behind R on the N bdry.
Court 5. Ken, R, goes to the peg and sets a diagonal spread.
Jim, K, misses from III to IV.
Malcolm starts off, puts R to penult, rushes K too far, to 8y SE of 4b, approaches to 3 y at an angle, smashes through, makes penult but his ball goes just N of the peg and he has no back-swing to hit R, only 3y away. He shoots at K in IV and misses, 20 y.
Clips are R on the peg, Y on rover, K on 4b and U on 1.
Jim sets up in front of 1, with Ken's ball W of 2, wired from K, but not from U.
Ken hits U, 28y, leaves U W of 1, K almost on the n bdry! behind 2 and sets up a rush for Y to rover on the eb, 10y N of IV.
While watching the other game Malcolm finishes.
Australia wins, 2 - 1, thus winning all three doubles matches played today
15 Jan 2014 5:39PM (Tournament); 21 Readers
Court 3, the only remaining match in the US v Australia Test, Robert v Ben.
Ben goes to 10 y E of II
Robert puts his balls 3 yards E of 4b, wired from Ben.
Ben goes to the eb, 15y N of IV.
Robert makes 4b, rushes R to 3ySW of penult, makes penult with a an angled forward rush, rushes R to 4 or 5 yards NW of rover, approaches rover to a slightly (15 degrees) angled yard, powers through, rushes R back to 3y from the peg and finishes.
Australia wins, 2 - nil.
15 Jan 2014 5:50PM (Tournament); 9 Readers
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