Click here for a better viewing experience.

11th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship

Semi final: Chris Clarke v Hamy Erian by Jenny Clarke

And we’re off. Lawn 3
Hamy has won the toss. The lawns are looking slightly crunchy and after his practice ,Chris reports they’re running about 12 seconds. That’s the fastest these have been all tournament, and is very good. I wonder if hoop3 is going to be as firm as in round 2.

Blue (Hamy) takes good position, Red is just inside it, black plays behind the two, and yellow just drifts past a bit.

Blue clears red sharply with a good shot – I think it’s wired from everything. Black probably can’t see the hoop due to blue, but a good cut could see yellow near corner 2 – it would be a huge cut though.

Gets it halfway up the West boundary. Chris clears half-ball – blue is now on the boundary rather straight on the hoop.

14 Feb 2015 11:11AM (Tournament); 1 Readers

blue plays in, red clears it (red has fallen a long way to the side when Chris played it in). Red now has the 7 yarder.

14 Feb 2015 11:11AM (Tournament); 2 Readers

black plays in reasonably straightish, yellow is angled, it looks like blue might have played in blocking the edge of black. Chris shoots - I'm pretty sure he was going for the hoop, but he's a bit offline, and snicks blue and flies off to hoop 3.

14 Feb 2015 11:12AM (Tournament); 3 Readers

Hamy has an easy hoop 1...

14 Feb 2015 11:12AM (Tournament); 4 Readers

Hamy runs 1 with black up to in front of hoop 2. It might have drifted a bit far, and Chris is walking up for a look.

14 Feb 2015 11:12AM (Tournament); 7 Readers

Apparently Hamy is 23 years old, if I've heard the chaps next to me correctly

14 Feb 2015 11:13AM (Tournament); 9 Readers

Black's not in front - it's east of the hoop. Yellow plays level with the hoop and west

14 Feb 2015 11:13AM (Tournament); 10 Readers

Hamy is an excellent player, and Chris will need all his skill and considerable tactical expertise to win this one

14 Feb 2015 11:13AM (Tournament); 12 Readers

Blue plays in about 3 yards short and slightly west

14 Feb 2015 11:14AM (Tournament); 12 Readers

red plays in - not a great shot as black has a clearance on it which might leave it in front of the hoop

14 Feb 2015 11:14AM (Tournament); 13 Readers

Nice clearance by black, and yellow will be dribbilng to the front of the hoop. This needs a lot of touch on these slightly rolly and now rather quick lawns. He's a bit short, but might be blocking blue, which is closer

14 Feb 2015 11:15AM (Tournament); 12 Readers

No - blue runs hoop 2 nicely to take a 2-0 lead. Hamy leads 2-0

14 Feb 2015 11:15AM (Tournament); 12 Readers

Red takes good 3 yard position at 3 from near the west boundary - nice shot

14 Feb 2015 11:15AM (Tournament); 11 Readers

From the Bowl earlier this morning, 17 year old Hemi McLaren has had a huge win in the semi-final beating Phillip Drew in straight games - something like 7-3 7-3. Excellent tournament for Hemi who will play the winner of Duncan and John Christie tomorrow. Currently that match is 1-1 with Duncan leading 3-2 and having just cleared John.

14 Feb 2015 11:17AM (Tournament); 13 Readers

Hamy takes position with black, yellow goes a bit far and is probably too angled, blue nudges red, red clears black.

14 Feb 2015 11:17AM (Tournament); 14 Readers

Black plays back in - yellow playing for the jaws - drifts past

14 Feb 2015 11:18AM (Tournament); 15 Readers

Blue takes position, red clears black, and nudges blue straighter - that was a nice shot - black's a yard off the south boundary, and red is probably in hoop-running position. With blue and yellow very close, Chris should be able to nudge up and stymie blue.

14 Feb 2015 11:19AM (Tournament); 16 Readers

Hamy shooting...

14 Feb 2015 11:19AM (Tournament); 16 Readers

nope - plays back up to the hoop. It's too wide to run the hoop though - is towards the short boundary

14 Feb 2015 11:20AM (Tournament); 16 Readers

Bit hot here again for my laptop, hopefully we get through the day ok

14 Feb 2015 11:20AM (Tournament); 16 Readers

Yellow plays into the front of blue - nice shot.

14 Feb 2015 11:20AM (Tournament); 17 Readers

Blue can do nothing, and red is angled, but easily runnable. Hamy having a look around

14 Feb 2015 11:21AM (Tournament); 17 Readers

no - it wasn't blocked from red - clears red.

14 Feb 2015 11:21AM (Tournament); 17 Readers

blue and black are near hoop 3, but unrunnable, yellow is in front of hoop 3.

14 Feb 2015 11:21AM (Tournament); 15 Readers

Red plays back in

14 Feb 2015 11:21AM (Tournament); 15 Readers

Black clearing yellow. sorry for any typos, but trying to keep the laptop in some shade

14 Feb 2015 11:22AM (Tournament); 15 Readers

Black clears yellow, stays near the hoop, but unrunnable

14 Feb 2015 11:22AM (Tournament); 15 Readers

nch of Aussies in this shelter, kiwis the oposite side.

14 Feb 2015 11:23AM (Tournament); 18 Readers

Blue lcears red nicely, staying in front of the hoop

14 Feb 2015 11:23AM (Tournament); 18 Readers

red's at the peg, and could probably do to hit this as yellow can be cut to a wired position. Misses right.

14 Feb 2015 11:23AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

I think that's the first outright miss of any shot. Very early days yet.

14 Feb 2015 11:23AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

Hamy clears yellow. Yellow misses Hamy leads 3-0

14 Feb 2015 11:27AM (Tournament); 20 Readers

Blue's off teh south boundary, and red takes good 3 yard position. Black plays in tight, but drifts just past.

14 Feb 2015 11:27AM (Tournament); 21 Readers

Yellow takes 2.5 yard position also (that's about how far red was really)

14 Feb 2015 11:27AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

Blue clears red gently. Red's back, blue's about 5 yards from it

14 Feb 2015 11:27AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

black clears yellow, and goes over near blue. Yellow's back

14 Feb 2015 11:28AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

Red's in good position ... but not for long...

14 Feb 2015 11:28AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

Hamy clears red at gentle pace and is a bit unlucky as blue hits the near wire and bounces gently across the face of the hoop. Chris will be clearing this

14 Feb 2015 11:28AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

nope - takes position - doesn't quite block black at yellow though, which was his aim

14 Feb 2015 11:29AM (Tournament); 19 Readers

Hamy is interesting to watch. A bit like top AC player David Maugham, Hamy has a significant lean in his stance -leaning to the left.

14 Feb 2015 11:29AM (Tournament); 21 Readers

Black clears yellow gently - same shot, and this time black bounces back in front of the jaws.

14 Feb 2015 11:30AM (Tournament); 21 Readers

Yellow misses black. Blue will clear red towards corner 3

14 Feb 2015 11:30AM (Tournament); 21 Readers

My understanding is that this match is best of 5, by the way.

14 Feb 2015 11:30AM (Tournament); 22 Readers

We have also been successful in pleading with the Mount staff to cook us wedges before the usual start time for wedges of 2pm. Bless them. Nice food here

14 Feb 2015 11:30AM (Tournament); 23 Readers

blue clears red to the middle of the east boundary

14 Feb 2015 11:31AM (Tournament); 23 Readers

red hits black pretty centrally at medium pace - doesn't peel it, but it bounces back in front .Hamy leads 4-0 Chris will be pleased to have a better shot there though

14 Feb 2015 11:31AM (Tournament); 22 Readers

Yellow plays across, but goes a ilttle far - it's jawsable, but a bit long to run powerfully

14 Feb 2015 11:32AM (Tournament); 23 Readers

Shame that, as red is near a blocking line on black

14 Feb 2015 11:32AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Blue takes good position inside yellow

14 Feb 2015 11:32AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

red shooting at blue

14 Feb 2015 11:32AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Red clears blue towarsd hoop 2, but red's now on teh west boundary itself.

14 Feb 2015 11:32AM (Tournament); 23 Readers

Black needs to shoot, as yellow can get into the jaws, which will be powerful here

14 Feb 2015 11:33AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Completely different game with faster lawns - good to see this improvement today

14 Feb 2015 11:33AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Black shoots gently - nudges yellow to more angle, but ends up on the boundary.

14 Feb 2015 11:33AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Yellow plays into the jaws :-)

14 Feb 2015 11:33AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Blue shooting..

14 Feb 2015 11:34AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

Hamy has a nice compact stance, Irish grip with his hands slightly separated. Nice style.

14 Feb 2015 11:34AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Blue clears yellow to the south boundary. Hamy's shooting at a lovely pace here.

14 Feb 2015 11:34AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Red takes angled position west of the hoop

14 Feb 2015 11:35AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

about 6 yards from blue

14 Feb 2015 11:35AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

black plays in - good 3 yard position

14 Feb 2015 11:35AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

yellow clears black - both balls are miles away now

14 Feb 2015 11:35AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

red suddenly looks like it's in a great spot

14 Feb 2015 11:35AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

Bit too angled to play into the jaws here though

14 Feb 2015 11:35AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Blue plays seep - 3.5 yard position.

14 Feb 2015 11:36AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Red plays towards the jaws - hits the near wire, but it's a perfect pace and is bounces to in front of the hoop, blocking blue perfectly

14 Feb 2015 11:36AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

black is shooting at about half a ball (if that)

14 Feb 2015 11:36AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

Shoots... hits the hoop and bounces harmlessly away

14 Feb 2015 11:37AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Yellow plays back in - not a great spot, but it can get to 6 - if red gets cleared, black is all over yellow

14 Feb 2015 11:37AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Hamy really need to jump this.

14 Feb 2015 11:37AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Lines it up - feet close together - lovely technique this.

14 Feb 2015 11:38AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Blue jumps red to lots of applause. Hamy leads 5-0.

14 Feb 2015 11:38AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Red plays through the hoop up to hoop 6

14 Feb 2015 11:38AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Blue is about 5 yards from it

14 Feb 2015 11:38AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

black plays inside red -nice shot.

14 Feb 2015 11:38AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Yellow might fancy the target of black and hoop....

14 Feb 2015 11:39AM (Tournament); 29 Readers

...no clears blue to a spot wired from red, getting to the west boundary just south of corner 2 - nice shot that!

14 Feb 2015 11:39AM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Hamy playing back in. Chris needs to jump this

14 Feb 2015 11:40AM (Tournament); 29 Readers

Red hops over black, and Chris is on the board.

14 Feb 2015 11:40AM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Hamy leads 5-1

14 Feb 2015 11:40AM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Black plays ni to hoop 7 - goes too far - this leaves a central clearance for yellow to be in front - needs to hit this well - and does. Clears black 6 yards, yellow is in front

14 Feb 2015 11:41AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Blue shooting at yellow

14 Feb 2015 11:41AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Misses! That's the first miss for Hamy today, apart from his hitting the hoop on his half-ball target

14 Feb 2015 11:41AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

red is nearish black, and may play for the block

14 Feb 2015 11:41AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

no - takes really good hoop position. Blue is open on the hoop though, and yellow is blocked!

14 Feb 2015 11:42AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

black shooting at something..

14 Feb 2015 11:42AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

clears yellow

14 Feb 2015 11:42AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

(that was obvious, but from where he was standing it didnt' look clear)

14 Feb 2015 11:42AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

yellow plays back in - is short, so Hamy has a free 7ish yarder at the hoop - angled, but it's a double as well

14 Feb 2015 11:43AM (Tournament); 28 Readers

clears red, and doesn't get the in-off which was available. Blue's 10 yards south of the hoop - red playing in looking for the wire -i think he's got it - good shot.

14 Feb 2015 11:43AM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Black clearing

14 Feb 2015 11:43AM (Tournament); 29 Readers

8 yarder...

14 Feb 2015 11:43AM (Tournament); 29 Readers

maybe 7.

14 Feb 2015 11:44AM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Hit's it in the middle again at that great pace

14 Feb 2015 11:44AM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Yellow into the front of the jaws - great shot. Blue is south of the hoop, but will need to hit it very well to clear yellow. Black will have a chance to have a go if Blue fails.

14 Feb 2015 11:44AM (Tournament); 29 Readers

Blue shooting... bounces off the right-hand wire of 2.

14 Feb 2015 11:44AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Black's shot is much harder, but possible

14 Feb 2015 11:45AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Red plays in - too long, but it's in the mix

14 Feb 2015 11:45AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

black shooting... looks like it could see all of yellow - clears yellow - but only onto blue, which cannons away

14 Feb 2015 11:45AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Yellow back to the jaws... misses.

14 Feb 2015 11:45AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Yuss.. news from the clubhouse - wedges are on the way!! - not sure how to type and eat, but we'll give it a crack!

14 Feb 2015 11:46AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

blue plays in, red clears it to the north boundary to where black is sitting.

14 Feb 2015 11:47AM (Tournament); 28 Readers

yellow nudges red into blocking position on blue .Blue clearing yellow...

14 Feb 2015 11:47AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Black had a go at the hoop in the meantime and bounced away

14 Feb 2015 11:47AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

d'oh - blue cleared red - I was distracted with teh thought of breakfast

14 Feb 2015 11:48AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Red takes beautiful position - probably blocking black at yellow

14 Feb 2015 11:48AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

no - black can see yellow, but yellow will have a 11 yarder to clear blue. Black dribbles in front of the hoop - must have been blocked in the end

14 Feb 2015 11:48AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Chris jumping...

14 Feb 2015 11:49AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Doesn't get far with a wee hop, but it's 5-2 to Hami

14 Feb 2015 11:49AM (Tournament); 24 Readers

Blue plays down well, red is behind black, black is behind the hoop - red can play down on an angle, and black's going nowhere fast

14 Feb 2015 11:49AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

red plays down to north of 5, black through the hoop to closer to 1, yellow is shooting at a possible target

14 Feb 2015 11:50AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

misses left of the hoop

14 Feb 2015 11:50AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Blue runs the hoop Hamy leads game 1 6-2

14 Feb 2015 11:52AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red takes long angled position, other three balls play over - yellow has gone too far

14 Feb 2015 11:52AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

red plays into the front of hoop 9 trying to get to the jaws.

14 Feb 2015 11:53AM (Tournament); 32 Readers

black clears yellow. Blue can clear red, small chance of an in-off - particularly at Hamy's nice shooting pace

14 Feb 2015 11:53AM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Yellow shoots at blue - misses

14 Feb 2015 11:53AM (Tournament); 32 Readers

We've got some plate action on other lawns. Nothing too exciting, so we'll ignore that here.

14 Feb 2015 11:54AM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Stephen has started, but i can't see what as my neck isn't that long or bendy

14 Feb 2015 11:54AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

blue clears red and stays near the hoop. red takes position again, black clears yellow

14 Feb 2015 11:55AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Now we have a referee on... red was on the boundary, yellow hit red and stayed in lawn. Correct decision from the ref - red is moved out of the way and yellow shoots - misses.

14 Feb 2015 11:56AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Blue is angled, but easy... Hamy wins game 1 7-2. A sweet "Bravo" from the young Egyptian Nadine. She's really lovely

14 Feb 2015 11:56AM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Game 2, Hamy leads 1-0

14 Feb 2015 11:58AM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Red takes 2.5 yard slightly angled position first ball on. Looks very runnable. Black goes 3.5 yards back, yellow plays in a bit short, but again runnable

14 Feb 2015 11:58AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

Hamy thinks Chris can run this and is shooting with the 4th ball on... misses left!

14 Feb 2015 11:59AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

About 25 degree hoop... runs it by 6 inches. Chris leads 1-0 Red's probably far enough back he can play that up when its turn comes.

14 Feb 2015 11:59AM (Tournament); 26 Readers

But it did flop over a bit, so it's not going anywhere nice.

14 Feb 2015 11:59AM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Blue black takes longish position

14 Feb 2015 12:00PM (Tournament); 25 Readers

Great shot - yellow clears red and goes up near hoop 2.

14 Feb 2015 12:00PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

wedges have arrived!

14 Feb 2015 12:01PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

black plays in. red goes up inside black.

14 Feb 2015 12:01PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

he must have been shooting at the hoop with black...snicks red and he's off the boundary.

14 Feb 2015 12:02PM (Tournament); 26 Readers

chris clearas blue with yellow...disappointed to not get the in-off

14 Feb 2015 12:02PM (Tournament); 25 Readers

blue plays towards the west boundary...good shot..red would have cleared it otherwise

14 Feb 2015 12:02PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

black takes deeper position

14 Feb 2015 12:03PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

yellow plays in. putting pressure on hamys shooting

14 Feb 2015 12:03PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

middles it

14 Feb 2015 12:03PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

the wedges are delicious...thanks heaps Jared Keeman!!

14 Feb 2015 12:04PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

red shoots back...missses

14 Feb 2015 12:04PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Black failed hoop 2!...Chris runs hoop 2!! Chris leads 2-0

14 Feb 2015 12:05PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Blue tackes excellent position from the middle of north boundary, red misses from the west boundary on the left

14 Feb 2015 12:06PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

black drifts past

14 Feb 2015 12:06PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

yellow misses

14 Feb 2015 12:06PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

blue runs 3 to level with the peg chris leads 2-1

14 Feb 2015 12:07PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

red takes position...its a bit short and angled. i suspect it might be clearing-black-going-to-5-position

14 Feb 2015 12:08PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

blck takes straight position. yellow angled, but closer. blue clears red

14 Feb 2015 12:08PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

can red see black?? yes! clears it to near north boundary

14 Feb 2015 12:09PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

black shoots...misses...chris leads 3-1

14 Feb 2015 12:10PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

red is between 1 and 2 after that clearance

14 Feb 2015 12:10PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

blue takes decent position. shake of the head as chris goes too far with red. black might have the block??...chris shoots...goes between blue and the hoop

14 Feb 2015 12:11PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

hamy runs 5 by 2 yards. yellow directed from corner 2 to the east penalty spot. leaving it where it is seems interesting, but looks dreadful if someone runs hoop 6 early.

14 Feb 2015 12:13PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

red takes perfect position. nearly perfect...black shoots at the double...misses!

14 Feb 2015 12:13PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

yellow plays in. blue has very little to shoot at...bounces off the peg to offside

14 Feb 2015 12:14PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

chris leads 4-2

14 Feb 2015 12:14PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

Black takes position, yellow takes position, blue plays in. Red clears black, black clears yellow. ...bits of interaction...

14 Feb 2015 12:17PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Black runs a good angled hoop - the hoop sounded a little soft - it was a good shot though - runs it to about peg high

14 Feb 2015 12:18PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Chris leads 4-3

14 Feb 2015 12:18PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

yellow takes tight, but angled position, blue plays down and a little far

14 Feb 2015 12:18PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

red plays in

14 Feb 2015 12:18PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Black has a big target here

14 Feb 2015 12:18PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

I almost lose a wedge as I lose a bet with lovely neighbour Aussie Sue Bertram that Hamy will clear yellow. Hamy plays for the hoop - misses.

14 Feb 2015 12:20PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Yellow fails hoop 8! - bounces back to tight

14 Feb 2015 12:20PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Blue clears red, and goes a bit over halfway up towards hoop 2

14 Feb 2015 12:21PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

red plays back in - it's not blocking blue

14 Feb 2015 12:21PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

black plays in

14 Feb 2015 12:21PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Sue heads off for her own wedges

14 Feb 2015 12:21PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

yellow clears black, and this is definitely a shot at hoop 8...

14 Feb 2015 12:21PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

bounces off the right-hand wire. Phew!

14 Feb 2015 12:21PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Red's through Chris leads 5-3

14 Feb 2015 12:23PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

black plays down from hoop 3, and is 4 yards south of 9

14 Feb 2015 12:23PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

yellow tries to put in a tight block - it's short and unrunnable

14 Feb 2015 12:24PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

blue plays in short, red takes position.

14 Feb 2015 12:24PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Black runs 9 beautifully ... and bounces off the outside wire of 10 to the north boundary! - that was close!! Chris leads 5-4 - let's hope he can maintain this lead till the end of the game

14 Feb 2015 12:24PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Yellow takes deepish position - Jared has even come back to take the plates back -many thanks :-)

14 Feb 2015 12:25PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Blue takes slightly straighter position, red plays in tight, but black can clear this.

14 Feb 2015 12:25PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Black misses!!! Hamy has missed quite a few shots this game, after a stunning first game.

14 Feb 2015 12:26PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Yellow has a fully range of places to clear blue - chooses to stamp it away to the west boundary maintaining hoop-running position with yellow

14 Feb 2015 12:26PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Blue shoots - misses again.

14 Feb 2015 12:27PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Red runs hoop 10 - Chris leads 6-4

14 Feb 2015 12:27PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Aah - spotted Mike Bertram a couple of seats along. David Wise is next to him. Not sure i know the others - it's rude to stare, so back to the croquet...

14 Feb 2015 12:28PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

black is short! yellow plays in to good position, blue comes inside it. Red clears blue! - blue now near the boundary level with hoop 1, red halfway between 1 and 2, and black clears yellow to corner 2 - black now about 6 yards north fo 11. Looks very brown in front of 11. Very brown in the area well south of hoop 5 too - this lawn is a much better colour than the well-watered lush-ness we arrived to. Would have been nice a week earlier, but well done to the staff for today's conditions.

14 Feb 2015 12:30PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

all balls play back in, and black has a long hoop...

14 Feb 2015 12:30PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

needs to run this as yellow can clear blue to a wire... bounces out!!

14 Feb 2015 12:30PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

no - yellow going for the hoop, not blue...angle ,about 4 yards back - he's wanting to assert himself here... and does!!!

14 Feb 2015 12:31PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Chris wins game 2 7-4

14 Feb 2015 12:31PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Game 3 - the match is level at 1-1

14 Feb 2015 12:37PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

I got sent off in my second role as water girl - return to see Chris run hoop 2 1-1

14 Feb 2015 12:37PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Soe good position-taking, a clearance, Chris misses, and Hami runs hoop 3 to about 7 yards north of hoop 4 Hamy leads 2-1

14 Feb 2015 12:38PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red and yellow take good position, Black's angled

14 Feb 2015 12:39PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Blue shoots at the hoop.. bounces back from the jaws. Red jumping...

14 Feb 2015 12:39PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

No - dribbles in a hampered shot onto black - pauses and looks unhappy - black has an in-off from blue available.

14 Feb 2015 12:39PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Runs the hoop cleanly from an angle - Hamy leads 3-1

14 Feb 2015 12:40PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Yellow takes good position at 5

14 Feb 2015 12:40PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

I think Mahdi is 6-5 up against Stephen. It was 5-5, but then there were a LOT of "bravo's"

14 Feb 2015 12:41PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

blue takes good position. Red clears it.

14 Feb 2015 12:41PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

black shooting...

14 Feb 2015 12:41PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Shoots gently - hits yellow, but only to move it to very angled position - Chris shoots at his hoop - hits too much of the far wire and bounces back to unrunnable position

14 Feb 2015 12:42PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

The sun is out again and it's far too hot for my computer - I hope the clouds come in soon

14 Feb 2015 12:42PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Blue plays inside yellow, red takes good position, black nudges it to 8 yards south, going off just out of corner 4. Yellow clears blue

14 Feb 2015 12:43PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

blue's back - bad shot - plays to a yard in front of red

14 Feb 2015 12:43PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red doesn't get a clean contact - might have had some danger of a rush-peel, but i think more likely just a rather average shot

14 Feb 2015 12:44PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

red clears blue towards corner 3, red is 5 yards from the hoop

14 Feb 2015 12:44PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

black takes 4 yard position, yellow goes tighter, but gets angled

14 Feb 2015 12:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Blue takes position - 2.5 yards back, bit angled.

14 Feb 2015 12:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Red clears black.

14 Feb 2015 12:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

It went past blue to get to black and looked for a scary moment like a short miss.

14 Feb 2015 12:45PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red's miles away now too, black is 2 yards in from corner 4

14 Feb 2015 12:45PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Ahmed Nasr coming for a squint at the scoreboard

14 Feb 2015 12:45PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Black nails yellow in the middle - it's up 5 yards west of the peg too now, really good shot

14 Feb 2015 12:45PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Yellow misses blue to the right .

14 Feb 2015 12:46PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

This hoop isn't trivial - would be nigh impossible on new holes at United

14 Feb 2015 12:46PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

bad shot - bounces across the face of the hoop to very angled position

14 Feb 2015 12:46PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Red plays back in deep. Black comes in short- he can jaws it - it would be a difficult hoop

14 Feb 2015 12:47PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Yellow comes in - great shot - blocks blue on red

14 Feb 2015 12:47PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Blue plays a lovely cannon clearing both

14 Feb 2015 12:47PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

red clears black, black is back, but a bit long.

14 Feb 2015 12:48PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Yellow can just see the hoop past blue - but hits the left-hand wire

14 Feb 2015 12:48PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

blue takes better position ,red clears black - black's back - but it's gone too far!.

14 Feb 2015 12:50PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

yellow clears blue! - looks like it bounced off the wire on the way. Blue's still closish though, but angled - fails the hoop!

14 Feb 2015 12:50PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Red will have a long go from near the boundary

14 Feb 2015 12:50PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

This is a huge shot for this game

14 Feb 2015 12:50PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Stephen 6-6 with Mahdi

14 Feb 2015 12:51PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Runs hoop 5!!!! - Hamy leads 3-2

14 Feb 2015 12:51PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Red's now off the north boundary. Black takes good position - bit long

14 Feb 2015 12:51PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Yellow plays up and nudges black slighty - it's still open to red.

14 Feb 2015 12:51PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Sue Bertram is back - i'm feeling guilty now - they've got a queue a mile long, but are too busy to do wedges before the normal wedge time of 2pm. Sorry Sue! She's back to wait now.

14 Feb 2015 12:52PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Blue plays in blocking red at black

14 Feb 2015 12:52PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Red plays in gently nudging blue centre ball. Black clears yellow

14 Feb 2015 12:52PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

I suspect red is in the way of this clearance

14 Feb 2015 12:52PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Maybe he can get south

14 Feb 2015 12:52PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

misses.to the right

14 Feb 2015 12:53PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

yellow now on the east boundary, and Hamy opts to clear red -hoping Chris will miss again and have two balls miles from hoop 7 probably. Or is he feeling less confident

14 Feb 2015 12:53PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

Huge Egyptian applause - Mahdi must have won game 1

14 Feb 2015 12:53PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

Chris clears blue - at least one lovely Aussie is strongly supporting Chris with a quiet "yesss"

14 Feb 2015 12:54PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Black takes position, red is about 10 yards from it. yellow takes good position

14 Feb 2015 12:54PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Blue uplays in way too far and gets halfway to hoop 7

14 Feb 2015 12:54PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

red shooting - will be clearing going towarsd hoop 7 - this is huge... misses :-(

14 Feb 2015 12:54PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Black runs hoop 6, and leads 4-2. Red is offside.

14 Feb 2015 12:55PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

The Egyptians are pretty sensible about the offside rule, but Chris has played yellow before resolving red... has a quick discussion with Hami - sensible lad - they just play on properly.

14 Feb 2015 12:56PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

(I'm sure i'll get some stick for that comment. But I can't beileve I'll be reading it)

14 Feb 2015 12:56PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

looked away, black played in, yellow played in, black cleared red, red played back in - blue shooting at a long hoop .... oooooo from the crowd as he bounces out to past hoop 6

14 Feb 2015 12:57PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Red looked to try to promote yellow - doesn't though - ends up just in front of hoop 7 - shake of the head - maybe it's because its' open for an in-off. Black clears it though - to the north boundary, black to north of hoop 3

14 Feb 2015 12:58PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

yellow takes good position, slightly west, to avoid the in-off

14 Feb 2015 12:58PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

blue shoots - misses!

14 Feb 2015 12:58PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

black has an interesting angle on yellow - should be ok

14 Feb 2015 12:58PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Red takes goodposition.

14 Feb 2015 12:59PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

letting Hamy miss a few could effect this younsters's confidence.

14 Feb 2015 12:59PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Black shoots at yellow misses!

14 Feb 2015 12:59PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Yellow runs hoop 7 half way down.

14 Feb 2015 12:59PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Lovely Aussie spotter - confirms Mahdi won the first 7-6, and is 1-0 up in the second

14 Feb 2015 1:00PM (Tournament); 27 Readers

Blue takes decent position, red takes longer straight position, black drifts past

14 Feb 2015 1:00PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Yellow clears blue, but only by a few yards, as it snicked it flying through to the boundary - a week ago blue would have only gone about a yard. The other morning at Rotorua it would have only gone a foot or two!

14 Feb 2015 1:01PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Blue cleras red centrally - goes halfway to hoop 2.

14 Feb 2015 1:01PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Chris plays in north and west

14 Feb 2015 1:01PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Hamy tries to get blocking position - he's short! - blue will need to clear red!

14 Feb 2015 1:02PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

yellow plays in - red has an easy in-off, but this is well in Hamy's range

14 Feb 2015 1:02PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Sue reckons he's after the hoop - I needed to have a drink on that!

14 Feb 2015 1:02PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Great shot - clears red to the south boundary - completely wired - Chris needs to run the hoop

14 Feb 2015 1:02PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Runs the hoop! - but too much wire, and only nudges black. Hamy leads 5-3

14 Feb 2015 1:03PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Hamy is a very composed, calm player

14 Feb 2015 1:03PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Yellow takes 4 yard position. Hamy is shooting

14 Feb 2015 1:03PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

misses by a ball and a half on the right

14 Feb 2015 1:04PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

red plays in - it's short, but can jaws

14 Feb 2015 1:04PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

black plays in. Yellow shoots at the hoop - bounces off to hoop 5

14 Feb 2015 1:05PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Blue shoots gently back at red - misses, and red plays into the jaws. Nothing Hamy can do here, and a great chance to try to catch up

14 Feb 2015 1:05PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

To give an idea of Hamy's shooting pace for a lot of shots, he shot gently, on a 12 second lawn, at red, and ended up north of hoop 1.

14 Feb 2015 1:06PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Well, he can try to clear from 3 yards north of hoop 1

14 Feb 2015 1:06PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Black takes position, yellow takes position, Hamy shooting...

14 Feb 2015 1:06PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

This won't be a dribble!

14 Feb 2015 1:06PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Rush peels red - great result. A call of "bad luck" from near me is way off the mark - Chris has a very hampered shot to get to hoop 9. Copes rasonably well.

14 Feb 2015 1:07PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

amy takes position.. it's long... it's through! Hamy leads 6-4. Rats. Great shot though

14 Feb 2015 1:07PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Chris takes good position at 11 with yellow

14 Feb 2015 1:07PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Mahdi leads 2-0 on lawn 2

14 Feb 2015 1:08PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Blue's in corner 4 at the moment - quite a long way away from the action

14 Feb 2015 1:08PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Blue plays in quite well from corner 4

14 Feb 2015 1:08PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

red plays in - trying to block black at yellow

14 Feb 2015 1:08PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Hamy crouching for a look - it looks good

14 Feb 2015 1:09PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

shooting...

14 Feb 2015 1:09PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Misses left!

14 Feb 2015 1:09PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

C'mon yellow - it's straight, and about 4 feet back

14 Feb 2015 1:09PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Runs it beatifully - very clean hoop to 2 yards south of the peg

14 Feb 2015 1:10PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Black's on the west boundary a bit north of the penalty spot, blue plays down but goes too far, and it's next to hoop 12

14 Feb 2015 1:10PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

red takes decent position 2-3 yards back

14 Feb 2015 1:10PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Hamy checking - yew, yellow can see teh hoop

14 Feb 2015 1:10PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

I think Blue can run the hoop actually

14 Feb 2015 1:11PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Black shooting... hits pretty centrally, and how yellow is on the eastern penalty spot

14 Feb 2015 1:11PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

yellow shooting...

14 Feb 2015 1:12PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Hits blue in the middle!

14 Feb 2015 1:12PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Blue off the west boundary level with hoop 1, yellow 3 yards north of hoop 1

14 Feb 2015 1:12PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Blue shooting...

14 Feb 2015 1:12PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

clears red - blue to the east boundary, and back comes red... it's good - bit angled, but easy to get through, and black has to be careful where it goes - it's north - offers the clearance getting to hoop 13!!!

14 Feb 2015 1:13PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Yellow shooting at black... fantastic shot!!!

14 Feb 2015 1:13PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Clears black to the middle of east boundary - yellow is 4 yards west and a yard north of hoop 13!!!

14 Feb 2015 1:14PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Hamy shooting...

14 Feb 2015 1:14PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

hits red - huge shot

14 Feb 2015 1:14PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Yellow very nearly hit the peg on its way up, cute knee twist from Chris as he watched.

14 Feb 2015 1:14PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Blue and red on the west boundary. .. red takes excellent position

14 Feb 2015 1:15PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Black plays in short

14 Feb 2015 1:15PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Hamy avoiding repeating that error from last tmie!

14 Feb 2015 1:15PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

yellow takes position

14 Feb 2015 1:15PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Blue shooting... Black can run the hoop, but it's horribly angled

14 Feb 2015 1:15PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

blue shoots... misses!

14 Feb 2015 1:15PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

I think Chris will take this position

14 Feb 2015 1:16PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Red runs a 4 foot hoop, 6-6 Waves for the scorer - still looks like he's acknowledging the crowd - but we've all been told the winner of the point has to wave for the scorer

14 Feb 2015 1:16PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Hamy taking positino with black - it's angled, but probably good. Looks like Chris is shooting

14 Feb 2015 1:17PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Just misses to the right

14 Feb 2015 1:17PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

blue is near corner 4,and red is near the middle of the south boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:17PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

blue takes position, Red has a nuge shot

14 Feb 2015 1:18PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

spectators moving around

14 Feb 2015 1:18PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

It's a ripper! - double clearance!

14 Feb 2015 1:19PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Black still has a straight 7 yarder

14 Feb 2015 1:19PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Runs his hoop - Hamy wins game 3 7-6, and leads the match 2-1

14 Feb 2015 1:20PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Game 3, Hamy leads 2 games to 1

14 Feb 2015 1:21PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Quick drink and they're off again

14 Feb 2015 1:21PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red takes good 2 yard position

14 Feb 2015 1:22PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Black shooting

14 Feb 2015 1:22PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Hits the middle of red - good shot

14 Feb 2015 1:22PM (Tournament); 29 Readers

We've got Hisham Yassin v Chris McWhirter on lawn 4 in the plate now .Chris McW is a really nice chap, Hisham is probably the least personable of the Egyptians who are a really nice squad

14 Feb 2015 1:23PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Yellwo plays in - it's angled though - which is a shame, as Blue didn't go off the lawn, and red has a clearance pointing at the north boundary.

14 Feb 2015 1:23PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Red shoots powerfully at blue - misses

14 Feb 2015 1:24PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Black shooting at yellow

14 Feb 2015 1:24PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

misses!

14 Feb 2015 1:24PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Both were under 10 yards shots

14 Feb 2015 1:24PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

earing blue

14 Feb 2015 1:24PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

yellow goes off to the short boundary, so blue takes position on the south boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:25PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Josh Freeth has joined us - is talkign to Mike and Sue Bertram abuot Chris playing with him before the U21s.

14 Feb 2015 1:25PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Red plays into position - it's short. Black takes lovely position. Yellow clears it gently

14 Feb 2015 1:26PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

blue at the hoop..

14 Feb 2015 1:26PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

this is big in match terms

14 Feb 2015 1:26PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

hits the right-hand wire and bounces off to north of hoop 3!

14 Feb 2015 1:26PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

red for the jaws...

14 Feb 2015 1:26PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

its the far wire firmly, but it's partly into the jaws. Black can clear it though with a good shot

14 Feb 2015 1:27PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Plays a good shot.

14 Feb 2015 1:27PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Red is now near corner 1

14 Feb 2015 1:27PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

yellow takes position - i think it's wired from black

14 Feb 2015 1:28PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

blue plays in from near the north boundary - it has gone a long way south

14 Feb 2015 1:28PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

red takes good posiition.

14 Feb 2015 1:28PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

That wire was good - black tries to play back through teh hoop, but bounces off

14 Feb 2015 1:29PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Yellow runs hoop 1 to nearly peg high - yuss.

14 Feb 2015 1:29PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Blue takes longish position

14 Feb 2015 1:29PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

red takes longer position

14 Feb 2015 1:29PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

black plays up - that's poor - he should have been much closer as blue has a cleraance towards corner 4

14 Feb 2015 1:30PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Chris plays a poor shot - must have been a long go at the hoop - misses left by some way.

14 Feb 2015 1:30PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Hamy runs hoop 2 with blue from some distance 1-1

14 Feb 2015 1:30PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

REd takes position at 3, Black clears, yellow plays in short and deep, blue takes good position. Red clearing blue gently - head came up there - misses.

14 Feb 2015 1:33PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Black dribbles at the hoop - "bravo" from the crowd - not really - yellow has an in-off opportunity - clears black, but it's in front of the hoop. Blue takes good position

14 Feb 2015 1:33PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Red shoots back - misses blue

14 Feb 2015 1:33PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

from 4-5 down, Chris McW is 6-5 u on Hisham and all over the 12th hoop - I think this is their last plate game

14 Feb 2015 1:34PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Hamy clears yellow to corner 2

14 Feb 2015 1:34PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Chris shooting again...

14 Feb 2015 1:34PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Dallas Cooke rushes to stop the traffic along the east boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:35PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Yellow shoots - misses.

14 Feb 2015 1:35PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Hamy has an easy hoop to get down to 4 also. Breaks to go 2-1 up

14 Feb 2015 1:35PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Runs hoop 3 to nearly level with hoop 4 and 3 yards west of it. Hamy leads 2-1

14 Feb 2015 1:36PM (Tournament); 35 Readers

Red takes position - bit too far right, black gets good position, yellow's in front - blue clears yellow - red stops black away nicely. Black's back

14 Feb 2015 1:38PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Nice... yellow clears black getting more than halfway to hoop 5 - he's still the best tactical player i've ever seen!

14 Feb 2015 1:38PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Hamy shooting gently - clears red

14 Feb 2015 1:38PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

red's back in front, yellow has about a 4 yarder - a powerful cut would put blue in corner 3

14 Feb 2015 1:39PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

clears blue to the middle of east boundary - blue clears red to the middle of south boundary - Chris needs to hit black

14 Feb 2015 1:40PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Chris is annoyed - waits forever for spectators to amble past his shot - finally gets clears then two referees in bright yellow coats walk past him. Not surprising he misses. You don't tend to get that sort of disruption in Egypt, where the watchers are more alert

14 Feb 2015 1:43PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Black runs the hoop Hamy leads 3-1

14 Feb 2015 1:43PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Yellow takes decent, but angled, position, Blue takes straight position

14 Feb 2015 1:43PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red shooting back

14 Feb 2015 1:43PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Nope - plays back in - lovely shot - slightly blocking blue

14 Feb 2015 1:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Maybe - blue might be able to skim past it

14 Feb 2015 1:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Hamy shooting at yellow frmo teh south boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Hits the middle of it. He has hit confidence well up now

14 Feb 2015 1:44PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Chris McW won the first of the two-game "match" against Hisham, now in the jaws of 1 and plays to in front of 2

14 Feb 2015 1:45PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

Chris shooting with yellow... hits! - rushes blue to the middle of south boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:45PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

It's completely blocked on the hoop I hink

14 Feb 2015 1:45PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Hamy plays gently at ball/hoop - bounces off the left wire.

14 Feb 2015 1:45PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red runs hoop 5 to level with hoop 6 Hamy leads 3-2

14 Feb 2015 1:46PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Black takes good position. blue is 3 yards north west of hoop 5

14 Feb 2015 1:46PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Yellow plays up from near corner 4 - past the hoop, and red is still open to blue

14 Feb 2015 1:46PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Hamy shooting at red...

14 Feb 2015 1:47PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

A hit will probably get a wire and win the hoop...

14 Feb 2015 1:47PM (Tournament); 28 Readers

Bounces a bit, clears red to a years south-west of hoop 2 - Chris has about a 8 yarder

14 Feb 2015 1:47PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Red clears black pretty centrally - red now a yard north and 2 yards east of the peg, yellow doesn't look runnable south-west of 6, and black plays back in

14 Feb 2015 1:48PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Yellow runs the hoop by 2 inches - great shot!! Hamy leads 3-3

14 Feb 2015 1:48PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Phillip Drew now walking up the east boundary - but he's a sensible lad and has waited until they are playing to hoop 7.

14 Feb 2015 1:49PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Blue takes angled position about 6 feet back. Red shoots - misses.

14 Feb 2015 1:49PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

yellow can't see blue, so will be putting in a block

14 Feb 2015 1:49PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Black tries to take position - skates past a bit - it's angled, but runnabe.

14 Feb 2015 1:49PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

no - yellow is shooting - must be through a bit further than it looked

14 Feb 2015 1:50PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Misses left

14 Feb 2015 1:50PM (Tournament); 30 Readers

Amir replaces the ball - the Egyptian leader is looking good now despite a badly bruised cheek from an unfortunate fall two days ago. Thank goodness!

14 Feb 2015 1:50PM (Tournament); 31 Readers

Hamy runs hoop 7 by 14 inches. Hamy leads 4-3

14 Feb 2015 1:50PM (Tournament); 32 Readers

Chris takes 8 foot position, reasonably straight - black plays down - bit too fast to get the slope onside, and it's past the hoop

14 Feb 2015 1:51PM (Tournament); 33 Readers

ecent crowd (50?) here

14 Feb 2015 1:51PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Maybe more

14 Feb 2015 1:51PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Blue has a bit more space - shooting...

14 Feb 2015 1:51PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

It's a good shot, but drifts past the wire to the west

14 Feb 2015 1:52PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Chris to level...

14 Feb 2015 1:52PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Runs a good hoop 4-4

14 Feb 2015 1:52PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

I want a decider!

14 Feb 2015 1:52PM (Tournament); 34 Readers

Black plays over to 9 - it's a bit far.

14 Feb 2015 1:53PM (Tournament); 37 Readers

Chris chooses a spot - shoots off the south boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:53PM (Tournament); 36 Readers

Misses the spot he was aiming at and looks frustrated.

14 Feb 2015 1:54PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Blue plays in really nicely.

14 Feb 2015 1:54PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Might be worth a shot wtih red?

14 Feb 2015 1:54PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Hits half-ball - blue to middle of the east boundary, red is just south of level with hoop 4

14 Feb 2015 1:55PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

black takes goodposition, yellow plays in to almost touching black, blue plays into the middle of all that

14 Feb 2015 1:56PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Red will need a good shot to only clear black

14 Feb 2015 1:56PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Gets everything - blue is near hoop 1 - black is east of hoop 4, red is near the south boundary, and yellow is angled and nearish hoop 4 still

14 Feb 2015 1:57PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Hamy shooting at yellow - clears it to corner 4

14 Feb 2015 1:57PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Yellow gets to play back first, but black is on the south boundary

14 Feb 2015 1:57PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Plays back in - not blocking black

14 Feb 2015 1:57PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Blue will play back in now, Josh Freeth is back wtih iced water for Chris

14 Feb 2015 1:58PM (Tournament); 41 Readers

Chris is all in black today, Egyptians always play in white.

14 Feb 2015 1:59PM (Tournament); 41 Readers

Black shooting - probably at the hoop, but who knows. - goes between yellow and the hoop - huge opportunity for Chris here!

14 Feb 2015 1:59PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Pops by to make Josh's efforts feel useful, then off to run hoop 10...

14 Feb 2015 2:00PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Sorry - it was hoop 9 ... runs hoop 9 wth yellow to 3 yards west of hoop 10 Chris leads 5-4 - the first time he has been ahead in the game - can it be decisive???

14 Feb 2015 2:00PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Blue takes position, red takes position, black playing in from the middle of the west bounday

14 Feb 2015 2:01PM (Tournament); 38 Readers

Battery says I have 1hr40 left

14 Feb 2015 2:01PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

Yellow clears blut to the middle of the east boundary. We're crossing everythign on our bench.

14 Feb 2015 2:01PM (Tournament); 39 Readers

A good clearance could put Hamy in front of hoop 11 also.

14 Feb 2015 2:02PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Hits! - but also nudges black out of the way - blue now on the north boundary, black about level with hoop 10

14 Feb 2015 2:02PM (Tournament); 43 Readers

red plays back 3 yards deep, straight

14 Feb 2015 2:02PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

black clearing...

14 Feb 2015 2:02PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

He has hit that too hard this time - black goes not too far from the east penalty spot, red towards hoop 4

14 Feb 2015 2:03PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

yellow plays in. Blue plays south of that. red plays back in

14 Feb 2015 2:03PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

He's maybe trying for the block - doesn't get it

14 Feb 2015 2:04PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

Black shooting - still has a chance to get towards hoop 11

14 Feb 2015 2:04PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

clears yellow to north of hoop 2. black's off the north boundary pretty well north of hoop 3

14 Feb 2015 2:04PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

With this quality of shooting, winning hoop 10 can often lead to winning hoop 11 with a good clearance.

14 Feb 2015 2:05PM (Tournament); 43 Readers

Chris shoots... hits blue pretty centrally. Blue is 6 yards north of the east penalty spot. Yellow on the east boundary a few yards north of level with hoop 4

14 Feb 2015 2:06PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

Sue's spotted it's 2 o'clock. Dare I try to look after another beer? This time in a sturdy pint glass.

14 Feb 2015 2:06PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

Blue misses! - it's offside.

14 Feb 2015 2:06PM (Tournament); 46 Readers

Red's long .. red's through!!! Chris leads game 4 6-4

14 Feb 2015 2:07PM (Tournament); 47 Readers

Black takes really good position. Yellow plays up - it's long .. not it's not - it's hit Black in the middle!

14 Feb 2015 2:07PM (Tournament); 46 Readers

Blue plays up

14 Feb 2015 2:07PM (Tournament); 46 Readers

It's long

14 Feb 2015 2:07PM (Tournament); 46 Readers

Red is shooting at black - yellow is very runnable...

14 Feb 2015 2:07PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

Misses.

14 Feb 2015 2:08PM (Tournament); 43 Readers

Sherif plays ballboy

14 Feb 2015 2:08PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

Noone's going anywhere right now. Probably need a sniper on the east boundary for if there's a game 5

14 Feb 2015 2:08PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

Chris McW up 5-4

14 Feb 2015 2:09PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

black clear yellow - it's in front now

14 Feb 2015 2:09PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

Yellow plays back east.

14 Feb 2015 2:09PM (Tournament); 42 Readers

Mahdi won the second 7-3, and sounds like he is 1-0 up in game 3

14 Feb 2015 2:09PM (Tournament); 41 Readers

Blue takes position - red shooting... nails black!

14 Feb 2015 2:10PM (Tournament); 41 Readers

Red now in the middle of the north boundary. black on the east boundary level with 6

14 Feb 2015 2:10PM (Tournament); 41 Readers

Two MASSIVE cruise ships visible in the harbour. Gorgeous day again

14 Feb 2015 2:10PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Black nails yellow... disaster for Hamy - it's hits blue centrally and sits there - Chris wins game 4!!

14 Feb 2015 2:11PM (Tournament); 40 Readers

Game 5 - the match is perfectly poised at 2-2

14 Feb 2015 2:18PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

I wandered off for a quick break, but JP was watching the start... Hamy got two balls in front of hoop 1, but Chris ran a long hoop up to hoop 2 Chris leads 1-0

14 Feb 2015 2:19PM (Tournament); 46 Readers

Chris tried to block Hamy at hoop 2, but he returned the good hoop stroke 1-1

14 Feb 2015 2:19PM (Tournament); 47 Readers

Chris got first go at hoop 3 after a good bit of position taking, followed by a block - but fails the hoop

14 Feb 2015 2:20PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

Hamy runs a very good angled hoop 3 to near hoop 4 Hamy leads 2-1

14 Feb 2015 2:20PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

red played well south and well east of hoop 4. Black took good position. Yellow took good angled position between blue and the hoop.

14 Feb 2015 2:21PM (Tournament); 47 Readers

Gentle clearance by blue, still puts it off the south boundary, and 5 yards from the hoop.

14 Feb 2015 2:21PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

red clears black getting long position. Black clears red -black now well north-east of 4, red on the east boundary with a clearance towards corner 2

14 Feb 2015 2:21PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

yellow has taken tight straight position

14 Feb 2015 2:22PM (Tournament); 44 Readers

Blue clearing - hits the middle. The Egyptians are getting quite loud now.

14 Feb 2015 2:22PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

Then silent as Chris goes to play his shot.

14 Feb 2015 2:22PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

Red takes good position.

14 Feb 2015 2:22PM (Tournament); 45 Readers

black takes position - yellow shooting at black - misses.