Good morning from Hurlingham.

Pleasant sunshine for now.
There are new hoops for today: the Quadways.

Robert Fletcher v Jose Riva
Matthew Essick v Mark Avery
Alain Giraud v Thomas Balding
Logan McCorkindale v Rober Fulford

The lawn allocation is yet to be done.

Only 4 of yesterday's 31 games had no letters. 26 TPs, 1 TPO.

I've done my usual head-to-head research on today's pairings.
Mark Avery beat Matt Essick twice in 2016.
Er... that's it.
The other three matches have zero history.

Another stat for you:
Robert Fletcher is the only player to win a World Championship without dropping a game (2013).
He is 9 games away from repeating the feat!

The lawn allocation is done using a smartphone with a randomizer.
Fletcher v Riva will be on lawn 4.
Essick v Avery lawn 3
Giraud v Balding lawn 2
McCorkindale v Fulford lawn 1.

Lots of Platers hanging around, but they'll be off to the cricket pitch soon.
No-one's practising yet.

Plate Draw is being done, so it will soon be less crowded.
They've started practising on lawn 2.

Everyone is practising.
Now they're drawing for lawns for the plate, so they should be gone before play starts in the main event.

There's been some excitement this week hasn't there?
TPOs, wins +1, that sort of thing.
Let's hope for some more today.

No-one's started yet.
I bet they all start at the same time to annoy the commentator.

L2T1 Giraud Yellow to east boundary. ~12y N of IV
T2 Balding Black to just S of II
T3 Giraud Red at Yellow form A-baulk. Misses.

L3T1 Avery Blue east bdry.
L3T2 Essick Red just S of II
L3T3 Avery Black at Blue from A-baulk. Misses.

L2T4 Balding Balck hits Red from B-baulk, rushing it 9yW of IV.
Take off to yellow is good.

L3T4 Essick Yellow hits Blue, rushing it to 4th corner.

L4 There are three balls in the middle of the lawn.
L4T4 Fletcher has 13-yarder with another ball in the background. Misses.

L2 Balding has done well to pick up break.

L3T4 Essick has leave, with Red Yellow having rush to 1 from near 1st corner.

L4T5 Riva Yellow hits 3-yarder, croquets Blue to 2, poor rush some way from Black.
Now rolling to 1 from near south bdry. Looks good. 2 or 3' hoop, he's thru and away.

L3T5 Avery corners.
L3T6 Essick Red makes 1, rushes Yellow near black in 3rd corner.
Nice little take-off, rushes Black a bit too hard, 4' slightly angled hoop, through, but you couldn't call it a break yet.

L2 Balding has reached hoop 6.

L3 Essick fails 5' hoop 3.
L3T7 Avery Black has 10-yarder. Misses.

Sorry for lack of news from lawn 1.
It appears Fulford has stuck in hoop 3, McCorkindale missed 4-yarder at ball in hoop. Not sure how much he could see.
Maybe the new hoops are provoking errors.

Riva, Balding continue with their breaks.
Essick approaching 4 sending ball to 5.
Angled hoop 4, maybe 35 degrees?
Essick fails 4.

Fulford has 4-ball break. Just made hoop 4.

L3T9 Avery Blue hits Red (6y).
Rushes Black 3y NE of hoop 1.
Good take-off approach.
Some work to do to get break.

L2T4 Balding has made 9, diagonal spread.

L4T5 Riva Yellow is thru 1-back. Leaves Blue as the MSL ball, that will need further adjustment.

L3T9 Avery has break.

L2T5 Giraud lifts Yellow from by the peg to B-baulk. Misses to 4th corner.

L1 Fulford thru 1-back with all the balls.

Because of the terracing, I can't see Red on lawn 2. And now I can't see Blue either. Here's the rush to hoop 1... not great.
Balding takes off to 1 from 4 or 5y, makes it.

L4T5 Riva has left Black as the NSL ball at 4. Now he's taking off to tidy up Blue near 2. Rushes Blue off W bdry.

L2T6 Balding has 3-ball break (Yellow still in 4th corner.)

L3 Avery has reached 1-back.

L1 The ref is on to do some gardening by the peg.
Looks like Fulford has made 9 and is having a spread.

L4T6 Fletcher lifts Black from 4 to just out of 3rd corner.
Misses to 4th corner.

L3 Avery has just sent his 3-back pioneer into hoop 5. It does not look in good shape.

L3 Red not as bad as I thought: Avery rushes it near 3-back (1y NE).
Yellow has already been abandoned on the west bdry, peg-high.

L2 Balding setting up for delayed TP, but doesn't get rush after 5. Good roll.

L3 Avery has made 9, leaves Red (for 4) 6y NE of 4, Black just S of II, Blue 1' S of Black. Yellow peg-high on W bdry.

L3 Essick plays Yellow as it lies, snicks Blue 10' E of Black. Good take-off, good rush.

L4 Riva Red fails to get rush to 1. Big pass roll approach, yields long hoop,runs it to Yellow, rushes Yellow back to 1, couple of good strokes and he has a break.

L2 Balding has reached 3-back with one peel of his triple done.

L1 Fulford lining up first peel of a standard TP.

L2 Essick setting up for TPO, but a couple of poor strokes and he's not n front of 3. Good scatter.

Sorry that was L3.

On L2 Balding peels partner thru penult before 4-back.

Avery hits 27-yarder.

L1 Fulford doesn't appear to have made his first peel yet.

L4 Riva peels partner thru 4-back before 6.

L3 Avery was forced to play his forward ball, so leave coming up.

L4 Riva blobs 6.

L2T6 Balding attempting straight rover peel.
Irish peel, both balls thru, but peelee is off the lawn!

L3 Essick Red at Blue (23y)...

... Essick hits!

L3 clips: Essick Red 4, Yellow 3; Avery Blue 4-bak, Black 1.

L1 Still no peel from Fulford. He's rushing to 2-back from some distance. His 3-back pioneer is at 4-back.

Essick Red has made 4, and has chance for break.

L1 Lookslike Fulford got the 4-back peel before 3-back.

L3 Essick has 4-ball break.

L4 Fletcher has 4-ball break.

L2 Giraud has 4-ball break.

L1 Fuford fails 3-back.
I must have missed some interaction, as McCorkindale doesn't have a lift. Hits 8-yarder.

L4 Fletcher aiming for a 1-back leave!

L3 Essick Red's clip will be on 4-back. Blue is 7y E of peg, Black 6: W of peg. Yellow on W bdry 12y S of 2nd corner, with 4 or 5' rush on Red into lawn.

L4 clips: Fletcher Blue 1-back, Black 1; Riva Red 6, Yellow penult.

L3 Avery Black at Yellow from B-baulk. Misses.

L4 leave: Red 4y SSW of 1, Yellow 2y NNE of 1. Black in 3rd corner, Blue 2y W and a bit south of Black.

L3 Essick is not in front of 3 again, but this time he can attempt hoop. Nice jump thru.

L4 Riva misses 36-yarder.

L3 Essick will be trying a delayed TP.

L2 Giraud has just run 2-back.

L1 McCorkindale has reached hoop 6.

L4 is where the fun is. Will Fletcher be trying for the sextuple, with the DPO as a back-up plan?

L3 Essick Yellow peels Red thru 40-back before 6.

L2 Giraud has made 9. MSL, but neither ball tight enough to preclude being rushed to the peg.

L2 Clips: Giraud Red 4-back, Yellow 1; Balding Blue peg, Black peg.

L4 Fletcher Black aiming to peel Blue thru 1-back after 2, but unhappy with position.

L2 Balding lifts ball by hoop 4 to B-baulk. Hits, rushing it off \S bdry, similar to his hit on T4.
Long take--off to Red, looks short of ideal.
Cuts Red to end of B-baulk.

L3 Essick Yellow makes 2-back off Red.

L4 Fletcher fails to rush peelee in front of 1-back before 4.

L2 Balding has 4 or 5y peg-out. Gets it.

Balding wins game 1 +17 v Giraud.

All matches are best-of-5.

L3 Essick fails to peel partner thru penult before 4-back.

L3 Straight double peel required by Essick to finish this turn.
Peeling from close-range, thru nicely,peelee 2y NW of rover.

L2G2T1 Balding Blue supershot, 2y SW of peg.

L3 Essick's rush of peelee to rover a bit short.
Angled peel.
Red stops in jaws of hoop.
Ref is called on to watch Yellow jump.
Good half-jump.

L1 Fulford hits.

Essick wins game 1 +17tp v Avery.

L2 I'm guessing T2 Giraud Red nr 2nd corner.
T3 Balding hits Red, rolls down, long take-off approach, gets it, picks up 3-ball break.

L3G2T1 Essick Black 3y NW of 5.
T2 Avery misses Black, ends up 2y SE of 6.

L3G2T3 Essick Blue gently at Red from B-baulk. Hits.

L4 Fletcher Black peels Yellow thru penult after 6.
His 1-back pioneer is poor, and leads to failed hoop.

L4 Ref is on to check for jamming.

L2G2T3 Balding fails 4
T4 Giraud hits 8-yarder.

L3G2T3 Essick has 3-ball break.

L4 No jam.
Riva has 4-yarder with forward ball, but he takes on 10-yarder with Red.
Hits for instant break.

L2G2T4 Giraud has 4-ball break.

L1 Fulford needs straight rover peel to win game 1.

L3G2T3 Essick has made 9.

Fulford wins game 1 +17 v McCorkindale.

L3G2T4 Avery misses from A-baulk (16y)

L1G2T1 Fulford Black 4y NW of 5.
T2 McCorkindale Red just N of 4th corner.
T3 Fulford Blue at Red, misses (13y).

L3G2T5 Essick fails to get going.
T6 Avery hits 20+-yarder.

L1G2T4 McCorkindale hits 13y target.

L2 Giraud has made 9.

I return to the Manager's tent to find Riva has broken down.
L4 clips: Fletcher Blue 1-back, Black on break at 2-back; Riva Red penult, Yellow rover.

L3 Avery has picked up break. Declined to go for TPO.

L2 MSL
L2G2T5 Balding lifts ball from 4 to B-baulk, misses to 4th corner.

L4 Fletcher cannot make 4-back as that would concede contact.

L3 Avery will be making a 1-back leave.

L1 McCorkindale going round 4th turn.

L2 Giraud fails 1.
Balding misses 14-yarder.

L2 Giraud has a 6-yard pick-up, somewhat hampered. Ref is on. Misses.

L4 In making leave, Fletcher accidentally rushes one ball into another.

L4 Fletcher is halfway between 4 and 5, rolling both balls off near 2nd corner.

L3 Black is 3y WSW of 1, Blue 2y ENE of 1.
Essick tries jump over 1 with Black, but the ball doesn't land soon enough.

L2 Balding picks up break.

L4 Riva hits with Yellow.

L3 Avery's hoop 1 is more angled than it should be. He copes, but has no rush. Good roll then and he'll be going for TPO.

L4 Riva's rush to rover was not the best, so it will be a leave.

Clips: Fletcher Blue 1-back, Black 4-back; Riva Red penult, Yellow rover.

L1 McCorkindale has made 9. Something went wrong with the leave, so he has a wide join on the east bdry.
Fulford hits 13-yarder.

L4 Fletcher missed 20-yarder.

L3 First peel of Avery's standard TPO is made.

L4 Riva now rover and rover.
Fletcher Blue hits 25-yarder.

L1 Fulford has break.

L2 Balding has made 9. He's now 4 and 4-back. He has MSL, "forcing" Yellow to play.
But Giraud lifts Red to A-baulk. Misses.

L3 Avery does not get penult peel after 6.

L4 Fletcher has break, with the correct parity for a straight triple peel.

L3 Avery might have been contemplating a peel on partner, but completing the TPO much more important.
He's going for death roll before 2-back. Peelee goes well thru, but he's shy of his 2-back pioneer. Knocks it south of the hoop, take-off approach, hoop failed.

L2 Balding has delayed TP ahead of him.

L1 Fulford has reached 1-back. I think there may have been some POPping.

L3 Essick has 4-ball break. Just the one peel required.

L2 Balding is off the lawn. His clip is on 6. Not sure what happened?

L4 Fletcher didn't get posi for STP.

L3 Essick jawses rover peel after 5.

L2 Giraud has leave.

L2 Balding hits 27-yarder.

L3 Essick rush-peels rover before 3-back.

L4 Fletcher has reached 4-back and peg v Riva rover + rover.
Diagonal spread.
Riva lifts the ball near the west bdry to B-baulk.
Misses. Can't believe it.
By the way isn't there a time limit?

Essick wins game 2 +13, leads Avery 2-0

L4 Fletcher's rush to 4-back is poor. His approach sends the croqueted ball within an inch of the boundary. Clubs thru hoop.

L2 Balding has picked up break with his backward ball.

Fletcher has 10' peg-out.

Fletcher wins game 1 +4 v Riva.

L1 clips: McCorkindale Red 3, Yellow 4-back; Fulford Blue 1 Black 4-back.
Two POPs by Fulford.
Must have missed a turn somewhere, but Fulford is on the lawn.

L2 clips: Giraud Red 1, Yellow 4-back; Balding Blue 4-back Black peg.
Reverse almost horizontal spread.

Fulford has another leave.

L2 Giraud lifts Red to shoot from B-baulk at Yellow by the peg. Misses.

L1 McCorkindale misses 23-yarder.
Surely Fulford will pick up break this time?

L2 Balding's finishing turn echoes Fletcher's: not the best rush to 4-back, almost croquets ball off lawn.

Balding is excellent at take-offs. Should finish.

Balding wins game 2 +17, leads Giraud 2-0.

L1 Fulford should get standard TP.

Fulford gets first peel after 3.

L2 and L3 are lunching, but L4 is not.
Riva's red clip has advanced to hoop 3.
Fletcher black 1 makes 1, has 6-yard return roquet which he rushes off S bdry.
Red is at 2, Yellow is near 4th corner.

L4 Blue is croqueted to 3, Black hits Yellow. Long take-off to Red... hits the peg! Leaves himself 9-yarder. Misses.

L4 Riva Red takes on 9-yarder at Black. Blue is waiting at 3 if he hits. He does hit!

L4 Riva's big croquet stroke is OK. He's thru 3, but no rush. Another big croquet stroke. Rushes ball off S bdry behind 4. Takes off to Yellow in 4th corner. No rush. Drive out of corner gives 4 or 5' hoop. Thru to boundary and he has 4-ball break.

Back to L1.
Fulford is for 4-back, and has done two peels of his TP. Peelee well placed at rover.

Fulford's Irish peel goes well.

Fulford wins game 2 +15tp, leads McCorkindale 2-0

L4 Riva's break not the tidiest, but he is round to 4-back.
Diagonal spread, with Yellow / Red further south than usual - maybe 8y N of 4th corner.

L4 Fletcher lifts Black to A-baulk, shooting at Yellow (15y).
Hits centre-ball.

L4 Fletcher picks up break.
Presumably he'll repeat his 1-back tactics.

Fletcher has the balls for the TPO should he wish.
He does not so wish.

One-back leave it will be.

L3 restarts.
L3G3T1 Avery Blue 2y NW of 5.
T2 Essick Yellow 13y N of 4th corner.
T3 Avery Black misses Yellow from A-baulk.

L3G3T4 Essick Red at Black / Yellow from B-baulk. Hits.

L4 Riva has 32-yarder. Misses. Looked close.

L3 Essick has break.

L2G3T1 Giraud Red 3y W of peg.
T2 Balding Blue 4y E peg.
T3 Giraud Yellow from B-baulk at Blue. misses to 2y NE of 5.
T4 Baling misses target from B-baulk.

Players seem agreed that these hoops are making a difference.
Quadways are in use for the first time today.

L4 Fletcher Blue peels Black thru 1-back before 1.

Fletcher plays an excellent croquet stroke to rescue control.
Red is at 3, waiting to be TPOed

L2G3T5 Giraud has break.

L3G3T4 Essick has made 9. MSL.

L3G3T5 Avery lifts Black from hoop 4 to B-baulk.
Misses Yellow to 4th corner.
Will that prove to be his last shot of the tournament?

L3G3T6 Essick Yellow rushes Red excellently to 1.

L4 Fletcher Blue does not peel Red thru 4-back after 3. May be rush-peelable..

L3 Essick has not dug Black out of 4th corner yet, so the TP will be delayed.

L1G3T1 McCorkindale goes 2y NW of 5.
T2 Fulford just S of 2nd corner.
T3 McCorkindale misses.
T4 Fulford hits. Cannon, we think.

L4 Fletcher rushes north after 4, sends yellow to 6, rush-peels red but blue ricochets into yellow, knocking yellow 5y S of 2nd corner.
Good pass roll.

L4 The crowd is mystified by Fletcher's play. He is now running 5 with 2 balls at 6, Yellow still on W bdry.
He gets too much wire at 5, but hits 9-yarder.

L3 Essick gets 4-back peel before 6.

L1 Fulford has break.

L2 Giraud has made 9, MSL.

L2 For (at least) the third time, Balding hits the long lift, rushing it off south boundary.

L4 Fletcher Blue jawses Red in penult after 6.

L2 Balding picks up break.

L3 Essick Yellow peels Red thru penult before 4-back.

L4 Fletcher Blue rush-peels Red thru penult before 3-back. Don't think it's quite good enough to attempt rover peel in the next stroke.

L4 Fletcher rolls eastward, trying to set up posi such that he can rush red back to rover after 3-back to get the peel.

Essick wins game 3 +26tp, and the match 3-0

L4 It'll have to be a straight rover peel to finish the TPO.
Will Fletcher be having 2 balls off?

L1 Fulford has made 9, diagonal spread.

L4 Fletcher takes off to penult pioneer from rover. Cross-wired himself! Has to run an angled hoop 6 hard to hit it. Does hit it, but rushes Black off N bdry. Roll-up leaves tough angled hoop. Bounces off to east boundary.

L1 McCorkindale must have hit the lift. He's thru hoop 1.

L4 Riva fails 1.

L3 Balding has made 9. NSL.

L4 Fletcher Black hits 14-yarder. May finish this turn.

L2 Giraud misses "long" lift (18y).

L2 Balding has grovelled thru 3 and is hampered. Ref is on. Copes.

L4 Fletcher Black jawses Blue in penult before 4-back.

L1 McCorkindale has reached 6.

L4 Fletcher is irish peeling penult with peelee in middle of the hoop. That should be good enough.

Fletcher wins game 2 +14, leads Riva 2-0.

L2 Balding is attempting delayed TP.

L1 McCorkindale has left ball in back of 1.

L2 Balding fails 4-back peel before 6.

L1 McCorkindale is adjusting red at 1. Seems unhappy. Has red gone too far thru 2-back?
Blue goes to 4th corner.
Clips: McCorkindale blue 4-back black 1; Fulford red 4-back yellow 1.

Sorry Yellow is for hoop 2.

Yellow is the NSL ball. He appears to be able to hit blue. He does so.
That was all a bit odd.

L2 Balding had his 2-back pioneer at 4-back, so he was able to get the first peel of his triple.

L1 I guess McCorkindale was upset that red would rush to 2. Still don't understand him going to 4th corner.

L2 Balding blue peels black through penult before 4-back.

L1 Fulford runs 3 by 9" , has hampered 7-yarder. Ref is on. Fulford misses.

L1 blue has 3-yarder, black has 9-yarder.
McCorkindale plays blue.

Balding wins game 3 +17tp, and the match 3-0.

L1 Fulford red has 18-yarder. Hits.

L4 Riva supershot.
Fletcher east of peg.
Riva dribbled, hit. Failed 1.
Fletcher hit 6-yarder, has break.

L4G3T4 Fletcher Black to 4-back.
MSL,

L1 McCorkindale misses 25-yarder.
Fulford has rush out of 2nd corner, with 2 balls near 4th corner.

L4 Fletcher black has not got the ball at hoop 4 in the right spot. It can be seen from A-baulk. So he's come to the west boundary, and is rushing red to the east boundary.

L4G3T5 Riva lifts Red to A-baulk. Misses Yellow.

L1 Fulford attempts 4-back peel before 6. Not thru.

L1 Fulford rush-peels 4-back before 1-back. Peelee to 2-back.

L4G3T6 Fletcher Blue hits Black in 2nd corner. Takes off to Red. Croquets Red to peg getting rush on Yellow. Makes 1, again with more wire than he wanted. "Rushes" Yellow 9y S of 2nd corner. Rolls Yellow north of 2 going to Black. Big croquet stroke...

... Black is at 3, but Blue is shy of Red.
Fletcher is taking off to 2 from by the peg.
Blue is 4 or 5 foot in front of hoop.
Blue is rejected.

L1 Fulford has made the penult peel before 4-back.

L4 Riva Yellow misses 6-yarder.
Fletcher Blue misses 14-yarder.

L4 Riva misses 20-yarder.

L4 Fletcher hits 6-yarder. Red and Yellow joined up near 4th corner.

Fulford wins game 3 +17tp, and the match 3-0.

Fletcher Blue has made hoop 2, rushes Yellow to 4th corner. Yellow to 4 with rush on Red to Black at 3.
ie Ideal position for standard TP.

Fletcher runs 3 too far to keep peelee in position, so the TP is delayed.

Fletcher Blue peels Black thru 4-back before 6.

Fletcher Blue is making 2-back off Black.

Yellow is waiting by penult in case Blue can rush Black after 2-back.
He's given himself a chance...
Clubbed it 4 yards past.
Red, the 3-back pioneer, is halfway between 4 and 5.

Fletcher overhits a croquet shot and he doesn't have rush on Red.
Nice approach. Through with forward rush.

Fletcher Blue fails to peel Black thru penult before 4-back. Black bounces off 2y to the east.

Fletcher Blue rushes Black to 2' in front of penult.
Will this be irish?
Yep. Black goes thru, bounces off peg to 3y NW of rover.
Blue hits wire, but lands in front.

Fletcher Blue rushes Black to one yard in front of rover.

He's got a side ball and a deep ball.
Fletcher peels Balck, but Blue bounces off wire to somwhere unrunnable.
Blue retires to 2nd corner.

Riva still for 1 and 1.

I'm surprised Fletcher didn't play a stop shot peel there.

Yellow wasn't ideal for rushing to 1. Riva approaches from the side, overhit, runs angled hoop.
He runs it well, so has to hit Black near 6.
Take-off back to Yellow. Again overhit. I think he's cross-wired himself.

Runner confirms perfect cross-wire.

Fletcher Black at Yellow (17y). Misses.

Riva Red hits Black (5y).
Croquets Black to 3 getting rush on Yellow.
Rushes Yellow 4y south of 2.
Rolls up, 3' hoop.
Runs it to boundary.
Declines 6-yarder at Blue in the corner.
Hits Yellow, takes off to Blue.
Big croquet stroke coming up...

Not bad. Blue 5y NNW of 4, Red can rush Black nearer to hoop 3.
Gets a lot of wire running hoop 3, which gives him forward rush. ("Murray control")

Riva is rolling up to 6 from some yards (4 or 5). Which indicates imperfect play.
5' hoop, run to boundary where a ball is waiting.

Riva's 2-back pioneer is 7y north of hoop. He's not making it look an easy game.

Pretty good rush to 2-back. And a good 3-back pioneer.

Looks like Riva is aiming for a diagonal spread with Blue at the peg.

Clips: Fletcher Blue rover, Black peg; Riva Red 4-back, Yellow 1.

Looks a decent spread.
Fletcher lifts Blue to B-baulk. Shooting at Yellow (20y).
Misses to 4th corner.

Riva Yellow rushes Red to Black, Black to 1.
He's thru 1, with a rush that appears to be pointing to 4th corner.
Rushes Black 3y W of Blue.
Croquets Black in lawn, knocks Blue north a bit.
Hogan roll coming up!

From 4th corner (more or less), Riva is trying to send Blue to 3 going to Red at 2.
Not bad at all.
Black is only 2 or 3y NW of 4th corner. He'll definitely need a rush after 3.

Riva Yellow has Red 4y S of hoop 3. Runs 3 past red, Little roquet isn't ideal, he can't go for peel now. Rushes Blue off S bdry behind 4.

Riva Yellow now playing stop-shot approach to 4. Good enough.

Blue is not far enough north for the normal delayed 4-back peel before 6.
Riva has made 5 and rushed Black eastwards.
Black is sent between 6 and 1-back.
Riva appears to be lining up peel, leaving a less than ideal rush on Blue.
Peel hits wire full, Blue is cut 4y S of 6.
Rolls up, 3' hoop, run to boundary.

Black is maybe 3y SE of 1-back, not really where you want it.
Riva Yellow can rush-peel red, sorry it didn't look like that from here.
Riva then aims to send Red to 2-back, but it collides with Blue.
Makes 1-back off Black.

After the collision the nearest ball to 2-back is at the peg.
Riva copes with 2-back, plays a good roll after 2-back and the delayed TP is almost back on track.

Riva gets forward rush after 3-back. Blue (4-back pioneer) is 3y NE of peg.
Riva Yellow peels Red thru penult before 4-back. Gets cut rush to 4-back.

Now Riva needs straight rover peel.

Irish peel goes well.

Take-off for rush to the peg does not go well, but a good cut leaves 10' peg-out...

Riva wins game 3 +3tp. Fletcher leads 2-1.

G4T1 Fletcher Blue 4y SW of peg
T2 Riva Yellow at Blue gently. Ends up 1y east of peg.
T3 Fletcher makes target from A-baulk. Shoots hard, clips Blue.

T3 Fletcher rolling up to 1 from S bdry (and not in front). Overhit.
The Blue ball is only 10y or so from B-baulk.

T3 Fletcher Black goes to 4th corner.
T4 Riva Red at Blue from B-baulk (10y). Hits, rushing it into 1st corner. Good roll out, but undercuts rush. Good approach. 4' hoop. Rejected.

T5 Fletcher Blue at Yellow (15y). Hits centre ball for first break.

T5 After 1, Fletcher Blue rushes Red into 4th corner for cannon.

Not the best cannon I've ever seen, but one good roll and Fletcher has 4-ball break.

I'm not expecting anything other than a solid ball to 4-back here.

Smoke from the barbecue is drifting across the lawns.
And there might be a wedding going on.

Fletcher is thru hoop 6. Not a 1-back leave.

At Nottingham the other week, Fletcher told me he's not a strategic sextupler, but sometimes it's tactically correct.

After 1-back, Red is croqueted near the peg, then Yellow is rushed a bit too close to Black for comfort.
No worries, he smashes thru 2-back to the boundary.

On lawn 3 we have a Plate quarter-final. Jenny Clarke is 1-0 up (best-of-3), but Alison Maugham has chance of STP. But peelee doesn't go far enough thru, so she can't avoid hoop and roquet. Big lead though, should be penult and peg v 1 and 3.

Fletcher has made 9.
Diagonal spread with Red at the peg.

Riva lifts Yellow to B-baulk. Hits Black (20y), rushing it off S bdry.

Riva rolls Black, dices with east bdry but he has a rush on Blue. Good rush of Red to 1 and he's away.

Riva might be contemplating TPO!

Nope.

Riva was going for a 1-back leave, but didn't run hoop 6 cleanly. Luckily he had rush to 1-back so the break continues.

Riva has made 9.
Diagonal spread.
Experts are discussing whether the western ball is too far off boundary.
They'd prefer something more defensive.

Fletcher lifts Black from by the peg to B-baulk. Misses to 4th corner.

Riva makes 1 off Blue, with some wire it must be said.
Now Riva makes 2 off Yellow. Black is still in 4th corner.

Riva now has 4-ball break. He's sending his hoop 6 pioneer to 4-back, again it's too far south.

After 5 Black is sent to 4-back in order to do the 4-back peel before 1-back.
Red makes 6 off Blue.

Riva Red peels Yellow thru 4-back before 1-back.
Reasonable rush to 1-back.

Riva Red makes 1-back off Black, rushes back to B-baulk,
Black to 3-back, rushes Yellow west, good take-off to Blue at 2-back.

Riva Red is now taking off from Yellow at penult to Black at 3-back.
Overhits, might not get forward rush after hoop.
Hoop and roquet propels Black northward a few yards.

Riva Red peels Yellow thru penult before 4-back.

Riva Red is croqueting Yellow to rover before penult. That's poor, 4y shy of hoop.

Riva Red rushes Yellow to where exactly?
Hmm, angled peel. Twenty degrees, maybe one yard...

Riva has side ball and deep ball.
Red plays Yellow into front of rover.
Red jumps over Yellow thru hoop to boundary.

Red fails to rush Black to bombard position.
Riva will have to use Blue for the bombardment.

Blue is 2y N of Yellow.
Blue promotes Yellow thru by a yard.
But where's red gone? Well it's stayed on the lawn.
Red misses 8-yarder at Yellow.

Red collided with Blue so we have a 4 balls at rover leave.

Clips: Fletcher Blue 4-back, Black 1; Riva peg and peg.

Fletcher Black is thru 1.
You'd expect the World No.1 to finish here, but he's not exactly had an error-free day.

Fletcher Black jawses Blue in 4-back after 3.

After 4, Fletcher Black rushes Red north.
Red is sent to 6, Blue is rush-peeled thru 4-back.
I hate these 20-yard take-offs, but he plays it well enough.

After 5 Fletcher Black rushes Yellow off east bdry, sends Yellow to 1-back getting rush on Blue. (Good stroke!)

After 6, Fletcher Black jawses Blue in penult.

Fletcher's 1-back pioneer was a bit far north, so his 2-back pioneer is 7y N of hoop.
I don't imagine that will be a problem.

After 1-back, Fletcher Black rushes Yellow east, sends Yellow to 3-back, rush-peels blue thru penult to by the peg.
Take-off to red. Makes 2-back.

Some consolation games have been played at Wimbledon.
Apparently the lawns are slow, but it' still an experience!

Fletcher will not be having the rover peel before 3-back.

But he might be having it after 3-back.
It's the last chance to avoid a straight rover peel.

Blue looks to be in the middle of rover.
Black has rush on Yellow.

Maybe Blue isn't right in the middle.
A deep ball is sent out.

Now Blue is in the jaws.
Irish peel.

Fletcher wins game 4 +2tp, and the match 3-1.

Both semi-finals will be Robert F. v an American.

At the start of the day, I was convinced this year's World Champion would be called Robert.
Matthew Essick has been the most impressive player today. Thomas Balding has shot and played well.
If they continue their form, we might have two interesting matches.

See you at 9:30 tomorrow.

Cheers for now, Andrew