Good Morning from Toombul Croquet Club where a temperature of 30 degrees is forecast. At present it is fully overcast with little breeze and quite oppressive.

I will name NSW players first.

Court 1 has Peter & Rosie Landrebe with clips on 1b and 4b v John Hardy, who just made 2 with a break under control & Kathleen Colclough on 1.

Court 2 sees Stephen Richards, clip on 4b & Alix Verge, in play just made hoop 3, v Greg Bury and Cynthia Tacey, both still on 1.

Court 3 has just finished with a triple by Alison Sharpe which deserves description.
1. Deirdre Hardy, U, to E bdry, 10y N of IV.
2. Trevor Bassett, R, to W bdry 14y N of 1.
3. Greg Whymark, K, hit R from A baulk, put R to the peg and left rush for B on the E bdry.
4. Alison Sharpe missed from III to IV.
5. Deirdre went to 3b and broke down.
6. Trevor went to 4b, NSL.
7. Deirdre lifted from near 4 and shot from B baulk, missing to IV.
8. Alison made three hoops with her peelee, R, as a wayward pioneer for 4 which she rushed to couple of yards SE of 4. She had left U between 3 and 6. She took off behind K in IV and rushed it to 3y NE of 4, sent it to 5 and made good position for 4. She made 4, roqueted R and called Trevor, who obviously encouraged her to go for the triple. She roqueted R to 3y S of 4b, going to K at 5 an excellent shot. Then she made 5 off K with no forward rush and played a precise roll, sending K 2y NE of 1b and getting a 2 ft rush on R. Again she called Trevor who suggested she peel 4b before 1b rather than immediately. She roqueted R and put it 8 inches in front of 4b while getting a close rush on U to 6. She made 6 off U but went too far and her rush was to the S. She rushed U to 3y SE of 6, took off to R and attempted a rush peel - still with no pioneer for 2b. R finished in the jaws, so she completed the peel on a take-off to K near 1b, made 1b with a rush towards III, rushed K to the N bdry in front of 4 and sent it to 6y N of 3b, over-running the peelee. She roqueted the peelee gently and croqueted it to 2y NE of penult getting a 3-yard position on U, her pioneer for 2b. Her rush was good and she made 2b and roqueted and croqueted U to 4y WSW of 4b, getting a good rush on K to 3b. She made 3b but again with no forward rush. She rolled N, sending K to near penult but her rush on the peelee was towards the N. She rushed it about two yards and attempted the peel from 3y but it went to 8 inches SW of penult. However she obtained a good rush on U, made 4b and sent U to peg high. She used K to get a 6 inch rush on R and miraculously rushed it the exact few inches to be directly in front of penult. She then peeled it to 4 y N of rover, going through penult on the same stroke. The rest was familiar and she completed the straight rover peel and pegged out. Alison and Trevor won 26tp-8 (AS).

While I have been writing that up the other courts have finished.

Court 1 and Court 2 both resulted in wins for NSW, but on Court 4 Jim Nicholls and Pam Gentle lost to Don Close and Willy Silk, 4-26.

So after the mixed doubles NSW leads Queensland 3 to 1.

The first singles are about to start.

Court 1
Peter Landrebe R and Y v Greg Whymark U and K
Jim Nicholls v Greg Bury

Court 2
Trevor Bassett U and K v Don Close R and Y
Stephen Richards W and P v John Hardy G and BR

Court 3
Alison Sharpe U and K v Dianne Hardy R and Y
Rosie Landrebe G & Br v Kathleen Colclough P and W

Court 4
Pam Gentle U & K v Willy Silk R and Y
Alex Verge P and W v Cynthia Tacey G and BR

It is difficult to follow eight matches so I intend to concentrate on the four games on courts 1 and 2.

Court 1
Peter Landrebe is making his first break, all other clips still on 1. He has just made 1 b.
Jim Nicholls has made one hoop and laid up, all other clips still on 1.

Court 2
Trevor Bassett has one clip on 4b and has just made hoop 2. He will probably start a delayed triple.
Stephen Richards has clips on 4b and 1 while John Hardy hit a very long double in IV from B baulk and has a controlled break, making 3.

Court 1.
Peter went to 4b and reverse OSL.
Greg Bury is in play approaching 2.

Court 2.
Trevor managed to collect his peelee and peeled it (just) after 3.
John Hardy bounced off 4 and Stephen is in play, just made 1, with his other clip on 4b.

Court 1.
Greg is shooting at Peter's balls, laid up in II. He misses.
Jim Nicholls is making hoop 3 with a laid break.

Court 2.
Trevor has already peeled penult and has just made 1b.
Stephen is making 4 with his peelee.

Court 1.
Peter has one clip on 4b and is in play with the other ball. He just made 4 with his potential peelee at 5.
Jim is in play, just made 3b, his other clip still on 1.

Court 2.
Trevor completed his triple and won.
John Hardy has clips on 1 and 6. Stephen Richards on 3b and 4b. Stephen is shooting at P with W from 13 y. Misses. That gives John a 9 yarder at P, which also misses. Now Stephen has a 10 yarder with P at W. Misses. His balls are now both on the N border about 4 inches apart at the end of B baulk. John has a 20 yarder at the double from the W bdry. Hits. His other ball is near corner I. He leaves W near the N bdry and rushes P to 1, makes 1 and rushes P to a yard N of 5. His take-off to get behind W clips hoop 6 and he has no rush to 2. But roquets W and rolls 2, getting a rush to the W bdry. He now has P just N of 5 and his other ball, BR, near corner I. He sends W towards 4, 5 y short and gets a rush on P which he cuts very well to a yard S of 3. He takes off to bad position and bounces off 3. Stephen hits G to the N bdry and plays a very dubious stroke which succeeds. He rolls G into hoop 3 pass rolling to W but then misses the 5 yarder to the S bdry. John joins in corner I. Stephen shoots at P with W and misses the 10 yarder.

Court 1.
Peter Landrebe has a clip on the peg and is making rover with his other ball. He finishes.
Greg is shooting at an oppo ball at hoop 3 from near 1. Misses into III. Jim shoots at his own ball near I. Misses. Greg shoots at his ball in III from near 2. Misses,

Court 2.
Stephen, with clips on 3b and penult hits in after John has a problem at hoop 4, using his penult ball, with his other ball as a pioneer at penult. He should go to the peg. John's clips are on 4 and 6.

Court 1.
Jim's clips are on 1 and 4b. Greg's on 1 and 3. Greg just put his P into II with his W on the N bdry, a yard W of III. Jim' balls wee joined on the E bdry, W of 4.

Jim uses Gr, for 1, and takes off to W, puts it to 3y W of 5 and rejoins his partner ball. Greg shoots at the oppo balls, 16 yards away. Misses.

Court 2.
Stephen is in laying up, peg and 3b. John still for 4 and 6. G is 3y S of 4, BR 3y S of the peg with P and W on the W bdry West of 2. He shoots with G and hits P. Wow!

Court 1.
Jim has laid up in II with a rush for G towards the peg. P is close to 1 and W on the E bdry, peg high. Greg shoots with P at W and misses. This court is unevenly grassed and Jim just complained to me about the bareness of grass on the approach to 1b. He rushed BR to just S of 2, took off to the oppo's balls and is about to rush W to hoop 1. He failed to get position and retired to IV. Greg used W from near 1 and hits his own P, and his roll to get a rush on BR, near 2, to hoop 1, succeeds. He makes 1 and has a 3-ball break.

Court 2.
John has clips on 1b, G, and 4b, BR. Stephen on the peg with W and and 3b with P. Stephen uses W and hits G to the E bdry and makes a leave with his balls on the E bdry near 3b and a rush for P towards 3b. He leaves G near 3 and BR on the W bdry 5y S of II. John hits his G to peg high on the W bdry. Stephen sticks in 3b. John shoots with BR at G (10y). Hits.

Court 1.
Greg shoots from B baulk at P, peg high, and the two oppo balls near IV. Misses.

Court 2.
I did not see what happened but the G ball is on the W bdry and Stephen is in play and has made 3b and sent BR to penult and rushed W to 3 y E of 4b. He makes 4b off W, roquets W and sends it to rover, going to BR at penult. He finishes.

On court 4 Alix Verge beat Cynthia Tacey.

NSW leads Queensland 6 matches to 1.

Court 1.
Jim is in play with his back ball and has just made 3. He took off to the ball in IV and nearly went off court - but not quite. He makes 4 with an oppo ball at 5 and re-positions the other two balls at 4b in preparation for a delayed triple. But no! He is just playing to make 12 with his second ball. I suspect the difficulty of the two-speed court has diminished his confidence. Greg's clips remain on 1 and 3.

Court 1.
Jim continues his break, double loading. He has made 6 and rushes the escape ball down to 4y N of 2b, taking off back to the two balls at 1b. He sends the oppo ball to the peg and makes 1b from 3 inches at an angle right down to the ball at 2b. He makes 2 b with no pioneer at 3b, but has a rush N to the BR at 1b and the W near the peg. He rushes to the W bdry, peg high, sends P to 6y W. Of 4b and gets a rush N on BR. He puts BR 7 y N of 1 and gets a rush on W which he rushes to the S bdry 10y W of IV. He rolls hoop 3b to a 1 yard position and runs the hoop cleanly up to P, which he rushes to the N bdry. W is now between hoops 3 and 4, peg high and BR N of 1. He plays an equal roll sending P to near the peg and getting a rush on BR towards W. He croquets BR to penult and rushes W to 4y S of 4b. He makes 4b and now has his break under control.

Court 1.
Jim goes to the peg with G. His Br clip is on 4b. Greg's clips remain on 1 and 3. Jim leaves his balls with Br in II and G 5 y S of it. W. Is peg high 4y from the W bdry and P peg high 4y from the E bdry. Greg lifts W to the end of B baulk and shoots gently at G. Hits to applause! That is most atypical for Greg. He usually prefers to hit hard. He rolls to get a rush on W but fails and retires to the E bdry. Jim retires his G to corner 1. BR is still in corner II and I note that there is a steep hill from the ball towards the corner. It would not be possible to stop a ball behind it. Greg, W hits P, rolls 3 and attempts to roll 4 but sticks in it. He calls a referee to confirm he has not gone through. Jim notes that there is only 25 minutes to go and hits G from I to III but hits hoop 4b and runs it to a yard through. Greg makes 4, rushes to and makes 5 but misses the roquet after 5 and leaves his balls near 6 and at the peg. Jim plays G and shoots at P. Misses. Greg calls a referee and hits the peg while trying to hit P from 8y. Jim plays his BR from II and misses the 13 yarder to I. Greg has a cut rush to 6 but hits W into the peg. He rolls hoop 6 but has a rush due N. He rolls to G putting W to 2b, then takes off but his ball finishes in the jaws of 1b. He leaves it in front of the hoop. Jim considers whether to use BR from I and decides to do so, shooting at W. Misses. Greg should have a break now. He runs through 1b to near G and has a 3-ball break. But he sticks in 2b. Jim lifts BR from the N bdry and hits W (3y) from A baulk. He rush-peels P through 2b and rolls it to near corner IV. Attempting a cut rush (? He denies it!) he misses G, leaving it about 5 y from P and BR on the W bdry, 12y S of II. Greg sends G to near 4b but misses his W fro 4 y and leaves it only 6 y from BR on the W bdry. Jim uses BR, hits P and has W about three yards away. He rushes W behind G and finishes.

Court 2.
The second singles has started.
Stephen Richards U and K v Don Close R and Y.

Lunch!

I left Toombul after lunch to purse non-croquet activities in Brisbane. I hope to return to commentary on Thursday. Good night!