++And Jenny Clarke++

Rats - forgotten the markup already!

JC: Malcolm must have won the toss, Robert took Black and Blue
JC: 1. Malcolm supershor with red. 2: Robert to max length position on east boundary
JC: 3: Malcolm shoots down the boundary - on full ball, but wobbled off to hit half ball, putting blue usefully into the lawn. Nice croquet stroke and he'll be away

JC: Right - welcome to the Australian Open Final. On lawn 1 we have Robert Fletcher vs Malcolm Fletcher, on Lawn 2 we have the 3/4 playoff v Simon Hockey and Ian Dumergue.

JC: well called Trevor - after three refusals, Malcolm plants a ball on the wire of hoop 1 after a longish approach. 7 yarder coming up for Robbie turn 4

CH: Hockey wins the toss and does supershot 3yn of 5, Dumergue to longest point on EB. Hockey shooting from A Balk - snicks (he's playing Blue and Black)

JC: 4. Robbie hits yellow on hoop 1. This is best of 5. 3/4 is three

CH: Playing off for the Y are Troy McCallum (Qld) and Terry Hopkins (Vic). Again a best of 3

JC: Robbie puts yellow up to 2, rearranges the balls, and is now approaching hoop 1 off red, playing black

CH: Terry has been playing well - consolidating his excellent roquet and hoop-running skills with some good neat break play. Tactics improving all the time
Troy is coming along marvelously. Very neat, steady player, who seems to handle pressure well and soaks up tactics like a sponge. Should be a good match

JC: And he's through. Robbie should be around 4th turn. That hoop fail by Malcolm could set the scene for the match, and the commentary team wonder if this bodes for a 3-0 match. Malcolm is shooting very well though, and might settle. Currently Robbie's break is looking uncharacteristically untidy, with a 2 foot hoop 2 which he powers through.

CH: in the 3v4 game (Lawn 2), Simon Hockey is trucking around 3rd turn - as he has done already several times this tournament - and has everything well under control.
Simon has had a pretty good tournament, hardly dropping a break and roquetting more and more each day. Had a tough match with Malcolm Fletcher in the semis - both shot very well and only an error or two each.

JC: The defending champion, Greg Fletcher, has a day off, as one of the commentators stumbled on a rough bit of driveway while putting the recycling out and has a very bruised and grazed knee (and is a bit of a wimp).

CH: The other commentator would play Greg, but seems to be unduly scared of losing world ranking points... tut tut.

CH: Greg's scared that is...

CH: Simon has an unfortunate stroke after 5 - croquets the hoop 5 receiver (partner) into the jaws of 7, wiring himself through six from oppo - tries to run penult to hit it but fails. Not happy Si. Will probably break a chair when he gets home if this costs the match.

JC: Robbie's match with Ian yesterday was classy stuff - though with less hitting than the other semi final where only three shots were missed. Game 1 of that match was a supershot, max distance, miss to corner 4, miss to join up, miss from the supershot ball. Then the only error in the match: Ian got a corner 4 cannon which he got the angle a little wrong on and had to approach hoop 1 from distance and failed the hoop. Ian recovered well to win game 2, and that was the only error of the entire match.

CH: Ian Dumergue's form has been improving throughout the tournament - he played up and down in the doubles, and made a few errors in the Swiss of the singles, but is playing steady croquet now. He's shooting from B-balk at oppo (black) beside hoop 6. a good misshit could theoretically hit yellow if it runs penult. Hits black halfway to 1.

JC: Meanwhile in turn 4 of the final Robbie is putting partner to hoop 2. Looks like he's off to 4back. He had some good sextuples earlier in the tournament and seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted with the balls.

CH: Having said that, the hoops have been moved to firm ground since Robert ran most of his sextuples. They are not particularly tight, but on these hilly lawns I wouldn't expect any sxps until later games unless brother Malcolm hits everything.

CH: Dumergue takes off from black (4y SW of peg) to Yellow on the wire of 6. Hits and rolls over behind 2, rushes Blue (in the jaws) from the back down towards 1. Only gets halfway. Contention among the commentary team (and spectators) as to what he should do.

CH: Tries to croquet Oppo's Blue towards C4 while taking position in front of 1. Doesn't get position and Blue crashes into 5 leaving Hockey a 6 yarder. "What a Mess!" he says, with a grin, and gallops onto the lawn.

JC: Well that was a series of dribbly shots from Ian. He's just tried to approach hoop 2 - Simon is suggesting 'HACKFEST'. he has put blue about 8 yards from black. Callum might be less kind on those distances. Nowhere near 1. Has a thrashy attempt at a scatter - his first firm shot of the day which bounces harmlessly to the north boundary.

JC: Turn 4 in the final: Robbie will be having a spread.

CH: On lawn 3 (Y event), Troy McCallum just runs hoop 1, after much interaction and only 1 hoop made by Terry's Yellow. Yellow still up by 2, so should be a good chance of a break for Troy.

CH: Hockey hits Black onto Blue and rushes it south of 4. Takes of to Red on NB above 3, rolls across to 2, and gets a good rush to 6. Doesn't rush it good. Approaches hoop from 5y SW and pulls up 1y short and angly....

CH: Cathwalop. Fails hoop leaving Dumergue 8yer with yellow, potentially rushable to 1.

CH: Lawns 2, Dumergue plays Red (2y S of 2) at Black which is in front of 6. After his religious line up and 4 3 practice swings he strikes and hits to Peg high between 3 and 4. Considering options.

JC: Another error for Simon. He has looked impressive this week though - he's a great shot and has a very fluent natural style. Probably could have done with a hit up this morning though. Absolutely fantastic housemate though - one of the best story-tellers I've met. This has been a brilliant week - with Trevor Bassett again a wonderful host and doubles partner - might have to make the trip across again next year. The lawns here are still a bit hilly, but it's a very nice venue and a great bunch of people to spend the week with.

JC: And back to the action.. Malcolm has lifted yellow from near hoop 2 and is taking the short shot at Robbie's balls. Hits!

CH: Malcolm puts Blue by 4, and gets a rush on black towards 2, should be away!

Shooting stats so far: Malcolm has hit two 19 yarders, Robbie his 6 yarder. Simon has hit a 19 yarder and a 6 yarder. Ian's had a few shooting woes, but just nailed a 10 yarder to get back in.

CH: Lawn 3, Dumergue is going round the world, will now be loading H2 from just North of 3, getting a rush behind yellow 6y N of 6. Plays it slightly hard and has 3y rush directly south

JC: oops, that comment above was me. No rush to 1 for malcolm- might need to use a bit of peg there - rush pointing south of hoop 2

CH: Interesting rush from Mal... we were expecting one to H1, but rushed north of H2 instead. Wiring set up through 2?

JC: Hits it off the peg - but wrong side - Red up to north of hoop 2 off the boundary. I wonder if we'll see a shot missed now, or this shooting masterclass will continue.

JC: Ian in front of hoop 1 - will he have a wibbly poke, or something more substantial?...

CH: Good cut from Dumergue and has a 1y H1. He's been jabbing the odd hoop this tournament (probably trying to thin the wires down). Pokes at it and creeps through 6in and slightly to the side. Fun hamper!

CH: Actually, for "fun" read "horrible"

JC: Pokes it gently through "there's no fluidity about that" . Lining up an impossible sweet. Not easy with a 14 inch head

CH: Malcolm retreats to C3. Robert's Black (4back) is 5y SSE of 2, and Blue (H1) is 2y NE of 4. Looks like taking blue at black.

JC: Multiple markers, and multiple referees for the sweep.His mallet is at a very steep angle too. I've never seen anyone standing up like that for a sweep either. Misses by at least a foot. Probably hasn't left Simon a double, but Simon doesn't really need more than one ball to shoot at with his current form.

CH: Robert has been hitting well, although didn't hit a 3rd or 4th turn against Ian in the semi yesterday - nor a lift. Then again, they were on lawn 3 (slightly lumpy) and neither did Ian.

JC: Turn 6: Robbie hits from 4 to 2- really good quality match, and Robbie now has a standard TP in front of him (albeit with partner at hoop 2)

JC: Robbie now has hit 6 and about 19 yards, Malcolm 2x 1 yards, Simon just hit again so has 19, 6, 19 yards, and to be fair to him, cap'n Ian has hit two 10 yarders, and only missed the thrash at the scatter. The scatter is the only shot missed so far on either lawn

Questions for the commentary team: to [email protected]. We have a knowledgable team of spectators and commentators here to answer any questions.

CH: Lawn conditions look ok today, but it's cloudy (and looks like staying that way), the grass is about 4days unmown, and the courts being used at the moment (1,2,3) look like running at about 10 seconds.
Lawn 1 is pretty good, although there is a down-hill south of the 1-2 line, Lawn 2 has the same down-hill, but a dodgy East Boundary and a slope down hill between H4 and C4. And a Hill running through 5 and the Peg. And other lumps and bumps...
Hoops have been moved 4 days ago, and are reasonably firm (given the mid-firmness ground) but not sure how tight they have been set. That has varied throughout the tournament depending on which referee gets there first in the morning.

JC: Simon runs hoop 1 - they're claiming here it's a "Bob Jackson", known in the UK as "Murray control" (after Martin Murray) - smacks his hoop shot hard into the wire and runs it by a couple of yards. Rushes yellow back to the south boundary, and after a decent croquet stroke he's away

JC: Turn 6: Robbie has made 2, rushed black across to 3, with red and yellow waiting north of hoop 3. Puts a nice peelee out and that should be game 1.

JC: Simon is now on a tidy break. Callum - can you get a turn count on that one please?

CH: 7, I think

JC: Thank you. John Grieves has carelessly offered to do a coffee run. Good on him. lovely chap - picked me up from Melbourne airport at the start of this trip - we had a great day setting a few hoops, playing GC and having a natter. Setting hoops here is much easier than at United - they have a chap who puts the hoops near the holes, and the ground is soooo soft. I think Atkins hoops here have made a difference, but with the couple of days of (blessed, hayfever-reducing) rain the lawns have not recovered and have only the slightest hint of pace.

CH: Yawn... 'Tis quite quiet in the clubhouse.
The spectators comprise 11 dispatched players, 2 managers, and 1 genuinely interested person who has nothing to do with the tournament (apart from being married to one of the referees).
We're all acting rather sleepy. In this commentator's unhumble opinion, competitions such as this should start at civilized times (e.g.11:00a.m.) and continue under lights at night. The barbarity of 8a.m. starts has a dark-age feel about it.

JC: Robbie now through 4 and has rushed up to pick up peelee. Simon making 5 with the lawn sorted. Note that Simon is playing his hoop 1 ball, so has a clip stranded on hoop 6 from earlier adventures.

CH: Hockey's leave will be interesting - remembering his other clip is on 6 and Dumergue on 1 and 2. Commentary team plugs for a Diagonal Spread "A nice all purpose leave"

JC: Couldn't agree more Callum. A week of getting up at 6.15 am is taking its toll. I'm off to the MCG for a conference tonight - will be sad to leave - the entire Croquet House has been just brilliant. Austrailan Advancement in Research Education conference (zzz). Will be presenting on using "Positive Pedagogy" approaches to coaching croquet. Basically using athlete-centred approaches such as modified games to get players to learn tactics while they are learning skills. It's a great approach for one-off workshops, as it's designed to get people to understand and think about what they are doing, rather than blindly following patterns they might have learned. Also helped to give people a feel for their individual swings to understand their own technique better. And it has paid for my flights. Wonderful timing.

JC: Back to the croquet.. Robbie has two peels completed, and is running 1back. This looks a bit easy for him, but Malcolm won't roll over that easily.

CH: Looks like Simon is cross-pegging. I would have done that. Tick of approval from me. You Jenny?

JC: Simon's looking very smart in full croquet whites - dark green South Australia croquet hat, white trousers and white Australia shirt. Ian's always immaculately presented too, but in blue trackies and a mostly-white shirt. Robbie and Malcolm both in Australian tracksuit jackets (I've always thought they looked very smart), Robbie in slightly offwhite shorts and Malcolm in dark green shorts with yellow piping. Another nice bit of Aussie kit. (can't go past black though...)

CH: So, Ian's yellow (for H1) is 7in NW of Peg, Red (H2) 2ft SE. Simon looks happy with it as he's retreated to WB just south of 2 with a rush to H6 (his hoop). Should finish if Ian doesn't hit. Should... I'm going to take a punt and say that won't happen.

JC: I was muttering about the shortness of the short shot left by Simon as he has gone very high with his reverse cross pegging. He wandered past and explained that red had wandered around itself, forcing him to go further north.
Turn 8: the shooting continues! - about 17 yards for Dumergue. Perfect shooting day so far for Team Australia (we'll ignore the thrashy scatter attempt)

CH: Robert is being generally uninteresting. Has done 2 peels and jawsed rover with the 3rd. Has rushed oppo into the jaws of 9 on the approach to said hoop. taps it through and hoop-and-roquet up the lawn. He doesn't drop tps from here. that will be Game 1 to Robert, 26tp 0 (in about 5 min)

CH: Dumergue is 2y west of peg, loading 3, trying to get a rush on Red (2ft SE) to H1. Black is 3y west of 2.
Jenny says "It will be hours before he hits this" (possibly referring to Ian's methodical (sow) approach to most strokes.
She starts lunch (or breakfast perhaps...).

• slow

JC: Sails down the hill, it'll be another prod? - nope - a decent hoop stroke from Ian, and a rush to a wayward hoop 2 pioneer. TPO time!!

CH: Hmm, I hope so. However, a 9 hoop break and a forcing leave is my pick.

JC: Right: Robbie wins game 1 in 6 turns 26TP-0.

CH: Jenny seems to have called it well - Dumergue is setting up for a TPO. Hmm...
Gets good position with Simon's 4back blue. However. Ian fails a 1ft hoop trying to tap it through.
More bad news for Ian is that he has put Simon's Black (H6) in the jaws of 4, and will probably be forfeiting a wiring lift with 3 balls 7y from balk at H3.

CH: Simon takes his wiring lift and rushes Ian's yellow through 3. Hasn't moved the clip so hopefully Ian is paying attention (or reading the commentary at the other end of the clubhouse). Simon now attempting to peel 4back getting a rush to 6. Jawses and all is right with the world.

CH: Robert v. Malcolm, Game 2.
Robert Supershot (2y NW of 5).
Malcolm dribbles and ends up same distance SE fo 6.
Robert shoots hard at the double and missed from A balk.
Malcolm has a tap-on and has a perfect start.

CH: Simon has done his first peel, croqueted peelee to penult, loaded 2back, and overolled 1back from 5ft out straight in front. Bashes at a jump shot and Black ends up on WB 2y north of 2.
6 yarder available for Ian's H4 ball (which was the 1back receiver for Simon)

CH: Spectators are not kind to Simon. His explanation is that the balls fell apart on the croquetstroke.
Lawn 1, Malcolm is on a laid break approaching 3. Should be 9, although I wouldn't be surprised if he sets a Ladies' sextuple leave later in the match - he's been setting those in earlier rounds with mixed success, and if Robert is shooting well, it's not a bad tactic - especially for NZ tpos.

CH: (Jenny is now playing with balls, a tournament manager and a measuring device - much more interesting than croquet obviously).
Ian hits 6 yarder. Simon sighs.
Ian is playing his h4 ball, has left Simon's Blue (Penult) 2y west of penult, and rushed Simon's other one to just S. of 2 on WB. taking off from it to Red - north of 1 - trying to rush it to 4.

CH: Good take-off and has a 1.5 yard reasonably straight rush. Rushes reasonably straight and had a 3y approach. No load at 5.
Lawn 1: Malcolm continues break and will be going to 4back.

CH: Ian gets a rush after 4 and has the option of sending it to 5 or penult, where Blue awaits waiting to be peeled...
Takes it to black, West of 2. Will be a harder rush coming up from there if he still wants to do his on-time dpo.

CH: Malcolm is grinning and only has 1 hoop to make. Pressure will be on Robert to hit - especially if he knows Malcolm is in a good mood :p

CH: Ian rushes Black to h6, rushing Simon's penult ball (Blue) to 5. Good rush.

CH: Interesting fact, Simon Hocking is using his out-time reading the commentary. Must think we can give some advice on over-approaching hoops...

JC: I'm back. Spread from Malcolm, threats to the commentators from Simon, and Ian's approaching hoop 6 from some distance. Nice stroke though

JC: This is turn 10 for Simon and Ian, 4th turn spread from Malcolm. Good comeback from the youngster.

CH: Malcolm's leave is an open diagonal spread. Buries partner in c4 on final stroke. Other 3 are standard.

JC: Trev reports red might not be able to hit yellow, but yellow can hit 99% of red. Red can also hit blue up the lawn. Looks like red at yellow if he decides he can do it (Robbie, that is)

JC:Doesn't look like Ian's going to have the DPO -probably just a tight spread. Simon is on 1b and penult

JC: Robbie having red at yellow - probably. Having a good look... lifts red and it's going to be the short shot at black in corner 4

CH: Lawn 3, Troy is on 4back (black), Terry on 2back (yellow). Troy in play going for H1. Terry's partner still on 1.

Robbie lining up his lift. This is rather short in the context of this match.

CH: Robert shoots from end of A-balk with red (which was the ball by the peg) at Black in C4.
Hits.

JC: yup - all over it. Rushed it straight into the corner peg.

JC: I missed the misses - Malcolm missed second turn dribble, Robbie missed at the target.Otherwise very high standard of shooting there

JC: Oh dear, I've just been mistaken for a "new Australian" -bit cold in here and snuggled in Trev's Aussie jacket. Wonder if I can get out of the country with a souvenir?

JC: Black to hoop 2, hits blue - takeoff is poor - gets a rush towards the peg!

CH: Ian has balked on the DPO, and looks like setting a normal spread. Boring!!! (commentators' consensus).
Ian is 4back (yellow) and 2 (red - obviously), and Simon penult (blue) and 1back (have a guess)..

JC: Robbie tries the roll into hoop 1 from somewhere between 2 and 6... red lands on the leg of hoop 1. It looked like it was tracking well.

CH: club-house numbers have increased to 17.

JC: Trev fancies leaving black at 2 and shooting from mid east boundary with blue. Blue hits, blue wins.

JC: red joins yellow on the west boundary next to hoop 1. Welcome to Kathleen - someone who clearly got up at a sensible hour!

JC: Blue lining up the shot at black...

CH: Dumergue bungles his spread a bit. Blue is 4y SSW of H2, Black 4y ESE of peg. Clear shot blue to black if Simon wants it.
Red and Yellow are rolled out 9y apart on EB. Red in C4. Yellow 27ft north.

JC: Malcolm coming in off a long runup - he's currently standing between hoop 1 and 2 on lawn 2

JC: Malcolm misses!!

CH: Hmm, not sure about this long-distance stalking. Maybe if he'd started closer he would have hit.

JC: Simon smoothly shoots with black from where it lies at yellow - it's the shortest shot, and there's a ball at his hoop (1back). Misses!

CH: Will Ian take the 8.66 yarder at Black?

JC: He'll get another shot, as Ian's red is 10 yards south in corner 4.

JC: Meanwhile, in turn 6, Robbie has made 1 and has all the balls. What leave?

CH: Ian is tossing up which ball to play. Predictably chickens out and takes the 1ft rush. Hope he's punished for it.

JC: options: make 9 and cross fingers, go to 1back then have a TPO and two balls off, straight TPO

CH: option 1 sounds good, with a pop or two thrown in.

JC: we like option 2. Maybe with a couple of peels on self. And Simon's back

CH: I am however predicting option 2 as well...

CH: Malcolm is not looking worried. Swaggering past clubhouse dressed in Aus uniform, combined with Komatsu cap and Puma hoodie.

CH: Your go Simon!

JC Simon reckons he'll look for two peels on partner, and partner ball in the jaws of 3back. "He does all three peels in one turn to get the stat". Getting one peel is the old standard as it gives a lot more time to get some peels on partner.

JC: good call Callum - Simon was busy predicting Robbie's moves!

CH: Ian has set up in C4 with a 1y rush north along EB. Simon's 1back ball is 2y South of C2, and penult ball 4y off WB east of Peg. Simon wakes up and goes to play Blue (penult) at Red and yellow in C4.

JC: Nails red! That was a good tight leave, so would have taken a wee bit of work to pick up, but these lawns are pretty friendly. Simon now has the chance to make a couple of points and set a killer leave.

CH: 20 people in the clubhouse!
Looks like they're all here to learn about NZ Tpos.

JC: Robbie setting up for his 1back leave. Chances are he'll have a crack at a sextuple if he gets things under way well - he has been excellent at sextupling this tournament

JC: I'm sure an NZ TPO does involve the first peel happening in the first break. Rookie commentator!

JC: Approaches penult well - sticks!

Well, not jammed, just parked.

CH: Hockey blobs penult from 2ft straight. Probably wanted a forward rush on Yellow (2y south).
Not good.

JC: Ian gets the ref, and rushes blue back through to the boundary. It's his 4back ball, so Simon will get another shot. He's remarkably good-natured about all this, and he is watching the commentary hawk-like!

JC: Ian now rolling blue to corner 3, going to black. that'll be headed to the middle of the west boundary probably. Red is still lurking in corner 4
Robbie is doing his cross-pegging at the moment.

JC: Black going towards hoop 2, looking to wire it from blue. Huge split... Black goes a few yards north east of the halfway spot on the west boundary. Back to partner. Nice stroke

JC: IT looks like Robbie has left Malcolm the showy jump over hoop 1. The crowd awaits!

CH: Robert bungles... When rushing Yellow to C3, striker runs into one of the crosswired balls, shifting it about 3in. Maybe a sliver open now... Also, Malcolm's H1 ball is 3y SW (slightly more south) of h1...

CH: Malcolm does some exercises to limber up. Robert sets 3y rush up in C3. Malcolm will be playing his H1 ball no matter what - the longest shot.

JC: I had an interesting chat with Robbie about sextuples the other way, but don't want to put him off chatting to me, so won't be reporting too much about that here. He's a really nice chap. Actually, pretty much everyone here has been great.

JC: Malcolm is off the long runup again. He's back near lawn 7 at the moment. Stalking in - he's now at least on the grass of lawn 1. Swings... . Misses by nothing! He was very hopeful there!

CH: Malcolm stalks from Lawn 6, across the grass and divides, takes position, strikes, and just misses the ball in C3. Throws head back in disappointment. stalks up lawn to yard in - probably getting comments from Simon who is nearby on Lawn 2.

JC: Simon's back out there with a familiar looking lawn. This time shooting into corner 3, as blue is a bit out, so a much easier pickup for Ian this time. Casting... missed

CH: Malcolm will not be happy. He doesn't like 1v1ing with a 6 to 8 hoop deficit, which is probably what he will soon find himself doing.

JC: It's a nice day today - overcast, pollen count under control, very little wind, 13 deg according to my phone (that's less appealing!)

CH: Ian Dumergue is back on the lawn. Has made 10 hoops to Simon's 16. If Ian stays on the lawn, and makes a tp break (which is looking difficult given his rush to NB behind H2 with partner ball), he should be finished in under an hour and a half.

JC: Robbie now approaching hoop 1, hasn't got an early peel, but has his choice of options now. Let's see if he starts TPOing

CH: Ian rolls partner to 4back, hits Simon's black on EB. Chipping this in lawn, and rushing Simon's other ball towards 2. Only gets to H6. Long roll coming.

CH: Not great, but possibly runnable. 1y SE. Very angly. Not happy. Simon is.

CH: Ian retreats to C4. Simon grins back to the lawn. He has a 5y roquet near H3, and a ball 5y north of his hoop (1back).

CH: Commentary team thinks (or rather, insists) that Ian should have had a go at the hoop.

JC: Robbie is... putting partner to hoop 4 - this is a TPO. Shame - I fancy his completion rate and fancied seeing a sextuple in this final. Maybe in game three.

CH: The Aus team captain looks like he's getting away with it though, since Simon Hockey croquets out off NB while going to 1back and loading 2 back. That Western Australian is obviously using his luck studiously.

CH: Lawn 2 is basically turning into a hackfest. Tis clear why they are not on lawn 1.

JC: First peel coming up in game 2 of the final.

JC: This is turn 9 in Robbie v Malc.
Simon "Let's see what terrible, terrible things i can make happen this time".

CH: Peel on oppo that is. Jawses and rushes other oppo rather close to H4 load, but copes.

JC: I first met Simon in 2003 - he was just as entertaining then too - spent his out-player time entertaining my mum, and telling her what was going on, that time.

CH: Just copes. Rushes partner into jaws of 4. Will be hard to get a return roquet after this. Loads H6 instead.

JC: oops! just got distracted and look up to see Robbie looking at an unrunnable hoop - which it looks like he'll try to run

Good news, we may have some additional info in our commentary soon, curtesy of Gareth Denyer. Stay tuned!

JC: Robbie fails hoop 5 - an error!!

CH: Simon seems to be reliving his last game against Malcolm yesterday. Fails 2back from 1yard out by smashing it into the wire. Ian takes lift with h2 ball. If he plays like he did yesterday, this should be game.

JC: Malcolm hits. With his hoop 1 ball, peelee is in the jaws of hoop 3, red north of six and probably doesn't rush well to one. Will he approach from mid south boundary or go around the houses first?

JC: Mal takes off from yellow - nice shot gets an 18 inch rushpeel

CH: Malcolm is taking off to the ball in 4back, leaving Robert just off SB in front of 1. Gets good position. Should have put Robert at 2 if he were confident... Maybe Robert's been putting safe, percentage play into his mind. That's a first.

JC : Simon's 2back nightmare has continued. "Another win for Mr Atkins"

CH: Yes, non-bendy hoop legs are a force to be reckoned with.

GD: Sorry all... just experimenting

JC: Malcolm rushes red back towards the south boundary - long hoop approach... overruns it and it's completely unrunnable

Welcome to Gareth!!! - pictures!

CH: Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm! Overruns H1. Balls all over the place.

GD: yes, that was the position that Malcolm was faced with after Robbie broke down

CH: Ian slightly over approaches H2, looks like a really tight angly hoop. Calls ref. Ref. wakes and trots out. Looks interesting.

JC: Turn count for both games out the window. Error count for 3/4 through the roof. Ian has just approached hoop 2 to about 3 inches though ... no, more like 3mm - mallet in teh air. That was about a 8 yard hoop approach, and clearly he didn't want a long hoop. That's three in a row overapproaching their hoops. And Simon bouncing off 2back - must have scared the others a bit

JC: Gets the ref. 'Ian took a whopping great divot". He hasn't reached red though. Good grief - they'll need to do some repairs there .14 inch mallet about an inch under the ground!

CH: Malcolm looks like going for a scatter. Misses.
Yellow (H5) 5y SSE of 1, Red (1back) peg high in line with 1 and 2. Black (penult) 2y south of 2), Blue (h1) on NB behind 2.

CH: Robert plays Red at Black and hits to WB.

JC: Simon now has blue near the north boundary - looking to see if he fancies Ian's chances of a rematch between red and hoop 2. Blue can't see much of it at all. Yellow is peg high between 1 and 2. He's shooting blue at black. Black is north of hoop 4

CH: Roberts options will be to do 3 hoops and set (unlikely as Mal is on penult), or go to peg, with 2 peels on oppo and leave a 1v1 with the clips on 1 and 5. Or something like that.

GD: Sorry, I need to get better organised. Still feeling my way with the system.... This is the position after Malcolm got in a mess at h1.

JC: He had a decent look at that, but misses. I quick recap on clippage: Ian's red ball and clip are on hoop 2, yellow's on 4back, Simon's blue is on penult and black on 2back. Blue now near corner 4, and black 5 feet north of hoop 4. Ian shooting at red. He'll crosswire himself if he misses...

JC: Yellow centre-balls red. That'll be another leave with his 4back ball.

JC: Red to southwest of hoop 2 - somewhat like standard leave position, and he takes off towards blue in the corner. Doesn't fancy that as he's a bit short, hitting black.

JC: might bea bit messy following two games, but with breaks at this level usually there's a long break between reportable stuff. Not this morning now though!

CH: Robert has made 1back (thumping striker through to 2b to get a rush back on yellow), and has now run 2 back. No peels done yet, but looks like they're in mind. Good load on 3back (well, within 2 yards W).

JC: Black sent south east of hoop 4, hits blue, excellent roll puts blue towards corner 3 and he has left himself a rush to hoop 2. Simon needs to hit this one (didn't we say that before?)

GD: complete aside - I wanted to share the brilliant bombard ending that Malcom did when he sextupled me in the qualifying rounds... Also, just to show that I can put in some arrows if people think it's useful... the black arrows are single ball hits, broken orange = rush, blue = croquet. Let me know what you think.

JC: Blue shoots at black... takes half a step forward - fancies this... just misses. Angry Si will be returning to the commentary table momentarily

CH: Lawn 1, Robert is about to make 3back, and has ball in position to peel in front of penult. Escape ball is a little shallow, but on the way to 4back.

Ian has a rush to hoop 2, blue on the south boundary and black at hoop 4.

JC: Tim Murphy - thanks for reminding me for the zillionth time of the croquetscores markup. callum: # heading 1

heading 2

heading 3

• italic *
  * bold *

(two stars for bold)

two hashes for heading 2, three for heading three (sorry folks!)

Situation after 3b

Meanwhile, Ian has made 2, rushed down, will need to rush black to three, and have a delayed TP.

So, thanks to Dr. Gareth, we have an update on ball positions. Robert played the stroke well, touched black, jawsed it, and has rushed to 4back.

JC: Good to see Chris Grant back at the club today. Good chap, don't blame him for having yesterday off.

Robet jaws' K

JC: Gosh these lawns are being made to look like 14 seconds. They aren't! Ian has just overrolled his approach to black, and now has a rush pointing horizontally towards hoop 1 - he's for three. Simon's back on his feet!

CH: Ian Dumergue hasn't got the best rush to 3. Simon is however delighted with. Does a massive cut rush to Peg high between 1 and 2. Good luck rolling from there. Blue is 2y N. of 4, Yellow 6y N of that...

CH: Hilarity in the clubhouse. They seem to like stuffs-up. Ian disappoints and does a marvelous take-off getting 3y position in front of 3.

CH: Bang! Back to you Simon.... to be continued...

CH: Robert straight peeling Malcolm through penult. Contact conceded no matter what.

JC: it's come down to a straight double on this tpo. Could get fun after this.

dpo. I'm reminded.

JC: Simon hits!!

JC: Simon is again playing with his penult ball. Playing quite quickly now. Seems just a tad frustrated at the progress here.

JC: Rushes red across to black. Will be making penult off partner. Dno't blame him!

JC: Two side balls, rushes black to.. pretty much in front, but about 14 inches. Not ideal, but Robbie will be fine.

JC: Simon is through Penult. If Robbie has two off we're doing to focus solely on that game for a while.

JC: Robbie has a slightly angled hoop. Co-commentator talking about stopshot peels, jawsing and half jumping - ugh x 2. With two side balls, it's an irish peel - and played well (well, I don't always call it right, so getting in there while I'm ahead!)

after the final peel

JC: meanwhile on lawn 2 Simon has made two points, and looks like he will cross-wire Ian at hoop 1 (black still for 2back). He looks a bit nervy - playing very quickly

GD: obviusly robert rushed Y to E boundary after the pic above

Go Gareth! Great diagrams. This could save a lot of time describing leaves in the future!

JC: doesn't get the cross wiring - I think he was trying, but took croquet from somewhere nowhere near the wire. Red to 4 yards south of 3back, hits partner, rolling to corner 2.

CH: Robert puts Yellow (H5) on EB, in a spot difficult to roll to 1. Leaves Blue just off SB between 1 and 5. Will be pegging of the other two.

CH: 1v1 coming up. We'll do our best discussing tactics and options, but can't promise we've got both their minds tapped.

end-game: Final game 2 (Robbie one up) - Malcolm Fletcher for hoop1, Robbie Fletcher for hoop5, both other balls pegged out

JC: Malcolm takes contact in the middle of east boundary, rolls up - long - he'll be taking position. Yellow's at hoop 2. Needs to make sure he doesn't leave a wiring here

JC; Takes longish, slgihtly angled position. I think he underhit that a little

CH: Robert will probably go in the C4 region. Malcolm is too good at 2balling to risk shooting.

CH: Yep, goes 1ft west of C4.

JC: Robbie has missed corner 4. Kevin has helpfully advised that'll stop him getting a cannon. He's trying to make a joke, but getting loads of abuse instead. Poor chap. that's what you get when the commentary team are a little distracted

JC: takes better position at hoop 1. Robbie is shooting!

CH: Robert likes this shot - reasonably good chances of getting position on 5 if he hits and going round. Pressure on oppo to turn and hit the 7 yarder if he misses. Won't bother Malcolm.

CH: Misses.

JC: Malcolm is having a go at this. Smack!

JC: he'll be approaching 1 from a bit north of the line to hoop 1

After robert shot

JC: croquet stroke - yellow between 1 and 2 - gets roughly in front - runs 1. Yellow was a bit east and now he has rushed it to hoop 6. Really good chance to catch up here. Or even win...

CH: Back on Lawn 2, Simon is on a finishing turn with 3 balls. Ian is on 4back and 3, Simon on Peg and break approaching 4back. Angled hoop.

CH: Simon copes and should finish.

JC: I didn't like that option, but Robbie's a really good shot, and leaving him in front of 1 can cost 1 and 2 and maybe first in front of three.

: Approach to 2 leaves a long hoop - runs that to the boundary. Has a 6 yarder on yellow...lovely shot - rushes it to about 4 feet SSW of hoop 3. Probably won't get a rush out of this, but let's see...

JC: Runs three into yellow. Big roll...

CH: I wasn't convinced re. the option either, but given his oppo, he has to shoot some time or Malcolm just picks Robert off when Robert takes position sometime later. Following someone up the middle in a 1v1 has good results.

JC: Nice controlled rolll, but it's a 3 yard straight hoop - yellow level with hoop 4...

CH: Thumps at it and runs cleanly. Good shot!

JC: really nice hoop stroke - runs 4 firmly with very little wire. They are now both for hoop 5.

JC: 7 yard return - hits - rushing yellow to peg high and a few yards east of the peg. take off - he's looking quite relaxed out there...

CH: Malcolm will now be taking off to 5 from 10y NNE. Must not hit this too hard as there is a down hill about 4ft S of 5.

JC: gets 2.5 foot straight position putting yellow 2 yards north of the peg - good shot. This can finish from here

Hockey wins Game 1 v. Dumergue 26-11

JC: Commentator's curse, runs 5 by about a foot - hampered shot on yellow. Looks comfortable, but calls a ref. This is a difficult shot

The position after malcolm runs 5

Time limits: best of five: 3 3 2.5 2 1.5. Best of three: 3 2.5 2. Simon and Ian carry forward 10 minutes into game two!

JC: Hampered shot - nails the peg. Robbie has a wiring lift, and can safely use it to approach hoop 5, or can snick. Will leave thsi to Callum..

CH: Ouch. Malcolm glues himself to the South side of the peg. Robert looks like he may have a 3y half ball target. Otherwise a wiring lift is in the wind.

CH: Taking the half-ball. Gets 3/4 of it and now has a 2y approach to H5 from directly west. Malcolm is on H6 and may well stay there for the remainder of the game if Robert plays well.

CH: Robert takes position, but slightly angled, and comes through with a cut rush to 6. Plays it well and has a 2y approach. Easy isn't it?

CH: Robert has a deep receiver for 6, but not quite deep enough for a perfect rush after running through to the boundary. Runs through and rushes to 4y E of 1back. will do a flat mallet approach and try and get blue deep. Underhits slightly but no problem. Makes the hoop and goes past receiver. 12y roll to 2back coming up. Lift conceded.

CH: Robert takes care (lots) and time (more than usual) and overhits by 3y. Probably the worst stroke I've seen him play this singles. Retreat!

JC: Malcolm gets out of jail here. Robbie conceding a lift leaves a 14 yarder. Mal up on his toes as he contemplates his options

JC: Looks like he'll have a shot...

CH: Goes to the obvioius c4 area - 1y north of C4. Malcolm taking lift from A-balk at Robert.

JC: Off a 10 yard runup now - I wish my beginners were watching this!

JC: Shoots... hits about 80% of the ball

CH: Not sure I'd do this, lagging in front of 6 from NB would put the pressure on Robert to get perfect position at 2back... Then Mal is creeping up behind again.. Oh well. He's in the final, not me.

JC: Agreed - it's a big call and doesn't let you safely sit in front of 6. He rolls up to 6 though - has another 3 yard hoop - about 20 deg angle. Bounces out leaving Robbie a (long) rush to 2back

CH: Robert snicks the rush and shifts blue about 2 yards. We'll see if he rolls in again after the last effort.

CH: Rolls in again, but not the best position. No lift conceded except wiring even if something does go wrong. Runs it nicely and has a rush back in the 4back direction.

Game 2: Hockey v Dumergue

CH: Rushes to 4y NNW of 3back (hoop 9 for those of you who can count past 6). Takes off for a perfect 2ft position.

JC: 1. Dumergue to a foot SSE of the peg. 2: Simon wibbles at blue, snicks the peg and lands wired, and about 2 yards away 3. Ian trickles at yellow, running about 6 yards past, towards hoop 1

JC: 4. Simon now has a double from just out of corner 1

CH: Robert runs hoop well and has a 4ft cut rush towards 4back. Could have been better as he's now on EB 2y south of the hoop. Does a good roll, but 2y position. His hoop running has been good so this should be a finish.

JC: Casting... hits it very smoothly, and hits halfball on black (front ball of the target). This could be a short game (famous last words...)

JC: The rush to hoop 1 isn't very good - sails 3 yards SW of the hoop

JC: Very good hoop approach. Hoop 2 pioneer is a bit rough, but Simon should cope now. Bit of knee bend on that hoop stroke - didn't look very convincing, but he's through. He's a really stylish looking player when he's not hacking.

CH: Robert runs penult long (2y North of Rover) and has a 4y return on Blue by the peg. Hits it up to 4ft south of penult. Will be rolling in to Rover. The lawn's pretty true up the middle (perhaps a slightly westward slope by rover) so should be ok.

CH: Robert finishes to take game 2

Game 2, Robert d. Malcolm 26-18

JC: Interesting: https://croquetscores.com/2016/gc/nz-womens-open/open-9-16 best of two format? but in some cases teh person on more net points after 2 games has got the "win". Answers to me by carrier pigeon please.

JC: Ok, callum has given me a quick counting lesson, and explained to me in small words that it's clearly net pointing best of two. Best of two? ok, back to odd-numbered best-of's over here, easy for my tired brain

Game 3, Robert v. Malcolm

: Simon has just made hoop 4 on a standard ball-to-4back. I'm expecting another exciting diagonal spread. I'd do diagonal spreads if I wasn't a zillion times better at NSLs.

CH: Malcolm supershot with Yellow, 2y SW of peg.
Robert Longest point on EB with Blue.

JC: Meanwhile Terry is two hoops behind in some other finishing event... Y final. Time's up... shoots... misses. Troy wins

CH: Malcolm down EB. Stalks for 10 yards, Hits half-ball on the inside. Does a good roll and has a rush to 1 for a well-laid 3ball break

JC: The whinging in teh clubhouse has worked! - it'll be a MSL (or 2-4 leave for you Aussies who are 99% of the audience).

CH: Malcolm going around 3rd turn. Will let you know if anything interesting happens.

JC: meanwhile Kathleen Colclough has just experimented with 4 mins to go, being for penult and needing two hoops and to get off the lawn. She made it (yesterday she tried some sort of double peel-thingy instead of just crossing fingers against peg and peg). She's a really good player and the standard of women's play has improved out of sight in recent times - that interstate champs is good, and a good atmosphere at tournaments. There also seem to bea few senior players sharing their knowledge. And players who are willing to listen and try new things. A few days ago Kathleen was unlucky to not finish a 3 ball break for a win in our game- everything was against her - freezing rain, blustery wind - some fantastic shots were achieved, and I was very lucky.

JC: Blue is on the wire of hoop 2, DISASTER - black creeps around hoop 4 to sit SE of the hoop presenting a full ball target, and Simon's going up to standard position on the east boundary...but now takes off with red to plonk that into corner 2.

JC: With such easy conditions it is critical to get leaves right.

CH: True, the women's standard is improving around here. Standouts of note this tournament have been Patricia Devlin and Kerri-Ann Organ, both of whom have been playing positively and making good breaks. Great to see some women entering and being competitive. Watch out interstaters!

JC: turns out Simon was putting black in place from some distance (sorry - too much to watch) - was hoping it might go into the jaws as an ok second prize - he'd peeled it cleanly.

JC: Ian lifts blue from hoop 2, walks down to the south boundary to line up his shot at a full ball of black. ... picks up blue, and it's the loong shot down through yellow that we'll get. He has missed that by some day

JC: Simon "oh well, yellow hits blue, yellow wins". A wee 11 yarder coming up for Simon

JC: James Death has just informed me that he is 8.5% of the audience. Good think I mentioned "MSL" alonside "2-4". Hi James :)

CH: Ok, Malcolm has made 9 and looks like setting 3 ducks. Quacking leave.

JC: Halfway there - Simon hits!

JC: Blue goes well to hoop 2, he has a straight rush to hoop1. Approaching from 3 yards...18 inch straightish hoop...

CH: ducks are a bit flat (low) being only just N. of peg high, but the outside one (Malcolm's red) must be close to longest point.

JC: Through by about a foot. Hampered stance, but he has a free swing, and confidently hits the middle of a 3.5 yarder. Simon should finish from here

Red is the 4back (hoop 10...) ball.

CH: Smack. Robert plays from A-balk and middles Yellow up to 3y NW of 2. Prepare for another 1back leave in C3.

JC: Through 2, red a few yards from hoop 3, but Simon will be comfortable. Plays a really nice croquet stroke getting blue 4 feet north of 4 and a rush to red to start peeling

CH: Will Robert get any peels on Malcolm's h1 ball? I would be doing it for sure given Malcolm's roquetting and peeling abilities.

JC: Jawses the first peel, black's almost halfway to hoop 1 from hoop 5 - that's a bit ropey. He's through 4 and will leave red there to make sure of this next hoop. Rushes blue SW of hoop 1 - should cope fine, but has to skate past hoop 1 to get a perfect rush on black. Very average stroke there.

JC: Blue now well WSW of hoop 6 and a longish cut to 5 - plays the cut well, and will get a rush out of 5. Well, a horizontal rush. Blue definitely on the wrong side of 6 though.

JC: will we see a Wylie peel (make 6, hit a ball deep, put it to 2b getting the peel? ... no - it's a 1back pioneer

JC: avoids the gratuitous calling of a referee to watch a 2 yarder on a ball in the jaws of a hoop that I've seen way too much this week - hits red, rolls it too far (black is WNW of 1back, so this will be a delayed double).

JC: Blue going to 2back. Peelee is red.

JC: gets a decent 2b pioneer from somewhere north of hoop 3 and is now putting peelee to penult. Blue is good for a death roll to.

JC: Black is now sent to a couple of yards north of 3back - horrible there. Rushes red closer to penult. This peel is short, but on a tight angle.

JC: Played quite flat, very little wire to go about 5 feet SE of rover and has a longish rush to 2. Wee backward takeoff required...Has to go up the hill, and does fine

JC: It's 2back, and he's not a fan ... leaves reception ball dead behind the hoop and runs the hoop firmly into it.

CH: I'm awake! And Robert is finishing off his crosswire at 1. He's made 6 hoops with black, and is setting up with Malcolm's h1 ball (yellow) 5y SW of H1, and his 4back ball (red) 3y NE.

JC; puts out a very wayward 4back pioneer which he looks rather disappointed with, and he doesn't have a rush to rover - migth not have wanted it given black's position. Bit of a loss of concentration there. Nothing that should cause problems though

JC: runs 3b, no rush, puts black north of penult, still a bit loose. He should be able to hold this together to peg out. (I didn't from a mirror position yesterday, but that was just careless).

JC: takes off to that poor 4 pioneer, goes way past it, has a cut back, now needs to move a couple of yards to get in front of the hoop. Playing fast here. Bit angled, but should be ok... plays a shot I bet he wishes he'd played at 2back in game 5 yesterday - smoothly and firmly through to the boundary.

CH: Robert has succeeded in the crosswire and is laid up 3y west of C3. Blue (for H1) is probably wired through 3 from one or both of Malcolm's balls, and Black has a 1y rush directly south - leaving Malcolm something to shoot at.

JC: Rushes blue back onto hoop 3! - he'll be fine though, but will wish that penult pioneer was tighter. Gets a 3 yard rush to penult, and a tidy blue. Nice confident rush, this should be over now

JC: Runs penult - bit of extra flick on the hoop stroke and has hoop and roquet - no point getting hoop bound now.

JC: two really really nice guys playing for 3 and 4.

CH: Malcolm takes the short shot with the 4back ball this time, with only a 6 yard stalk. Doesn't get near. TPO for Robert coming up. Probably will be going for a peel on partner at some point to avoid a potential lift in a 1v1, but unlikely to do it before 1, given that the h1 load is now 5y SW.

JC one side ball, blue 5 feet south of the hoop. Taps peelee. Peeling from short and straight - through nicely

CH: Jenny is being very complimentary about the Australian players here, and I should add that it is good to have her here, both for pleasant company and good competitive play. Do please come again, and bring your friends!

**Simon Hockey takes 3rd place in the Australian Open, winning game 2 26TP-0 (narrowly avoiding a grievous along the way)

I'l try that again Simon Hockey takes 3rd place in the Australian Open, winning game 2 26TP-0 (narrowly avoiding a grievous along the way)

CH: Robert chips Malcolm's 4back ball to 4back, and rushes partner to C1. He should be able to get this up 10y or more getting a rush on Malcolm to h1. It will however leave a long rush to 2.

CH: All goes to plan for Robert and he has done a good rush to 2.

JC Smiley Simon has joined us - looking very happy, and explaining that rough 4b pioneer was hill-induced. Back to number 2 in the Aussie rankings for Simon. Well deserved.

CH: TPO has started for Robert. Has managed to jaws Malcolm's 4back ball, and has a good forward rush to continue. Textbook stuff. Uninteresting. Wish the conditions were tougher.

CH: Robert doesn't get a great rush after 5, ending up near 6, so puts yellow (the 5 receiver) deep on 6, going to red in the jaws of 4back and rushes it through. Rolls red into peeling position (and it keeps rolling past peeling position) going to black at 6. Might be able to get the peel going to 1back if he gets black out the side and runs through to yellow. Not sure he can get black out that far though.

CH: No problem. Jawses peelee getting a rush to 1back. Rushes through after.

CH: Robert makes 2back and but doesn't get position to peel red through rover on the way to 3back.

CH: Robert makes 3 back, puts black at penult, rushes red to peeling position at rover (he'd normally load it there from North boundary, but couldn't get it there given the close positions he had after 3back), and takes off to yellow at 4back. Makes the hoop and carries on.

CH: or will in a moment when reality catches up to my predictions...

GD: Sorry to interrupt. I made this slide pack of the 2-ball finish to the previous game and thought folks might find it interesting. It's worth downloading because it gives you a nice croquet lawn template to use for your own evil purposes :-)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13590554/FinalGame22ballending.pptx

Scrub that last one - Gareth is fixing the link.

CH: Breaking news! Robert fails penult from 1ft straight.

looks like he was trying to control a rush on the receiver (1y south). Oh dear. Malcolm has contact. Picture coming up.

hopefully that worked

CH: Malcolm takes contact from blue in the hoop, prodding in back through. Rushes Black South and loads it to 8y S of 2. Rushes red to 1, and carries on.

CH: Malcolm has a laid break and is up to h3. He has a ball at 4 and will be trying to peel his partner (Red) after 5. Odds are that we will be seeing a 4th game in this match.

CH: Lawn 3, Troy McCallum, having taken Game 1 off Terry Hopkins, is attempting to equalize in G2 (Terry has made 8). Lots of play left in that match.

CH: Back to lawn 1, Malcolm jawses peelee after 5 and all he has to do now is take a 4-ball break (with one simple rush-peel) to the peg to win game 3.

CH: Dum, de dum. All is going as predicted. Peel is done, 4ball break is under control, and Malcolm is making H9.

Malcolm takes Game 3, 26-16. Scores is 2games to 1 in Robert's favour

Clap clap. Bring on Game 4!

My guess is that there will be a lunch-break now, but stay tuned.

Lunch break it is. Come back in half an hour! (and make sure you eat lots of chocolate... it does wonders for your figure!)

CH: Half an hour is nearly up... turn those screens on folks!

CH: Robert plays red to supershot position (4y SSW of peg)
Malcolm plays Black to longest point on EB
Robert shoots down the line and looks good... but bounces off and ends up in C4

CH: Malcolm shoots at partner from A-balk - middles it.
19 spectators in the clubhouse now.

CH: Pity there aren't more spectators - they are all players from the Singles or Doubles, or managers.
Don't know what would be the best way to promote the event - maybe getting more players first? Its is a disappointing turn out really - 28 players in the doubles, 24 in the singles (not including plate only). A lot of people aren't here who would normally be expected to be (15 or so) and they can't all have good excuses.
Really we need more. This is the most prestigious AC event of our calendar. Fingers crossed that those planning to participate next year can encourage a friend or two to put their names in.

CH: Anyway, back to the game, Malcolm ignored Robert's Yellow in C4, rolled partner to h2, and had a good rush to 1. Now running 3 with plan to pick up the C4 ball after 4.

Robert will not be happy if he loses this game, let alone the match, given the way he mucked up the last one. If Malcolm does get through, it will be a great win though - he has been playing well, has loads of talent, and plenty of discipline when he has to apply himself on the lawn.

CH: Glad to see Malcolm 3 balling it even when others would be 4 balling. He's got the ball out of C4 but can't be bothered using it. Nice confidence. Heading for H7

CH: Malcolm does not do a spread. 2-4 is the name of the game, with a loose 2 ball (4y SW). Sets up just off EB slightly north of h5 with a rush to Red at h2.

CH: Robert lifts the h4 ball and plays down from B-balk. Not down the line - probably to avoid the hill - and hits the outside ball (Malcolm's h1). 1back leave coming up.

Back to sleep for 15 min.

CH: Confusion in the commentary box. Robert had an oppo ball at h1 for a cross wire, but has done some odd ball movement since. Seems to be continuing with his break. Might get a pop on Black at h1 after 6.

CH: Doesn't get an ideal rush down but may still do a pop after 2back.

CH: No pop. Looks like a diagonal spread for a leave according to Jenny. I'd 2-4, given that it would be Malcolm's 4back ball at 4. 1 hoop to make and we'll know.

(JC: Jenny is definitely nota diagonal spread person, but is slightly sleepy after all these early starts!)

CH: 2-4 it is. The 4 ball is Malcolm's 4back ball, the loose 2 ball (Black, for h1) is 6y SSW of 2.
This is the percentage option of Malcolm misses.

CH: Malcolm picks up his h1 ball and is taking the short shot at something from A-balk.
9 yard stalk...

CH: Misses red on the boundary.
Goodnight brother Mal?

JC: argh - Australian notation: UK uses MSL (balls tight at hoops 2 and 4) - Maugham Standard Leave, where you set the rush for partner to hoop 1 (well, slight cut rush). NSL (new standard leave) has the rush pointing at a ball which is SW of 2, and more in a diagonal spread position. i haven't yet worked out which of these leave Aussies mean when they say 2-4.

JC: Malcolm looked like he absolutely couldn't believe his shot had missed. He has shot fantastically this tournament.

CH: well... that makes 2 of us Jenny! To me a 2-4 is a ball tight on 2 and one tight on 4. Anything other than that at 2 is a loose 2-4. I am in the minority though...

CH: Robert jawses first peel after 3. Rushes back to it after 4, and knocks it through. On time tp still in hand.

CH: Robert jawses second peel after 6. Rushes to NB and loads hoop 8. On time tp still in hand.

CH: Robert Jawses third peel after 7. Rushes it after 8. 4ball break to finish.

CH: spectators are counted at 19. Only about 3 are watching now. Foregone conclusion... bickering over crossword and scrabble puzzles is far more interesting ;)

Robert defeats Malcolm in Game 3, 26tp-9, to take Aus Open Singles 3 games to 1

Spectators have degraded into dirty jokes. After such a good match, I'm off to spend time with civilized society.
Thanks for watching folks, and a special thanks from both Jenny and I to Gareth for his marvelous diagrams!
See you all next year!