Hakes hits 3rd turn of a c2 opening and sets a dream leave

Wise misses 4th turn so could be a ball round for Hakes

Hakes plays a poor rush to h1 and has a long hoop which he fails, Alison misses and he gets a second attempt which he makes no mistake about and should have a ball round

Hakes 5 and 1 vs 1 and a break from Wise

Wise now approaching 3b on a nice turn. Where was this in the last match??

I spoke to soon - he had made 2b so was going to be approaching 3b. Going up to the peg to get oppo tidied up for a spread he may have cross pegged himself

Plays a scatter and the lawn finishes like this.. G for h5 1ft S of 4, B for h1 1 ft SE of peg, W for 3b 9Y N of 3B, p for h1 near c4.
Hakes turns down the 6 yarder into the corner and takes the 10ish yarder. Misses badly

Hakes is now in a break with his h5 ball vs Wise for 4b and 2. The last 45 minutes has been awful in this match with no progression and lots of missed roquets between them. Fingers crossed it should get better from here

Hakes making an NSL, after 3b the positioning of the ball hills off to finish 1ft N of 3B. Will be balls in corners somewhere at the end of this turn.

Finishes with Wise' h2 ball on WB peg high, Hakes' 4B ball in c2 and his h1 ball EB 3yN of h5

Wise misses the lift and a bit of interaction, Hakes now setting a leave.

Hakes sorted himself out and finished in two turns. One peel of a TP completed and a good vertical spread. Wise missed and Hakes finished. Conditions today are very overcast and I'm hoping we don't get rain. Lawns 1 and 6 have been re-set today which influences the 2nd game between both Hakes and Wise (Lawn 1) and Fordyce and Tahurangi (Lawn 6). Most players have arrived and will be starting the warm up shortly.

Wise c2 opening, Hakes to EB, Wise either shoots or joins with partner in c2, Hakes hits in c2 and plays some nice shots including a roll out of c2 to establish a break. This is exactly the start he needed.

Hits 7y return after 3 into c3 and a good roll loading 5 going to the ball a few yards out of c4 and he should have control from here.

After some great strokes, fails h4. I'm not sure where from, but that's a shame. Wise with all the balls and a good chance for a break.

Wise hasn't made it past 1. Hakes has hit and now has a break - didn't see what he hit or how Wise broke down. Good chance to get to 4b.

Hakes looked like he had a very tight break, loads 2b after 5 and the rush to S of pioneer dribbles into the h6 pioneer so there won't be a 1b pioneer

Hakes has a clip on 1b - I didn't see the rush to it, or the hoop stroke, but Wise now has a laid break.

Wise in control approaching h3

Fails H4. Hakes hits with his 1b ball, looks in control, but has just run 3b to 5y S of 4b when attempting to make an NSL - I think he felt it was going to clip partner or the reception ball?

Hit's the gap on the way back so wise has a 1 yard lift with a very low chance of a break ahead of him. Hakes possibly rush peeled Wise when he stuck in h4 as we now have wise on 5 and 1 vs Hakes 4b and 1. Wise has the 1 yarder with his h5 ball

Wise lays up slightly inlawn with a rush to the ball on the SB. Hakes shifts his inlawn ball to c1. Good to see he's not shooting when there is no need.

A bit of interaction, Wise still on h5 and h1 with Hakes still on h1 and 4b.

Hakes misses a 6 yarder and wise has the chance for break if he can hit his 6 yarder.

I'm not sure how Wise got there, but he was sitting 6" in front of h5 with partner at h6 and Hakes' 4b ball as the reception ball at 5 with his h1 ball on EB peg high. Hakes hits the ball on EB and will be making a leave.

Wise has the innings, fails h5. Hakes misses the 12 yarder from h6 to the reception ball at 5 with his h1 ball and the peg now sits on a 15 degree angle

Wise has the same leave, him in front of 5 with partner at 6 and Hakes' h1 ball as the reception ball and his 4b ball near EB. Misses, but looked like a much more controlled pace.

Wise fails h1 and finishes with partner close by. Hakes 4b ball is at 1b and his h2 ball is 9 yards S of G and B. Will he take the 6 yarder for the innings or the 9 yarder for a potential finish?

Takes the 9 yarder and misses to NB. Good opportunity for Wise to get a ball round to 4b now.

Wise fails h6 with Hakes' h2 ball as a reception ball. Standard TP on offer...

Shilling has just won the 3rd 26-1 against Roberts

Jawses 4b after 3.. I'm looking for a few sayings to spice up the commentary. Email with any rhyming or croquet slang you'd like me to include and I'll get it done

Rush peeled after 4, will have a difficult approach from at least 3 yards to h5

Aprroach is from 5yN of 5. This is a very tough hoop so needs an excellent shot here

Plays it will. 18" straight and good reception ball 2yE of peg

Re-stalks. Hows your donald?

Very good hoop and has a 3y rush to c3

Hasn't got the 2nd peel and will be playing for a death roll.. if he can run 1b after his 3y approach leaves him 18" 20 degrees

Another good recovery shot. Doesn't get a northwards rush on reception ball so should just leave ball at penault and load 3b to get the control again. I think he's going to play for the big cut and croquet stroke to obtain the chance to get the peel?

Sensible option and back in control. Approaching 2b now

Doesn't get a rush out of 3b but has a good 4b pioneer if he gets the rush in front of penault

overrolls it and finishes with a rush on peele pointing at h4 so it will need to be a straight double

Makes 4b, peele sitting 1ft straight in front of rover

penault*

Gets the first peel but backwards ball either bounced off the wire into an unrunable position. Penault and rover vs 6 and 1. Wise with a choice of 4 yarders

Wise has not made a hoop but has the innings, plays a defensive 5y approach to h1

Good shot and has a 1ft hoop

Through to oppo but very tough to make h2

Wise has a leave, laid up in c1 with a rush to the ball near h4 and a ball 2yE of h2. Good leave.

Hakes smashes into c1, didn't look happy with the shot but he will get multiple opportunities to hit

Wise uses Hakes' ball in c1, rushes partner to 2yN of peg on WB and approaches h2

Good shot, 1y straight h2 with good reception ball

Takes a break round, was looking like a good turn and a clip is now on 3b with Hakes having a 7y lift

Misses!

Nope, it wobbled, that was lucky

Doesn't get anything out of it. Wise has now made 3b not giving a lift

Looks like he is going to the peg. Good option I think

Wise for peg and h6 vs penault and rover. Leave is Wise laid up on WB with a rush to c1 with his peg ball and Hakes near the peg and 2y off EB peg high. Hakes lifts the ball near the peg (rover clip) and hits down the line. Will he attempt to make rover and Peg green off to be Penault and peg vs 6 or Penault vs 6 alone?

Hakes fails to get in front of rover and aborts back to partner

Makes a leave, Wise hits a 15 yarder with his peg ball

Hakes has a choice of 13 yarders... shooting from 2y NE of peg to Wises' balls 4yN of h3

Never likes it, Wise has all the balls and needs to take a break from h6 to peg to force the 3rd

Rushes to 3yW of h6 and doesn't approach, instead rolls partner to 1yn of 1b and gets a rush to 6 on the ball which was 4.5y W of h2

Good rush to 1.5yS of h6

Grovels through 6 by a maximum of mm's . Looks like a relatively straightforward 3y roquet but Roberts is called to watch

Misses.

Hakes has made penault, rover and is looking to peg two off. Leaves partner 1yN of rover and 1b ball 7y SW of h3

Wise misses, Hakes runs rover, lags near peg. Wise misses, Hakes misses, Wise misses and Hakes pegs out to take the match 2-0