11th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship

On lawn 4 we join Stephen Mulliner as he has a game lead and is 5-4 down against Egyptian champ Ahmed Nasr

My computer got too hot in the sun, so i've taken advantage of the drinks break the Egyptian spectators are having and have pinched one of their seats!

Stephen was 5-3 down, ran hoop 9 by an inch (oh goodness, this lawn is the other way around to 2!).

Ahmed has a solid thrash at hoop 10 - bounces out by about 5 yards.

Bit more interaction and Ahmed clears blue. Red is all over black.

Blue plays back in - these guys are pretty speedy too!

Behind me Phillip and Tony are warming up on lawn 2 to play a bowl or shield or somesuch match

red plays in, black plays in - yellow plays in...

we've had a bit of clearing while i was distracted with work emails. On task now... Stephen with black having a go at the hoop from an easy looking position..

Jared's back - with coke - lovely man!

Black is though 5-5

Three balls up to hoop 11, as Stephen banishes Ahmed to behind him. STephen's well-known for being sensitive about movement in his peripheral vision - don't blame him!

Hits yellow in the middle. Blue has lovely position

Yellow shooting.. little bit breezy. Stephen, for his part, is hiding amongst the crowd at the moment.

Yellow fires... misses to the right

Good comeback from Stephen Stephen Mulliner leads 6-5

Red takes good position wired from blue - we should get to a 13th hoop now, as the wind kicks up.

We're definitely in the Egyptian shelter - good atmosphere here

Black clears red to some applause. Black's now in the middle of the south boundary. Might not get a 13th hoop afterall!

Yellow takes good position

Blue takes position - black can see yellow.

Jared spots the error here - red as a clearance to go up to hoop 13 - doesn't take it! Chris would have.

Stephen shooting...

Well, yellow was a bit far back

Misses by about a foot!

I think he'll clear blue here - can cut it to get a decent way towards hoop 13. ... no - hits it in the middle

Stephen misses from the boundary... its 6-6

Black plays up very deep - we expect yellow to go off the boundary... no... takes position

Don't like this - it's an easy clearance.

No - perfect spot! - blue plays up, hits yellow, ends up on the wire of hoop 13! (ok, not perfect spot,but turned out lucky)

Red is on the south boundary... plays up to teh hoop. Black is about 6 yards back and 3 yards offline of the middle.

Red is woeful - well short

Stephen going for the hoop.....

Stephen has won his quarter final - huge victorious fist and a roar - he's loving is - Stephen wins 7-5 7-6

##Reg Bamford v Ahmed El Mahdi##

On the slightly less pacey lawn, we're still early in game 2, so let's have a bit of that...

fantastic win for stephen. He hasn't been stunning the bits I've seen - until today where the wee bit I've seen has been excellent

Reg won game 1 7-4, Mahdi leads game 2 4-2*

(The Egyptian corner is a little quiet at the moment)

Ahmed Nasr comes over - words of consolation from the Egyptians.

Red is in the jaws of 7 - not sure which directino it came from. Nothing has happened in ages. Blue plays short - - we're going to have to wait this out.

My fantasy team is looking good now - I've got Hamy any Chris, so I get a finalist, Pete Landrebe is doing well in the consolation events.

Red must have been on the wrong side, as it has tapped back through. Mahdi clears yellow, black's near teh peg

_Salah v Hamy... decider... 4-4 - Hamy played first to hoop 9, Salah rushed partner over, Hamy cleared, Salah cleared

(sorry, that should have been in italics)

5-4 to Salah - runs hoop 9 from the boundary. Thank goodness for Spotter Keeman

Blue clears red through the hoop, red plays back in - black needs to clear yellow..

misses.

blue takes position at 10, red shoots - nicks blue - nearly runs 10!

(italics is Salah (red and yellow), v Hamy (other balls))

yellow runs hoop 7 off teh boundary 4-3 to Mahdi

**sorry - breakdown in comms there - Aaron Westerby came by for a chat. Mahdi wins game 2 7-4 or 7-5. I've relocated to get a full commentary on game 3 :) **

Players having a break. Mahdi having an in-depth chat with team coach Khaled Younis when I walked past earlier. I took the opportunity of a distracted audience to get a seat in the shade off the south boundary

Reg is back... and pacing... aah - Mahdi is here now

##Game 3##

Reg starts - yellow to 5 foot position pretty straight

This lawn orientation is hard work after watcing Chris so carefully

Mahdi clears with blue - Blue ends up in the middle of the west boundary, yellow a few yards north of the corner.

Red plays in deep, and east - it's a good position there

Mahdi playing black..

yellow into position, blue shoot - misses

red has a 7 yarder if he fancies... dribbles into positino

black is going to have a very angled go at hoop 1 - get teh hoop tapped down

45 degree hoop... restalks as the breeze blow... clears yellow instead.

Blue clear clears red from miles away - the Egyptians finally have something to cheer about.

Red plays back - it's short! -poor shot

Black has a 7 yard straight go at hoop 1...

Doesn't touch the sides!!! Mahdi leads 1-0

Similar to when I played in Cairo, the Egyptians are loud and appreciative - then absolutely silent to let the opposition play

Yellow takes position - it's open!

Blue plays up, so does Red

That man has so much power! Black effortlessly clears yellow.

Mahdi has an interesting split grip with the mallet between his second and third finger on each hand, and the top of the mallet built up into a big of a knob

Great clearance - yellow is hampered by hoop 5!

Referee in attendance - hits it anyway - knocks blue to the side, knocks red dead in front

Choice for Mahdi of attempted in-off or double clearance.

Plays it beautifully Mahdi leads 2-0

Mahdi is a really powerfully built player too - he has an enormous amount of absolutely effortless power. (yes, I'm envious!)

Reg approaches 3 - bit east and deep

Black goes deeper, but straight

yellow plays in - might be blocking black - looks like a really good shot.

No - the split in Mahdi's grip is between index finger and third finger.

Blue plays in - goes a bit far. Reg shooting at 3... bounces off to the middle of the north boundary. That hoop was firm we we played yesterday

Hey - I played Reg on here yesterday - what's he doing back on this lawn???????

Hoop 3 is one firm hoop on this lawn.

Mahdi has the hoop banged down - looks like he's going on the ground - runs it by a yard. The Egyptians are cheering. Mahdi leads 3-0

Definitely think there should be an enquiry into this lawn allocation.

Not sure where the semis will be, but Chris was on lawn 2, and his oppos were on lawn 1, so there's probably a problem there too!

Reg takes good position with yellow.

Mahdi clears

At last - Croquetscores.com has been updated - turns out Chris's opponent will be Hamy Erian

Reg back into position, black plays in, blue clears red. He really hasn't missed anything in this game.

Hmm, I wonder what'll happen with lawn allocations for tomorrow - maybe they'll leave one of the top lawns for the final??

Reg shoots at black with red - misses. Black has an easy clearance on yellow - great shot - clears yellow and black is in front and is mostly wired from red. Bout an 8th of a ball showing

Yellow shooting...

Hits black in the middle!

Black plays back, red plays back - both other balls on the short boundary.

sorry - was Blue plays back, red plays back.

Black clears red - again - deceptive power

yellow shooting - misses!

3 yarder for 4-0...

Ahmed El Mahdi leads 4-0

Remember Reg came back from 6-1 down to win the world championships last time

red, black adn yellow play to hoop 5.

Mahdi is taking on the hoop with blue! - shoots from the boundary south of hoop 4 - good effort - bounces out towards the west boundary

Reg is on the board Mahdi leads 4-1

Plays black up to 6 - rolls on a bit and it's open - a 14 yarder

Yellow takes position - Reg lines everything up nicely on his shots - a great way to help consistency

Blue plays in

This shot is critical...

...misses right

Mahdi has a stop-shot clearance on yellow to take full control.

Has a look at the hoop - nope - stops yellow away - but black rolls on to beside the hoop - a poor shot

Yellow needs to hit though...

Misses right again.

Like in the video of the infamous jump stroke, when Reg wants a little more power the main sign is his right ankle turning out in the backswing.

Mahdi runs hoop 6 with blue off the boundary Mahdi leads 5-1 in the decider*

Red is off the south boundary, yellow is in the middle of the east boundary.

Red plays back to 6 yard position - we thought he'd go off the boundary here with Blue not far away.

Black shoots off the north boundary. Makes the red being in lawn look more of an error

Bit careless on Mahdi's part not getting black straight

Reg plays back - nice ball. Mahdi plays blue in - nice as it forces him to clear blue or try a 5.5-6 yard hoop - if he clears, black has a go at the hoop

Havinga good look. Chris fancies rushing yellow in front of blue

Hmm, not sure black is even open on the hoop due to blue!

Taking the hoop on...

Hits a bit of left-hand wire and bounces clear. Black can clear yellow and has a good chance for 6-1

Doesn't get a perfect cut, and yellow has a 13 yarder

Hits blue in the middle, but that's giving Mahdi an angled go at the hoop -about 1.5 yards offline.

Referee comes on to firm up the hoop - hard to see the wee tap doing much. He's the chap who wouldn't reset the lawn for Salah I think.

Mahdi has a gentle go at his 7 yarder. Runs the hoop by 8 yards. Mahdi leads 6-1

Reg takes good position, black plays down. Red plays down, red falls over down the slope at the last minute - might be blocking something

Blue shoots - hits red - almost peels it!! - red bounces off to 6 yards from black, blue is on the south boundary just in from corner 1

Easy clearance for Reg and yellow is about 3 yards back

misses!! - might have snicked it - that ankle turned out again - I'm not sure if that's a usual feature of Reg's game.

Mahdi pleads with the referee to bang this hoop in more firmly. Has a 2 yarder. Chris describes the referee's effort as "Bernardic stroking" - pretty timid stuff

Mahdi wins game 3 7-1 and is into the semi finals!!!

Tomorrow we'll have Chris Clarke v Hamy Erian and Ahmed El Mahdi v Stephen Mulliner

Best of fives tomorrow

Evan told me Mahdi was too nice to win. But he also said Mahdi wouldnt' win game 1. He was half right

Fantasy update might not come from Chris for a wee while, but with two semi-finalists, Ian Burridge is doing rather well.

I've found some more entertainment, and a seat next to legendary player Bob Jackson, so will follow this for a bit

If you'd like to follow a Bowl quarter final, come to the new commentary I've set up. Drank too much coke today - can't sit still - excited at Chris being in the semis