11th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship

Hi folks,

Another wonderful day here - light breeze to keep things from roasting too much.

Reg has beaten Salah for 5/6 place - in two, on lawn 1 - looks like they're moving the hoops for the final.

The final will start at 12.30 local time - an hour and a half from now

In other events:

Jared Keeman won the Shield (for people who went out in the second round of the main KO): Jared Keeman beat Mohamed Nasr 7-4 7-5 (in about 50 minutes!)

Duncan Dixon won the Bowl (for people who went out in the first round of the main KO): Duncan Dixon beat Hemi Mellars 7-4 7-4

In the plate event (for people who didn't qualify for the main KO): Nelson Morrow is into the final, and at last check Chris McWhirter was game-all with Ed Cunningham

(Ed's in my fantasy team, but Chris is really nice - who to support...)

The plate final is under way on lawn 4 - it's currently 4-0 to the kiwi in game 1. Must be a best-of-three.

##The Final - Hamy v Mahdi##

It's 12.33 and the players are warming up. Ahmed El Mahdi has won the toss, so will be playing blue and black.

Despite burning my knees yesterday, I'm in full sun today to catch the action. Thanks very much to Mohamed Kamal for his very kind words, which Salah passed on today. This has been a very fun week, and with doing commentaries i've actually been watching things more closely. Some fantastic play here.

Lawn 1 is looking quite quick around hoop 3, but is otherwise a bit green - lawn 2 would probably have made a slightly more challenging test, but that was mitigated by the hoops being moved about an hour ago.

Mahdi has had a few goes at hoop 3, and it is firm.

The lawns are surrounded on three sides by spectators, about 8 of them having some sun, and noone is allowed to walk along that side boundary - excellent stuff.

The plate is still going - hopefully Jared will come back with a report on it soon.

We're sitting right next to the Egyptians - I think this could be quite noisy. Noone will predict the winner - maybe Hamy 55% to win.

Chris is doing a bit of videoing, but his camera won't last the distance - only has about 20 mins available on it. My laptop will survive, but it is in fully sun, so I hope the boss isn't reading this1

About 100 people here watching.

Mahdi back at hoop 3 for another round. Hoop 3 is currently winning 3-0. Now it's 3-1 to the hoop.

We're up in corner 3. Lovely breeze. Wedges ordered.

I think Hamy's touch will be better.

Interestingly, Hamy has a well-worn area in the absolute centre of one end-face - shows his consistency - and also that he only uses one end-face

Cunningly, corners 1 and 2 are stacked with spectators - that'll make sure noone goes through.

People tried to line up chairs along that western boundary, but got shooed away

The practice doesn't look that impressive - lots of missed shots - but the practice is largely about loosening up the muscles and getting one's head ready for the match

##GAme 1##

Mahdi plays blue up - it's a bit short on the green lushness short of hoop 1

Hamy plays red deep, but also short

Blue can certainly shoot at the hoop - about 4 yards and 25 degrees.

Mahdi plays black in to 5 foot straight position - nice shot

This is best of 5. Will be slower than yesterday's Chris v Hamy semi final.

Yellow is shooting... misses.

Blue plays back into red - they don't appear to be touching and there's nothing Hamy can do.

No - there certainly is something he can do. Fantastic fine, powerful cut - blue cannoned forward and clears black!

Crowd applauds - they'd probably love to see a non-Egyptian in the final, but these are the best two players in teh event

Mahdi now has blue in hooprunning position...couple more shot as i fetch lunch...three balls close together in front of 1...black clears yellow.

yellow misses...Mahdi for hoop 1 with blue...runs it off the north boundary. Mahdi leads 1-0

red takes position...2 yrds back, not wired from blue

blackis near the eastern penalty spot...plays in short of red.

yellow takes very short, very angled position on the other side of the hoop.

blue clears red. black is quite deep, so amy might just come back.

plays red back in, to Chris's surprise.

Mahdi bounces out of 2, and Hamy can clear going to hoop 3.

no...plays into the jaws of the angled hoop. he can clear black with red, but not going to hoop 3.

blue shooting from hoop 4...hits red, but only delaying the inevitable

red centres black to south of hoop 5

Black shoots off the north boundary onside, and yellow makes the score 1-1

blue's a bit short on three, probably jusy about runnable from 6 feet

red plays deep and straight, and Mahdi promotes blue to a straighter position with black.

yellow has to hit now...

Disaster!...yellow shoots at that nice pace at blue from hoop 3...and rushes it through from a yard! uncredibly unlucky! Mahdi acknowledges the hoop apologetically

Mahdi leads 201

blue plays down straight and a bit short, red is short and off-centre. black is perfect. yellow is presently just out of corner 3

Yellow clears blue!

blue shoots at red...misses

red wasnt that angled, and runs 4 to level the game 2-2

black takes good position at 5. yellow is short from near corner 4
blue plays in to block the clearance at blCK

red shoots...unlucky again1..hits...rushing black into a sharp angle in the front of the jaws.

referee on

playing a 'bray slice'

swings across the ball, its clean, but not through

yellow jumping...

nice shot...pauses briefly on black, before falling off backwars. black is angled again though. blue can probably rush it into the jaws though

no, blue takes good position

blue was hidden behind yellow

red shoots from the west boundary...hits yellow onto blue. its now in jumping position, but black looks fairly easy

referee back...its not through!!

easir jump...

hits the far wire..Mahdi will rus hyellow onto black to peel it and at last win the hoop

no...clears yellow. ...but Hamy concedes the hoop and plays to halfway. Mahdi leads 3-2

black ran 5 to 6. yellow takes good position

blue with an 8 yarder to clear red from near the peg...misses!

red clears black to the north boundary. red might have been in the way, as black instead hits red. 3-3

black plays off the north boundary in front of 7

red plays in..a bit deep. black takes good position

yellow takes on 7 from the middle of the north boundary...bounces back by a couple of inches.

blue clears red, but red has an 8 yarder

lovely shot clears black to behind hoop 3

good chance of an in-off here,,,doesnt get it, but does clear yellow

yellow takes position

mahdi plays blue in close, but red can see it

niggles i taway

black clearing yellow from the short boundary.black has gone off the east boundary, and Hamy can play back in

Phew - that's teh end of one-handed typing - those wedges were yum

Yellow takse position - blue clearing to put both balls off the the north boundary

Error from Mahdi - doesn't shoot hard enough, and blue is still on the lawn by about 5 mm. That means yellow can clear it

red takes position, black clears it from the middle of the east boundary

yellow taking position.

blue clears very gently. Hits it on the right-hand side so that he maintains control of the short boundary

red takes deep position to avoid blue

black is taking on the hoop from 2 yards east of corner 2

This is very aggressive, and is common of Mahdi's play

Runs the hoop well -to 3 yards east of hoop 8 Mahdi leads 3-2

Hamy plays down, yellow plays down. Chris explaining in his video commentary that despite Mahdi being first to hoop 8, Hamy is in control as he has the short boundary

Black clears yellow to halfway up the west boundary, yellow clears blue to halfway along the south boundary

red is quite deep

Blue shooting gently... misses

A lovely cooling breeze lows through - flags fluttering perkily along the east boundary of lawn 2

Hamy runs a good 4 yard hoop, and it's 4-4

Mahdi takes great position with black at hoop 9

It's such an important hoop that Hamy really needs to clear it. But plays in with yellow. Plays in deep

The aim being when Hamy cleras black to the boundary, black can't clear yellow very far.

Red shooting from south of hoop 1...hits black halfball clearing it towards the east penalty marker - about 5 yards short of this.

Mahdi shooting hard - just snicks yellow - chance for Hamy to break...

He has done it - runs hoop 9 really nicely - drifts a bit far, and it's level with hoop 10, on the short side

Blue plays in to 6 yards short - yellow is all over that. Hamy leads 5-4

Hamy plays red up - it's travelling... gets to teh fast patch - stops perfectly in front

Mahdi with a double of red and the hoop - misses

Hot now - not many folk can get an international blazer as a knee protector :-) Thansk Crhis

Yellow clears blue - it bounces off hoop 5, so Mahdi is saved about 10 yards of distance. Nearly ended up in 5

Shooting at red..

• it's good, and blue goes to 4 feet south of corner 3 - Mahdi is well back in this point now

I hope the kiwi youngsters are watching this match carefully - this is the standard needed to compete with egyptians - not teh tame sort of pit-pat that is played too often outside Egypt.

Nice red - about 3 yards deep, black plays back in well - Hamy might have a double here...

20 yarder...

Lovely compact stance, slight lean to the left. Casts. .. misses to the left.

Mahdi has a very powerfully built upper body, and effortlessly swings at red - clears it quarter ball from 9 yards to aout 15 yards south of the hoop - it will be a double for red. Great opportunity for Hamy

clears black to the north boundary

Black has a good opportunity to get a wire from red - needs that or yellow will take position and red will clear

it's short!! - still north of hoop 3 - he was trying to get through the green stuff and onto the fast patch

Hamy makes certain of getting in front - takes 3-4 yard position on the far side of the fast bit

Mahdi plays into position from the west boundary

Red clearing black...5 yarder - trivial...

Hits it half-ball, clears black to a few yards short of the south boundary. Red's near the west boundary

Black shooting at yellow - misses by a couple of balls on the left as Mohamed Nasr acts as ballboy.

Yellow taking on its hoop...

Hamy leads 6-4Mahdi takes good position with blue

Hamy has been very focussed throughout this competition, a really impressive athlete

Mahdi is more relaxed,but can raise the intensity when required.

red plays in. Black misses the block of yellow at blue

Yellow shooting from the north boundary... perfectly in the middle

Blue shoots - misses red on the left again - bounces up from the black safety piping and is caught in the crowd.

Hamy runs an angled hoop 11 to win game 1 7-4

That catch was good, but not as good as Sunjay Ganda's catch in the opening game of the cricket world cup - one handed, in the requisite t-shirt - the former sport coaching student is guaranteed a share of $250000, and up to a million if NZ win the cricket world up. Just wow.

##GAme 2##

Mahdi has taken good position, about 3 yarsd short, straightish

Hamy needs to go very short of this

Another top Egyptian (about 8 now) has bought an Australian mallet - new chap on the block with silvery metal mallets. Josh Freeth was given a free one - good move sir.

Red plays in deeper than blue. Black tries to go short and travels a yard too far. Yellow shooting at blue

Hamy's shooting was excellent at the end of game 1, along with his hoop running.

Hits the middle of blue. Mahdi needs to weather this one and dig his way back into this match

Plays blue in to try to get the block

red stops blue away - red goes a bit far. Black will clear red, but yellow is all over black. Really needed to get both balls off the south boundary

yellow will clear black...Hits about 80% of the ball, shoots gently into the lawn.

Blue is back - red will take position hiding behind blue from black - nails it.

Black takes blocking position on red.Yellow willclear blue

Blue cleared to the west boundary - this is all over red - Mahdi has done well to get back into here. Hits the middle of red - red's over by corner 4 - this is the standard of play we expected to see from Mahdi in this match

Hamy shoots hard - clears black - great quality here

Yellow is on the south boundary and can see the hoop - unless black blocks it, we shoudl see him take the hoop on

Black plays in - the hoop is open - great shot by Hamy - yellow runs hoo p1 by 3 yards. Hamy leads 1-0

Blue takes position, red takes position on the short boundary side - this means if black plays in well, blue can't clear red getting to hoop 3

Live crowd at 100 watchers, virtual crowd at 24

Black plays behind yellow to block it - yellow is ok, just a hampered stance

right-foot is back

Goes hard - misses

Well done from Mahdi disrupting the youngster

Blue runs hoop 2 cleanly 1-1

Hamy takes great position in the middle of the fast patch at hoop 3

Yellow is a foot behind blue, so can easily hamper it

Black plays in from near hoop 1, yellow plays to the hoop trying to block blue migth have something... hits the middle fo yellow - Hamy will have a fairly easy hoop to maintain the lead.

Checks the hop - it's fir.

Red sooting at hoop 3...

runs it well ..wicks off - into corner 4!!! Hamy leads 2-1*

Mahdi takes 3 yard position along the green area

Yellow kisses black on the way to playing in front of black

Mahdi nudges yellow as he plays in with blue - incredible touch from both players

Red at black...

Misses!

It looks like Nelson Morrow has won the plate

Black trying to clear yellow to the boundary so that it's wired from blue. Even if he hasn't got the wire, black is still in front, and red is in corner 2 at the moment

Hamy shooting

Goes gently and misses to the right of blue - both Hamy's balls are off-side now

Blue for hoop 4 - runs it well with blue. 2-2

Leaves both balls where they are..red near corner 2, yellow next to hoop 6 - there'll be a wire avaialble from that one

Red plays down - it's short!

Black takes 3 yard position

yellow plays down to level wtih black. Maybe 2.5 yard position

Blue plays in to a really nice spot 2 feet back

Hamy is looking at the stop-clearance on blue to maintain the block on black

Clearing black - but can only clear it to the south boundary .. black should be able to clear yellow easily.

Good shot though - cuts black to south of hoop 4

10 yarder for Mahdi... Nails the middle of yellow, clearing it of the side boundary level with hoop 6. Black is a couple of yards north of hoop 1 - that shows you how centrally Mahdi hit yellow

The crowd is maintaining its size, but is struggling as they don't really know who to support

Yelow hits the middle of blue - stayed within 6 yards of hoop 5 - that was a fantastic shot

This is a completely different level of play to what you normally get to see - it's great stuff

Blue takes good positino

Red shooting from the middle fo the south boundary - does he have a double

Probably did as he misses blue by a wee way, hits the wire and spins back to be just about in the front of the jaws

Black is shooting at yellow - clearly can't see enough of red

Misses! - yellow has a 6 yard clearance on blue, which will win red the hoop

Hits the middle of blue - again

Chris has Hamy 8-11 and Mahdi at even money - that's looking about rright, though maybe a bit generous on Hamy

Shooting with blue at a chunk of red - misses by some distance

Hamy runs hoop 5 up to 3 yards south of hoop 6

It was interesting that they drilled a hole for the peg this morning before setting hoops 5 and 6 - Jared reckoned it was ok placement though

Black takes good position, yellow takes perfect position just in front of the hoop. Blue shooting - misses

Hamy plays a perfect shot clearing black to the north boundary. Red has rolled on, so Mahdi doesn't even have the opportunity to try to run the hoop. He surrenders and goes half-way.

Hamy leads game 2 4-2

Tries to run the hoop short to be able to rush yellow off the north boundary - doesnt' go quite far enough

Blue is offside. Plays back in from the eastern penalty sot -it's short, but runnable (just about)

Barman Jared is off to top up the coke of the commentary team - bless him

Red clears blue in the middle -not hard enough, and red stays on the lawn - blue can annihilate that ball

Black takes position - yellow needs to clear that

Yellow hits black in the middle - yellow still on the lawn also

Mahdi takes position with black

Hamy's backswing is a bit hampered by yellow.

Moves his hands lower - doesn't look comfortable - this should be a bit of a poke - hits it pretty centrally... Rushpeels blue!! Hamy leads 302

It looks really bad - red might not be able to get near hoop 8 either

Black plays 3 yard south, yellow plays towards the jaws of 8 and goes 6 feet past

Hamy jumping over blue - goes wide of the hoop

(probably should ave mentioned that blue blocked red in teh previous shot!

sorry rush-peeling made it 4-3Mahdi runs hoop 8 4-4

Bit hard to see the screen and keep the laptop from overheading

Hamy takes good position with yellow, blue plays off the south boundary

There is a big crowd here now - tightly packed around three boundaries and a big mob up on the balcony of this lovely complex

red plays in trying to block black - looks open - potential double clearance - but probably too far apart for that

black shooting - looked very casual - nails yellow

Hamy needs to block blue at the hoop here - Mahdi gaining too much momentum.

Yellow drifts a bit far . Mahddi has a 7 yarder to go from 4-2 down to 5-4 up.

Asking fo rthe hoop to be tapped down. That makes a big difference to allowing a well-hit ball to go through

Casting...

Decent effort its the jaws and bounces back. Might be blocking red - it looks like it has bounced out and around - red has a completely clear shot at the hoop - that'll be a relief for him

Runs hoop 9 by about a foot. Hamy leads 5-4

Decent effort by Mahdi - hits the fast patch, and it's about 45 degrees from this

Red's actually not that far through - jus tin that awful position - will yellow try to move it?
Looks - no - plays yellow up 3 yards short

Black has a clearance to corner 4

Takes 20 inch straight position

Red can't do much and just plays up

Mahdi has a good opportunity clear yellow towards corner 4. No - he's taking on his hoop

Decent shot wibbles into the jaws

Hamy with a 3 yard jump - a lot to lose if he gets this wrong!!

Hits the crown, pulls it left, and bounces away

Mahdi can peel black getting to 11 - underhits it and doesn't look happy

5-5

He only got 2 yards along the way - should have got a lot longer

Spectators can't read the wee numbers - never managed to get them upsized

Yellow is on the east penalty spot. Hamy plays to good position. Blue has a 6 yarder. Black plays to good position.

Hoop 11 is such a wonderful opportunity for a good shot to break

yellow plays to blocking position - has left a wee bit of red showing, but it was an excellent shot

nudges red to next to hoop 11. Hamy will try to cut this towards corner 3, so that black has yellow in the way of running the hoop.

Doesn't get enough of it, and Mahdi has an 11 yard hoop from the half-way point between 4 and 5 on the north boundary

This is for 6-5

Creeps forward while casting - gentle shot - not sure why he didnt' go hard, maybe wanted to stay in the jaws?. Misses the hoop completely - still on the north half of the lawn

Hamy takes wired position

Blue will shoot at yellow from the west boundary

Lovely shot - hits yellow in the middle. Blue is next to hoop 3

Red can find a hampered spot, but it's only a small space. Takes position with red... looks good - he is about 3.5 yards north of 11, and Mahdi is checking ... I think he has a comfortable shot

Black will play in between re and the hoop.

Hamy will have a choice of clearing blue, or black, or playing in

Mahdi chooses to clear red - both balls to teh north boundary

Yellow plays back in - it's a good shot.

Blue plays in tight - very nice shot

Red will shoot at blue - he has a double, with the hoop on the left.

clears blue - and red is in front of hoop 12!

Mahdi taking the hoop on - can't be right with red in front of 12

bounces out of the jaws - all here for Hamy now

yellow with a 2 yard hoop 11.. swings -- stops -- runs the hoop well to naerly off the south boundary

red is in really good position at hoop 12. Black is wired on red, so blue shoots - hits

Hamy leads 6-5

REd takes good position. black plays in

Yellow clears black - and blue misses red from 8 yards. and that's game 2

Hamy Erian wins game 2, 7-5, and leads the match 2-0

The players are having a break while the hoops are being checked. Hoop 3 when down a mile when tapped by gentle ol Gordon Matthews

##Game 3 - Hamy Erian leads Ahmed El Mahdi 2-0##

Mahdi goes tight - and goes way too far

Hamy plays yellow 5 yards deep and pulls up short

blue plays in to 3 yard straightish position

South African fans will be disappointed tha tReg was playing the 5/6 playoff this morning - and that the national cricket team is in some strife at 13/1 agaafter 6 overs against Zimbabwe

Red takes position.

Black plays a half-ball clearance on red

yellow clearing blue... rushes it into the jaws!! this is the 4th time he has done that in this match

Black plays rather than blue. Black goes back. Blue to play from the jaws

Mahdi runs hoop 1 to 4.5 yards short of hoop 2 Mahdi leads 1-0

Red takes great position 2 feet south of the hoop, probably blocking bule

black plays up, and it's a poor shot - past hoop 2

yellow plays wide towards the west boundary - it looks wired from black

Blue looks wired, but he is checking the firmness - I think he can slip past, Chris thinks he's jumping

jumps - missse the hoop completely

Just needed to dribble red away half-ball and we were back to something neutral. Too aggressive by far there

Rats - out of power - will set this recharding and hack away on the ipad for a bit.

Red runs hoop 2 - 1-1

Mahdi takes position with black, yellow plays in - Mahdi plays a good shot - half-balls red to the west boundary and runs down to south of hoop 4

On the south boundary

Hamy shooting from the west boundary... misses left

Smashes through hoop 3, virtually no wire, off the south boundary. No attempt at a controled hoop to hoop 4. Mahdi leads 2-1

Yellow plays to 4.5 yar straight position. It's open on black also

Blue to hoop position blocking yellow

red playing for hoop positino blockign black at yellow - perfect

Mahdi will clear red

Yellow will probably take on teh hoop.

Disaster - hits red, then ricochets off onto black

Both blue and black are onside as the shot that cleared started with hitting red

yellow runs a very good hoop 202

sorry 2-2

blue plays to position, red plays to hide behind blue from black

Black plays in to block yellow at blue

Yellow shooting at somthing - probably can see blue

Blue runs hoop 5 to the peg Mahdi leads 3-2

Bit more interaction while I log in

Red clears blue in the absolute middle, black and yellow play in, red plays well South and west of the hoop

Ops..red in first. Ok...red shooting at hoop 6..I think he should have cleared black, which is in front.

Bounces out to the east boundary, and Mahdi runs hoop 6....Mahdi leads 4-2

Yello plays to 7, it is a bit short and tight, but is runnable blue plays in, then red. Black from the Middle of North boundary. Has a bit of a double, but is probably clearing..bounces out of the jaws

Hamy runs 7 well to about two third of the way to hoop 8 Mahdi leads 4-3

Black plays down well, red is blocked on doing much by blue, and plays towards the peg....he has glued it onto the peg!

Aah...that happened cos blue played behind red, then that good black, yellow tries to clear black..misses!, red can't see anything ,so blue plays down onside onto the North boundary

Red plays towards hoop 8, black runs the hoop. Mahdi leads 5-3

Yellow takes great position, Mahdi shooting...misses

Red plays to block black at yellow...misses.

Yellow at 5 feet dead straight... Runs 9 by 7 yards. Mahdi leads 5-4

Blue plays short of the brown bit in front of hoop 10, red is very poor...well short and nearly blocking yellow at blue

Not blocking, and black is playing for the 9 yard cleaance on yellow which would put him near hoop 11... Misses

Yellow shooting...misses right. He was wide open on blue and goes past the non-hoop edge

Mahdi runs a good hoop with blue to take a 6-4 lead

Red takes great position. Black is offside and trundles back to the eastern penalty spot. Plays North of red, nice shot.

Yellow clearing black...in the middle at that lovely pace again

Blue plays in gently from the North boundary and its a beauty... Hits the middle of red and stays in front...but near red...red clears blue, getting four yard positio

Black plays in deep, yellow goes tight. Blue has to clear as red can block black at yellow and the hoop

Misses red on the left

Hamy replaces blue and then walks to check out this possibilities with his red ball.

He's open on the hoop and is going for it rather than blocking

Bounces out and it spins around.

Mahdi gets the wobbly hoop banged Dow. Unclea if it's open or going in the air. Very gentle tap down from the reluctant ref. Mahdi runs a good hoop on the ground and wins game 3 7-4

Much lower quality game this

##Game 4...Hamy leads the match two games to one##

Quick breqk and we are off again.

Yellow takes good position, and Mahdi is shoto ting with blue..misses

Red takes good position, slightly deeper.

Black shooting..misses again.

commentary disaster - ipad overheats and I'm back inthe pavilion to plug in!

Yellow runs hoop 1, but only by 3 yards

Blue plays first up to hoop 2 - but it's a poor shot which goes past to stop a foot northeast of hoop 2.

Back online and it's 2-1. I should be ok if we have a 5th game, but apologies for this disruption

Hamy leads 2-1

Great shot by Mahdi clears Hamy towards corner 2, going within a foot of hoop 5!

Hamy shoots back at black - misses - big opportunity here to break

4 yard straightish hoo

Lots of applause as Mahdi runs hoop 4 to the boundary 2-2

yellow takes position, blue taps tightly in front

red shooting to clear - misses

Mahdi clears yellow

Blue is dead in front - Hamy needs to hit this

Yellow misses - Mahdi runs hoop 5 to about a yard north-west of 6 Mahdi leads 3-2

red takes position, black cleared it I tnk - can't see anything over there . Red plays to 2 yards nw of the peg, blue is about 8 inches in front of the hoop

black playing to blocking position. Yellow is on the boundary north of hoop 2

black is close to blocking position

That was a good block - yellow hits black, and blue can tap through Mahdi leads 4-2

Red takes position, black has gone deep

Laptop at 14%

ipad cooled down

Phillip Drew doing a fantastic job with updates

Black has cleared red, hit the hoop and stayed nearby

about 2 yards west of hoop 7

Hamy has played a good cut going off the north boundary and black is off the boundary near hoop 3

no, black is somewhere north east of 6

plays off the north boundary

Hamy plays back in

Bit more play and Hamy bounces out of a 7 yard hoop with red. Black has cleared yellow

Blue has a 4-5 yard hoop. Angled, and yellow is taking position

everything is tight around hoop 7. Another 10% and I'll be back courtside!

Lots of balls very close together and the referee is out marking things...

Mahdi played a nice clearance with blue, clearing yellow onto red. All balls still very near hoop 7.

Hamy runs a very good hoop 7 and I can see what's going on now Mahdi leads 4-3

Yeloow has gone halfway down. blue plays down, red is played towards 8, but it's east and short. Black takes position

yellow shooting at blue.. misses

blue can clear red and get towards hoop 9

nice return - black clears ed

sorry! - red clears black

Black plays back into position

red is on the short boundary

yellow plays back to deep position a bit west of the line

blue dribbles up into it. nudges it a couple of inches

is red blocked?? - it plays gently towards black

Grrr... while the two best players in the event are playing each other, someone in here is whinging that the "real final" was yesterday between Chris and Hamy. Chris was excellent this tournament, but that is nonsense. The tournament is outside, and this year the two finalists are representing Egypt.

And in the cricket SA are getting a pasting! 67/3 after 17 overs!

oops- quick refresh... 80/3 off 19 overs

Meanwhile, Mahdi runs hoop 8 Mahdi leads 5-3

29%...off to courtside!

Thanks for saving my seat Josh - lovey chap

Right - hoop 9.

ellow plays in close, Black is shorter - west and 2 yards back. Something was cleared earlier, blue clears yellow to appreciation from the spectators. red clears black to the south boundary, and red's off near corner 4

Did black just nudge somehwere? - sorry - back into position now!

yellow plays in - but gives blue a great opportunity to take good position hiding from red behind yellow

Not that well hidden, as red clears blue - nearly peels it!!

Black clears yellow, but black sprayed off towards hoop 10, and blue is north of hoop 9

Yellow plays back in deep - blue can't really clear that anywhere interseting

Hits it half-ball and moves it a few yards offline - good shot

red plays in from the west boundary - well short - that's not even runnable

Black takes perfect position - yellow needs to clear this, as blue has a rush on red to corner 2

yellow clears blue - doesn't quite get the in-off.

Mahdi has a free 7 yarder at hoop 9 for a 6-3 lead

Doesn't like where yellow is - takes position a bit closer, but still near the boundary. Chris doesn't like that - it was a free go for a big 6-3 lead

red plays into great position

black takes position

Red plays a ripper - blocks blue at red AND the hoop - jumping time. Really needed to take that free go at the hoop

Decent effort at a jump -looks gutted as it bounces and spins away

Hamy runs hoop 9 to 3 yards north north east of hoop 10 - it's over that fast bit, but a nice place to park

Mahdi leads game 4 5-4

Black plays in - it's short, and open to red

yellow plays in - can it get over the green bit - just onto the fast patch - it's a good shot

Good case for Mahdi to shoot at yellow here - trying nistead to get position, blocking red at black. Not blocked, but it's good position, and will put pressure on yellow's hoop shot

Red clearing black.. 6 yarder...

So consistent - middles it - black off the south boundary, red to the peg

Black shooting at yellow - it's very long...

Clears yellow to lots of applause. Doesn't get it wired, but it's a great shot

yellow shooting... goes medium pace - looked a bit hard really. Nudges the left-hand side of blue. Blue can maybe get into the jaws, or might just play tight in front

Goes for tight position, but that's a huge target for red from the peg

Shooting...

Takes on his hoop!!

It's a really good effort, but bounces just out to the side

Yellow should have a longer, but less angled target from the east boundary

Mahdi tries to block with black - leaves it open

Shooting with yellow...

Hits blue, nearly gets teh hoop also - blue moved 5 yards west, red bounces a foot to the east

Mahdi plays the double clearance. Black can run this, so Hamy clearing gently from the short boundary

Only hits half ball, and maybe a bit hard. Black goes 6 yards away, red keeps going to south of hoop 2.

Mahdi back in front with black. Yellow clearing

half-balls this too, and yellow goes off to visit red, black is halfway to hoop 4. Blue plays in first.

Decent shot - 8 foot position

Red shoots hard at blue, misses to the right. 13 yarder

maybe 12

Black taking positino.. it's good - I think he is blocking part of yellow at blue

yellow restalks...

Unclear if he's going for blue or the double clearance - hits black and blue is undisturbed.

Blue for a 6-4 lead...

Mahdi pauses to ask Hamy to keep still, runs hoop 10 Ahmed El Mahdi leads 6-4

Red plays in from the east boundary - takes 8 foot straight position - very good shot

Mahdi plays in - similar distance back, but a big angle - about 35 degrees

Yellow shooting at black from the east boundary

Hits it in the middle

Mahdi taking the hoop on from north of hoop 10...

This for the game - gentle go at the hoop - runs hoop 11 with a big smile. Mahdi wins game 4 7-4 and we'll have a decider!!

Off to get a few more % on the battery!

##Game 5##

Hamy took good position at hoop 1 with red

Mahdi played short

Hamy p;layed partner 3 inches in front of red

Mahdi missed

Hamy run 1 off the north boundary Hamy leads 1-0

Mahdi took position, Hamy took good position

Mahdi took position

Hamy cleared Mahdi to about half-way up the west boundary

Mahdi missed his 10 yarder

Hamy ran his hoop Hamy Erian leads game 5 2-0

Mahdi took position at 3 with blue

Hamy played over

Black pays over to half an inch dead behind red

Yellow needs this to stay in the point... yelow clears blue

Blue plays back into position - yellow is 3 yards south of corner 3

red and black very close together.

Red plays into black, separating them, but has let black wtih a 5 yarder slightly angled at the hoop - strange

Mahdi runs hoo p3 off the south boundary Hamy leads 2-1

It's 4pm, we've been going over 3 hours, and the appreciative crowd is still huge

Yellow plays very shot of 4. Blue plays in - has it gone too far??

Red plays a bit shorter of yellow. Plenty of space here to let Mahdi take position with black

Black plays in - he'll give Hamy the long hoop.

Hits the hoop - not in position - free 4 yarder for Hamy

Bounces off to straight in front - black has that covered.

Blue clearing red

Chris likes nudging yellow so red can't hit black, and having blue block red at the hoop. Mahdi takes the safe option of clearing red off the north buondary

Red shooting down at black at that moderate pace... missing black - hoop???... rus-peels yellow!!

Stands with his hands upraised in triumph as the crowd roars approval Hamy leads 301

Black takes perfect position. But red is only 8 yards away

yellow plays in to position

Blue needs to clear yellow -misses by a very long way

Red at black... hits it in the middle. Black to 2 yarsd south of hoop 2. This is for a big lead

Mahdi shooting at yellow

Is he misses this both his balls will be on the south boundary - Mahdi at medium pace... misses left. Big chance for Hamy to get to 5-1 here in the deciding match of the final

2.5 yard straight hoop... runs it with beautiful control - slows down on the lush patch from 5 to north of the peg - it's 5 yards straight in front hoop 6 Hamy leads 4-1

Blue takes position, red wibbles up - might be blocking part of yellow at blue - might be ok

Black plays in to 2.5 yard position, straight

shooting at blue... that is the shot of a champion!

Clears blue to a position wired frmo red and yellow is in front (angled) of 7!!!

This is another good time to run 11 by an inch .Dribbles down - gets behind red - Hamy isn't comfortable

Casting... Mahdi asks for a referee to watch blue

blue is behind and a bit to the side of red. Check out Chris's video on youtube in a week's time

Referee in attendance - feet seem to be the main issue - there is a pretty free swing

Hamy runs hoop 6 really cleanly off the north boundary - lovely shot Hamy Erian leads 5-1

Yellow is in front of hoop 7 - So much pressure on Mahdi now

Great sht - clears yellow, going off the north boundary in front of hoop 7

Yellow plays back in. a hopeful "bravo" from the audience, but it's poor - short and black is open

Red will clear blue which plays in to good position

Hamy hits the edge of blue, red goes halfway down the west boundary

Mahdi can now clear yellow with blue not going far

Black has the middle of yellow. Black now a yard south-west of 2, blue migth be runnable - 3 yards back, bit angled.

Red's off the west boundary south of 2

Jared notes that if blue jawses, bue, black is preventing red from clearing

yellow plays up to 4 yard position

blue into the front of hoop 7

red clearing black - needs a half-ball contact from 7 yards

hits about 30%, clearing black to next to hoop 6. Yellow can jump, and black will try to dribble up to it -he's short. Needed to do that, as any clearance would give yellow tha chance to clear, and maybe in-off blue

It looks like yellow was just about open! - goes firmly - blue cleared 5 yards, yellow on the wire.

Blue (Mahdi) clears yellow to the short buondary, blue goes towards corner 2

red shoting at black - hits 30% of it - moves it away from the hoop, but red heads towars teh western penalty spot

black plays in - yellow needs to clear...

Hits omst of it. black to hoop6, yellow to north boundary - this hoop is anyone's

Blue takes good position - 18 inches backred shooting at this - heading to the north boundary, 9 yarder
.

Chris likes the in-off potential with yellow, but Hamy clears blue to directly north of hoop 7, and red and yellow are near the middle of the north boundary

black plays back in - a bit angled

black maybe blocking yellow, but yellow patiently plays back in

blue takes position - offers a big wired spot on red clearing black - that was careless!

red clears black - it's only just open on yellow

10 yarder at a full ball - Mahdi hits yellow, rushing it more than halfway along the boundary - just past the middle of the north boundary

Hamy shooting... 11 yarder

misses left! - first to blink (to quote jared behind me :) )

Mahdi runs 7 down to 6 yards south of hoop 1 - there's a big wired area for red to aim for. Hamy Erian leads 5-2

REd plays down... he has gone well short - about 6 yards short of hoop 8

Poor shot! - Mahdi hasn't got south of red - this si really bad

Yellow plays down, and might be blocking blue at red

no - blue shooting...clears red to corner 2

Black is going to have to run hoop 8 ... checks the firmness of 8 on his way past

Hamy shooting - he's 5 yars south of corner 2

pulls his folowthrough left, and misses on the right - this was probably because he realised as he hit it that the shot was off-centre

black clears yellow to the soth boundary with a stun - good shot

yellow takes position - that's pretty aggressive - now he has to hit a 10 yarder

Might have blocked red at black too!

Blue plays in

red shooting - misses black

Black can clear yellow to the east boundary getting near hoo p9 - plays it very powerfully - black is 3 yards west of corner 4, and yellow is off the east boundary level with hoop 3 - big shot!

Yellow shooting ... misses by several inches on the left.

blue has a 2 yarder for 5-3. Red will have to shoot off the south boundary. We can't remember anyone failing any hoops this "short" in this match

Mahdi runs hoop 8 off the south boundary Hamy leads 5-3

Awful reply by Hamy - plays in from the middle of the west boundary ... it's short!!!

Black takes position straighter and about 5 yards back

Now Hamy is in all sorts of trouble from 5-1 up

Blue plays in to position

Red can clear this trying to get blocking position - no - he's looking at a 50 degree hoop - plays for the jaws - short! - and it's just open for black

Black is open.. shooting... snicks red - migth have been partially blocked? - black rolls on to be in the middle of the jaw

Hamy opens his shoulders a bit and powers blue away to the west boundary.

Blue comes back. Red is near hoop 5 and has a clearance on black from the jaws...

Missing this could lead to 5-5 pretty quickly...

Hamy hits the side of hoop 9!

Mahdi runs hoop 9 with black to 4 yards in front of hoop 10

Must be a double - Hamy shooting with yellow - snicks black, straightening it a little and goes off the north boundary

Mahdi plays up another ball

red will have another shot - something might be blocked - red plays to position - nudges blue just goes past blocking black

Mahdi has a sharp clearance on red - overcooks it and red's on the north boundary, but black isn't runnable

Yellow not shooting - takes position - doesn't want to be out of position for hoop 11!

Blue runs a very good hoop, and from Hamy 5-1 up, it's now 5-5!

red takes good position at 11 - we have a match on our hands!

Black clearing from 6 yards. Wristy shot only hits 20% of red.

Will we see Mahdi attempt a repeat of that shot on 11

Hamy will certainly be trying to block this - overhits it - nothing blocked.

Game 4, Mahdi ran 11 gently to win the game, this for 6-5, or will he clear yellow?

It's the hoop...

Gently... - misses by 7 inches on the right

red will take position wired from blue

No - red tries to block black at yellow .Wired from blue is the normal Egyptian play.

big shot - it's a ripper - snicks red a couple of yards, clears yellow to the north boundary

yellow coming back - across the fast patch - it's a shocker - yellow isn't in front of hoop 11!!

Blue clears red to the north boundary, but blue is 5 feet south-east of red.

Red clears blue, red about 8-9 yards north of hoop 11.

black plays to wired from yellow, yellow takes position

blue playing in to block the 10 yarder of red on yellow - it's a bit short

red at black - huge shot - takes the defensive option of clearing the ball that plays before him .

Chris thinks he should have cleared black, as there was a big wired area available.

Mahdi clears yellow half-ball. Yellow to east boundary, black a couple of yards in from the middle of teh north boundary

yellow takes long position - about 3 yards

This is a thrilling finish to an epic match

Plays blue in, trying for the wire from red - not quite

red clearing - blue to the middle of north boundary, red to north of hoop 2

black can go for the hoop, but a mid-pace central clearance on yellow is powerful

It's the hoop...

Mahdi runs a 9 yard hoop 11 to take a 6-5 lead - he's probably 3 yards from hoop 12

Hamy plays yellow down to good position

Blue plays down

Blue hits the peg! - good position for 13 should things go wrong

black isn't blocked, so red is shooting at black...

Misses everything

3 yarder for the championship!

Black can't see the full hoop - Josh reports yellow is about half a cm overlapping. Red should certainly have taken position in that case - big tactical error

Thanks Josh

Black clears yellow trying to stay in front - black rolls on -yellow has an easy clearance to get in front

Yellow just plays in front with yellow

Laptop at 10%!!

blue takes position

red needs to clear from 12 yards..

good shot - black has a 10 yarder, and red is on the middle of the north boundary. Pressure on Mahdi now

Black shooting.. yellow is right in front... hits the middle of yellow!

Black short of hoop 4, yellow on the east boundary

Blue is 3 yards from hoop 12, and slightly angled. yellow shooting

Josh wants a 13th hoop

yellow shoots - hits the middle of blue

Blue plays in to 2 yard position

red plays in - it's in front, not blocking, and black can claer it - looks disappointed

black clears red in the middle

Yellow needs to hit this... misses!!!

7 footer for world championship...

It's through!!!!!

Ahmed El Mahdi wins the 2015 WCFGolf Croquet World Championship!!!

Possibly the oldest (not-over-50s) world champion ever

Mahdi gives Hami a big hug of condolence, before kissing the ground in glory. A big win from 5-1 down. Remember last time when Reg won from 6-1 down in the last.

Ahmed Nasr leaps into Mahdi's arms. Mohamed Nasr leaps into Mahdi's arms. He is a very popular man

Huge condolences to Hamy Erian - a massively talented player. Some massive shots by Mahdi to win him the championship

Lots of hugs for Hamy, celebrations for Mahdi

Let's go and congratulate the chap. Great match.