11th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship

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.

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.

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.

Hamy has an easy hoop 1...

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.

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

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

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

Blue plays in about 3 yards short and slightly west

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Hamy shooting...

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

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

Yellow plays into the front of blue - nice shot.

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

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

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

Red plays back in

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

Black clears yellow, stays near the hoop, but unrunnable

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

Blue lcears red nicely, staying in front of the hoop

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

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

Hamy clears yellow. Yellow misses Hamy leads 3-0

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Yellow misses black. Blue will clear red towards corner 3

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

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

blue clears red to the middle of the east boundary

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

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

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

Blue takes good position inside yellow

red shooting at blue

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

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

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

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

Yellow plays into the jaws :-)

Blue shooting..

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

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

Red takes angled position west of the hoop

about 6 yards from blue

black plays in - good 3 yard position

yellow clears black - both balls are miles away now

red suddenly looks like it's in a great spot

Bit too angled to play into the jaws here though

Blue plays seep - 3.5 yard position.

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

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

Shoots... hits the hoop and bounces harmlessly away

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

Hamy really need to jump this.

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

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

Red plays through the hoop up to hoop 6

Blue is about 5 yards from it

black plays inside red -nice shot.

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

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

Hamy playing back in. Chris needs to jump this

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

Hamy leads 5-1

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

Blue shooting at yellow

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

red is nearish black, and may play for the block

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

black shooting at something..

clears yellow

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

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

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.

Black clearing

8 yarder...

maybe 7.

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

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.

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

Black's shot is much harder, but possible

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

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

Yellow back to the jaws... misses.

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

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

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

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

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

Red takes beautiful position - probably blocking black at yellow

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

Chris jumping...

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

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

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

misses left of the hoop

Blue runs the hoop Hamy leads game 1 6-2

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

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

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

Yellow shoots at blue - misses

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

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

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

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.

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

##Game 2, Hamy leads 1-0##

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

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

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.

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

Blue black takes longish position

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

wedges have arrived!

black plays in. red goes up inside black.

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

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

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

black takes deeper position

yellow plays in. putting pressure on hamys shooting

middles it

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

red shoots back...missses

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

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

black drifts past

yellow misses

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

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

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

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

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

red is between 1 and 2 after that clearance

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

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.

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

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

chris leads 4-2

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

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

Chris leads 4-3

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

red plays in

Black has a big target here

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.

Yellow fails hoop 8! - bounces back to tight

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

red plays back in - it's not blocking blue

black plays in

Sue heads off for her own wedges

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

bounces off the right-hand wire. Phew!

Red's through Chris leads 5-3

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

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

blue plays in short, red takes position.

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

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

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

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

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

Blue shoots - misses again.

Red runs hoop 10 - Chris leads 6-4

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...

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.

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

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

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

Chris wins game 2 7-4

##Game 3 - the match is level at 1-1##

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

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

Red and yellow take good position, Black's angled

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

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

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

Yellow takes good position at 5

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

blue takes good position. Red clears it.

black shooting...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue takes position - 2.5 yards back, bit angled.

Red clears black.

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

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

Ahmed Nasr coming for a squint at the scoreboard

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

Yellow misses blue to the right .

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

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

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

Yellow comes in - great shot - blocks blue on red

Blue plays a lovely cannon clearing both

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

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

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

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

Red will have a long go from near the boundary

This is a huge shot for this game

Stephen 6-6 with Mahdi

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

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

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

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.

Blue plays in blocking red at black

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

I suspect red is in the way of this clearance

Maybe he can get south

misses.to the right

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

Huge Egyptian applause - Mahdi must have won game 1

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

blue shoots - misses!

black has an interesting angle on yellow - should be ok

Red takes goodposition.

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

Black shoots at yellow misses!

Yellow runs hoop 7 half way down.

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

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

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!

Blue cleras red centrally - goes halfway to hoop 2.

Chris plays in north and west

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

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

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

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

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

Hamy is a very composed, calm player

Yellow takes 4 yard position. Hamy is shooting

misses by a ball and a half on the right

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

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

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

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.

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

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

This won't be a dribble!

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.

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

Chris takes good position at 11 with yellow

Mahdi leads 2-0 on lawn 2

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

Blue plays in quite well from corner 4

red plays in - trying to block black at yellow

Hamy crouching for a look - it looks good

shooting...

Misses left!

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

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

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

red takes decent position 2-3 yards back

Hamy checking - yew, yellow can see teh hoop

I think Blue can run the hoop actually

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

yellow shooting...

Hits blue in the middle!

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

Blue shooting...

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!!!

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

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

Hamy shooting...

hits red - huge shot

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

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

Black plays in short

Hamy avoiding repeating that error from last tmie!

yellow takes position

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

blue shoots... misses!

I think Chris will take this position

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

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

Just misses to the right

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

blue takes position, Red has a nuge shot

spectators moving around

It's a ripper! - double clearance!

Black still has a straight 7 yarder

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

##Game 3, Hamy leads 2 games to 1##

Quick drink and they're off again

Red takes good 2 yard position

Black shooting

Hits the middle of red - good shot

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

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.

Red shoots powerfully at blue - misses

Black shooting at yellow

misses!

Both were under 10 yards shots

earing blue

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

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

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

blue at the hoop..

this is big in match terms

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

red for the jaws...

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

Plays a good shot.

Red is now near corner 1

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

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

red takes good posiition.

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

Yellow runs hoop 1 to nearly peg high - yuss.

Blue takes longish position

red takes longer position

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

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

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

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.

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

Red shoots back - misses blue

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

Hamy clears yellow to corner 2

Chris shooting again...

Dallas Cooke rushes to stop the traffic along the east boundary

Yellow shoots - misses.

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

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

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

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

Hamy shooting gently - clears red

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

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

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

Black runs the hoop Hamy leads 3-1

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

Red shooting back

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

Maybe - blue might be able to skim past it

Hamy shooting at yellow frmo teh south boundary

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

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

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

It's completely blocked on the hoop I hink

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

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

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

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

Hamy shooting at red...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Misses left

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!

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

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

ecent crowd (50?) here

Maybe more

Blue has a bit more space - shooting...

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

Chris to level...

Runs a good hoop 4-4

I want a decider!

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

Chris chooses a spot - shoots off the south boundary

Misses the spot he was aiming at and looks frustrated.

Blue plays in really nicely.

Might be worth a shot wtih red?

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

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

Red will need a good shot to only clear black

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

Hamy shooting at yellow - clears it to corner 4

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

Plays back in - not blocking black

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

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

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

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

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???

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

Battery says I have 1hr40 left

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

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

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

red plays back 3 yards deep, straight

black clearing...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue misses! - it's offside.

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

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

Blue plays up

It's long

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

Misses.

Sherif plays ballboy

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

Chris McW up 5-4

black clear yellow - it's in front now

Yellow plays back east.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

yellow has taken tight straight position

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

Then silent as Chris goes to play his shot.

Red takes good position.

black takes position - yellow shooting at black - misses.

nearly cleared red!

blue shooting...

has a 6 yarder - he has hit a lot so far this game - mostly in the middel

Clears red.

Sorry for typos - I've managed to get a good tempo to not be tapping while they are shooting

red clears black half-ball fairly gently. Red now 8 yards south of hoop 3

Black looking for a wire - yellow on south boundary

John-Paul Moberly has joined the commentary shelter. He has avoided getting very brown at all this last fortnight. Nice chap. Got into the plate knockout by 1 net hoop. Didn't waste any hoops there!

Yellow clears black in the middle. Yellow near the east boundary again.

Blue plays in. red plays in tight - just falls off going into the very front of the hoop!

black has a monster target here

bounces out of the jaws of hoop 4!

yellow shooting to clear blue. Snicks it - it's a couple of yards further back, but not great. Khaled Younis ballboy this tiem

Blue clears red.

blue and black now very close to hoop 4, red has a nice spot to clear from though.

Gets a horrible bouncy contact, and red is up by hoop 5 now

Black takes position

Yellow shooting - misses right

Blue plays back in

good shot, not blocking red at black though - black is too far east for an in-off here

red shooting...

misses.

Black runs hoop 4, *Hamy leads 3-1

yellow plays west of hoop 5 - blue was too close to approach

Blue goes 5 yards south-south-east

red takes good position

Nice touch on quick lawns here

Black has played in frnot of red - flopped back slightly - he might be able to see the hoop

Can't run hoop 5 on the ground - that was a good shot

Yellow shooting at blue...

Hits it in the middle.

Did he get the wire of hoop 4?? spectators trundle past.

I'd like a cinema sign... be seated during the show!

wired! - plays towards halfway

Jumping time

restalks...

it's an easy one... butit's a world championship semi-final...

Hops though... Hamy leads 3-2

Flops to the side - and Lachy points out that black can't get to 6 because it's dead behind 5!

Black plays to a yard east of the peg

Yellow plays a beautiful shot getting right in front of 6, blocking blue and black. Alas, blue can rush black up

Nudges black, but it's still blocked on the hoop. At least he can more safely clear.

Red shoots at black - straightens it up again!

Black is about 5 yards back, yellow probably 8 inches back - maybe a lot less. Jumping?

Sue's back with two plates of wedges. Wedges herself in and the young kiwis are allowed to stay here too.

Plays a timid jump which clears yellow

Yellow takes position. Blue clearing

Hits it well and at good pace

red plays back in

is nicely in front of hoop 6, but near blue (5 yards)

black plays back in - drifts well past red. Yellow shooting...

Hits the middle of blue - big delay as it looks like yellow might cannon red as well - nope. Tense here!

Well, tense at thsi computer, anyway!!

Blue shooting from north boundary

Hits - clears red to south of hoop 5. Black is long and angled, but definitely in front of 6

Red clears black. Nothing that near hoop 6 now. Red is closest at 6 yards

black back, yellow clears black, blue comes in, red plays in, black is back - everything a bit west really - nothing easy

yellow shooting - at blue...

Hits black pretty centrally

Head drops - he was shooting at blue!

lining up a long angled shot for 4-2... runs it well Hamy leads 4-2

Red takes position - nice touch on that brown bit

Black plays in deep

Yellow comes in from near the east penalty spot

Blue clears red. Chris plays red for the block - he's short!

Hamy for 5-2 - this is huge...

Runs it by a yard to huge applause. Hamy leads 5-2

Cmon Chris - you can do this...

Yellow takes 14 inch position blocking blue

Blue shooting - red can try to do something evil to black here - it's quiet close

Snicks yellow to 7 yards away - good shot that

Red can play to a wired spot in front... got it - not much applause there. post-lunch snoozies?

black shooting.. hits

A really impressive performance from the young Egyptian. Clears both balls to the south boundary. I was rather hoping for a rush-peel!

Yellow takes position

Open on blue and black

Blue plays in - almost blocks black's shot - then carries on - Chris can just see blue - hits it in the middle!

Black shooting - Hamy hasn't missed much in a while

hits the middle

Yellow coming back

Wanders half a roll too far from being perfect

Blue plays in - interesting - hits th emiddle of black - odd!

Is Chris going for the hoop here/

yes - but bounces out of the jaws - Hamy has a longish go with black for a 6-2 lead

5 yards, angled?

Hits the far wire and bounces back - ooo.

looks like yellow can get into the jaws... it's past - Blue has a full hoop to shoot at - 7 yards. JP-s nails are gone!

Hits the left-hand wire, bounces back onto yellow, spins through!! Hamy leads 6-2

Reg came back from here in the worlds last time - can Chris do this?

Takes great position at 9

A rare miss from Hamy

Looks like yellow has got the block

not blocked - clears red centre ball

yellow is too short to run 9 - and rather angled

red takes position - bit east for my liking with Hamy's gentle shot

Black shooting at something - must be red? - yellow might be able to have a go at the jaws

black clears red. yellow bounces off the near wire

blue plays in. red plays for the block - hasn't got it -just a little far

black plays back in

goes too far, but it's not blocking anything Hamy cares about, so not too bad for him

Yellow clearing blue to the south boundary and a bit wider - red should be blocking now

Black is very wide

blue clears red

Red's back

Black for the jaws... bounces out!

yellow shoots from the south boundary - bounces out

yellow is wired from blue!! red can clear black - what can blue do???

50 readers are watching online - probably only slightly less than watching this live

Blue tries to nudge black into the way - red destroys black to west of hoop 2!

Black is wired from yellow again

red halfway up east boundary

black plays to half-way

Lining this on up carefully now...

Chris runs a short, angled yellow to about 8 yards south-west of hoop 10

Blue takes 4 yard position, red takes position next to it, black plays in for a block

yellow clears blue, has a bit of red - almost puts it into the jaws - it's very angled

blue plays back in front of the hoop. Yellow off the east boundary

red clearing black

blue is short and level with hoop 10 I think

Hits black in the middle -red is about 10 yards south of the hoop

black takes position - abou 4 yards. Blue must be south, as yellow's shooting at it

Clears blue to the north boundary. Yellow is on the west boundary. He needs to run this hoop with red. It's very ong

long

Blue shooting from south boundary - mght have been wired, takes position - it's open...

red from about 7 -8 yards

bounces out of the jaws

black can promote blue nicely in front here

No - going for the win... 4.5 yards...

Great hoop ... Hamy Erian wins the decider 7-3

In teh other semi - 6-5 to Mahdi in teh third

MAhdi wins game 3, and teh semifinal 7-6

Lovely moment as Mohamed Nasr leaps into Mahdi's arms. Probably the two best players into the world championship final.