Author: Hugh Bray

On Saturday 4^th and Sunday, 5^th August, Chester Croquet Club will be hosting an All England golf croquet tournament in Westminster Park. This is the third year the club’s offer to host one of the Croquet Association’s national tournaments has been accepted and we are delighted that it attracts competitors from across the country who often combine it with a stay in Chester.

Games will be in progress from about 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, 4^th August, and again on Sunday morning, 5^th August, with the finals being played on Sunday afternoon finishing around 3 pm. We would like to extend a welcome to anyone who would like to visit the event at any time over the weekend and see some first class, international standard croquet.

In the pouring rain on Sunday 29^th July the Chester Short Lawn Association Croquet team struggled against an in-form team from Bowdon. Chester finally lost 9 games to 7 after a hard fought match. The Chester team was Sarah Andrew (Captain), Roger Edwards, Barbara Jones and a new player, James Thomas. 21 year old James only started learning the complex game of Association Croquet in April, so it was very pleasing that he managed to win his game against the best player in the Bowdon team.

There were mixed fortunes for Chester croquet club this week after last week’s successes.

Bowdon beat Chester 3-2 in a close match in the North West advanced B league on Saturday 15^th July. David Boyd and Robin Tasker played well to beat strong opponents in the afternoon, but the match was really decided in the doubles in the morning when one of the Bowdon team made an outstanding break after time and scored the deciding hoop. Jerry Guest was the captain.

In the level play league held on Wednesday 18^th July the Chester team of Pat Clare (captain), Chris Thomas and Paul Taylor was beaten 13-5 at Culcheth by a team of lower handicaps, playing on lawns that had absolutely no grass. A lot of the games were close, being decided at the golden hoop, but the opportunities were not taken. Some good croquet was played on the enjoyable day.

Chester croquet club has status as a community amateur sports club and often hosts community groups throughout the season, such as Mensa, Round Table, Rotary etc. On Friday 20^th July, Cheshire WI put on an event at the club when 32 ladies from different groups in the county came to have a try at croquet. The day was led by Maureen Ivens. The ladies were given a short introductory talk, then went out on the lawns with volunteers to get used to holding a mallet, hitting balls and running hoops before finishing with a game. They all really enjoyed the experience.

It was a very successful week for Chester croquet club in both regional and national competitions.

Chester visited Southport on Wednesday 11^th July for a North West Federation mid-week association match. The lawns were bumpy and a bit sparse of grass, but the weather was warm and not too hot. Chester won by 4 games to 3, with 7 of the 8 games going to time and most being low scoring. Chester fielded a strong team with John Dawson, Alan Clare, Robin Tasker and Paul Taylor against an inexperienced Southport side.

In the national knock out Mary Rose competition held on Thursday 12^thJuly, the Chester team of Mark Lloyd, Jerry Guest, John Dawson and David Boyd beat Bowdon 6-1. Chester now play Nottingham in the next round. Mark had to play speedily as he was appearing as Joseph in the Mystery plays at Chester cathedral in the evening!

On Saturday 14^th July Chester hosted Bury Caesars in the NW Handicap League winning 5-2 and thus retaining their season’s 100% record. Chester led 3-0 at the lunch interval following singles wins for Michael Miller and Richard Smith, and for Sarah Andrew and Robin Tasker in the doubles. The afternoon singles were shared in some tight games on fast lawns with Richard and Robin both winning their games. Richard in particular played some exceptional croquet in his two victories.

A very hot, sunny day on Sunday 15^th July saw Chester winning at Fylde in the NW Federation short lawn competition. The team of Jayne Taylor (captain), Sally Slater, Barbara Jones and Maureen Corrigan won 12-4.

The croquet lawns are extremely dry after weeks of no rain, and there has been concern about the state of them, particularly for the upcoming national competition in August, but the club members have recently been able to take advantage of using untreated water from a pond specifically for the use of watering in Westminster Park and hope that the lawns will improve.

The weather was very warm but a good day’s croquet was had at Fylde for the away match in the North West Federation golf croquet league. The Chester team of Chris Thomas (captain), Brian Hayes, Judith Hawkins and Liz Subramanian lost 7-11 to Fylde, but many of the games were very close and for Judith and Liz it was the first time they had played an away match.

Chester Chariots level play team of Jayne Taylor (captain), Chris Thomas and Rosemary Williams played away at Bury on Wednesday 13^th June on a gloriously sunny day. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day of croquet against some excellent opponents, and Chester lost by 16-2.

Chester played their home match against Westmorland on Thursday 14^th June in the North West Federation midweek handicap league.  Although all but one of the games were very evenly balanced, with no more than 3 points difference in the final scores, by midday the Chester team of David Boyd (captain), Robin Tasker, Michael Miller and Paul Taylor had gained a lead of 3 – 2.  The afternoon session resulted in 2 wins to each team giving Chester an overall victory of 4 – 3.

The short lawn team travelled to the lovely setting of Levens Hall, near Kendal, where the Westmorland croquet club have their lawns on Sunday 17^th June, to compete in the North West Federation short croquet league.  The Chester team of Sarah Andrew (captain), Derek Bell-Jones, Hugh Bray and Roger Edwards won by 9 games to 7.  At lunch break the Chester team was leading by 5 games to 3. Westmorland rallied in the afternoon, but it was too late to win the match.

Chester took their first win of the season in the NW golf croquet handicap league on Saturday 9^th June. An enjoyable day’s croquet was had by all, and the result, although in Chester’s favour, belied the closeness of all the games with all but two of the matches ending 7-4 or closer. The final result was Chester 15, Bury North 3. The team was led by captain Roger Haigh, with Liz Subramanian, Trevor Farrell and Janet Jackson. Special praise should go to Liz who won all her games and reduced her handicap to single figures in the process !

On Sunday under a scorching sun, Chester played host to the team from Bowdon Firs in the NW association handicap league. The Chester team of David Boyd (captain), Brian Walton, Paul Taylor and Alan Clare beat Bowdon a convincing 6-1. This is Chester’s third win of the season so far, putting them at the top of the league.

There were mixed fortunes for Chester in the North West Federation association leagues. The Chester team of John Dawson, Helen Brophy, David Guyton and Paul Watson lost 6-1 on Friday 18^th away at Bowdon against Bowdon Griffins in the North West mid-week league.

On Sunday 20^th Bowdon was again the venue for the weekend handicap league, where Chester played Bowdon St Mary’s and won 4-3. The team was Paul Taylor, Brian Walton, John Dawson and David Boyd.

You are invited to Croquet Fun Days at Bury Croquet Club! The Association alternate shot fun doubles day will be held on Saturday 9^th June and the Golf fun doubles day will be Tuesday 7^th August 2018.
Click here for further details of both days