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The Chester B-Level GC Series Tournament on Saturday, 30 May, attracted 16 players only one of whom is a Chester member. The other fifteen travelled in from all points of the compass, Durham to Devon and Lincolnshire to Somerset. Handicaps were from 3 (he was a 4 at allocation) to 9 but mostly 5 and 6.

The lawns at Chester are in the ‘interesting’ category with their elegant NE to SW modest incline but the turf is fine and dense and fast and provides grip to the balls. Except when it hasn’t rained for a while. And it has not and it was hot – close to 25° by mid-afternoon. So they had progressed into the ‘challenging ‘ category. But were the gallant band of B players intimidated – they were not … much.

Early leaders in the four blocks were Eddie Wilson from Backworth in Block A and Paul Rockall from Gainsborough in Block D both of whom won their three games. Edward Baskerville in Block A led the field in net hoops but dropped a game, 7 – 6 , to Eddie Wilson in a very exciting and extremely close game. Eddie eventually clinched hoop 13 by a seven yard in-off. The blocks were completed by lunchtime. Lunch was, as usual at Chester, provided to all competitors and from comments received could be the reason why some players return every year!

Paul, Eddie, Edward, Ian Longstaff (Pendle) and Roger Booth (Eynsham) were the strong showers at the start of the Cup knockout with Sue I’Anson (Rippon Spa) and Ian Hammond (Southwell) edging in front on net hoops in a fairly even Plate knockout.

In the Cup quarter final, Jill Shaw (Camerton), who was the golden-hoop expert in the blocks, succumbed to Roger Booth and Eddie and Ian scraped through. But the large spectator crowd were more interested in the Clare and Paul Rockall game. Clare beat her husband 7/5. Clare fought her way in to the final to face Ian Longstaff. Ian won the Chester B-Level convincingly.

Over in the Plate there was another family tussle between the Hammonds from Southwell. Linda beat Ian 7/6. It was quietly noted by some that both wives were higher handicappers than their husbands. But two dark horses, Adam Britton (Llanidloeds) and Brenda Duplock from Budleigh Salterton worked their way steadily through the field to the Plate final. Adam prevailed and earned the Plate.

It was a good early summer’s day of croquet, played in good spirit in front of a good crowd.

Chester played their first match of the season in the NW Federation AC Advanced League against Crake Lakes at home on Thursday, 28 May, with the team of Mark Lloyd, David Boyd and Robin Tasker.

The weather was hot and steamy after overnight thunderstorms and torrential rain which eased the Chester courts somewhat to make them slightly more predictable although they remained very fast.

In the morning session Chester lost both the doubles and the one singles game. And so at lunch Chester were 0 – 2 down.

The afternoon saw a turnaround in fortune and while the singles games were intense and highly competitive Chester prevailed in all three and so to win the match 3 – 2.

This was the second match within two days when Chester had lost all the morning games but won the match by winning all the afternoon games. There must be a message there somewhere!

On the third consecutive day of record temperatures Chester was drawn to play away against York in the first round of the national association croquet 26 point handicap inter-club Longman Cup competition on Tuesday, 26 May.

The Chester team of Robin Tasker (captain), David Boyd, Rick Davies and Sally Slater ventured over the Pennines to the furnace that was York to play at their beautiful grounds and to enjoy their friendly hospitality.

The heat was intense. And after the morning session Chester went to lunch – well in reality to rehydrate – 0 – 3 down having lost the doubles and both singles where in truth only the doubles pair of David and Rick had come close to victory.

Perhaps with nothing to lose, the afternoon was very different. Although there were some tight games, Chester led throughout the session and with one final game still in play the match score was back to 3 – 3. And in his first ever full lawn 26 point singles match Rick held his nerve to a 23 – 20 victory and so secured Chester’s progression to the second round of the Longman Cup when the club will be playing against Bury in a national competition for the second time this year .

 

On the hottest day so far this year Chester played at home against Pendle and Craven in the NW Federation 26 point association croquet handicap league on Sunday, 24 May. Playing for Chester were Robin Tasker (captain), David Guyton, Richard Smith and Andy Wilson-Chalon. With rising temperatures which reached a peak of 26.5° C in the afternoon and overshooting hoop approaches and boundary lines on dry and fast lawns, both teams found it difficult to establish good breaks. Except when in action on the lawns, players on both sides sought shade and plentiful liquid refreshment under a summer gazebo – what a change from the previous week when teams were seeking protection from rain and chilly winds.  In the morning Pendle won the doubles and one of the two singles games and in the afternoon both teams won two of the four singles games.  The overall result was a 4 – 3 win for Pendle.

If Sunday was hot, bank holiday Monday was even hotter with the temperature in Westminster Park reaching 34° C when the Chester Chariots team were playing away against Birkdale in the NW Federation golf croquet level play league.

At Southport the sun also shone gloriously and for a while a gentle sea breeze blew over the three lawns. The Birkdale team of Mike Armstrong, John Marsh and Simon Hancock faced a more experienced team of Mark Lloyd, Jayne Taylor and Sarah Clements.

The first round of games resulted in Birkdale taking two of the three games. By lunch time it was five four to Birkdale with all to play for.

The temperature on the lawns nicely heated up whilst the players took cooler shelter in the characterful club house and eventually it was deemed time to play.

The next round of games saw Birkdale lead but wins by Jayne, Mark and Sarah and with the amount of games left, a draw was on the cards.

Afternoon tea and cakes were presented to the players and everyone took avail of the lovely cakes made by Simon’s wife.

The final third of games saw the temperature go over 30 ° C and Mark and Jayne pick up wins again but unfortunately Sarah lost out to John, and Birkdale won 10 – 8.

Well played to Birkdale as this is the first season that many of their player have moved from handicap players to level play players.

The Chester players were consoled by Father of the club (Mark who has been at the club the longest) stopping at the air conditioned Tesco to collect some salted caramel and Australian macadamia ice creams.

Unfortunately everyone headed home from the beaches at exactly the same time as the intrepid trio travelled back to Chester, so the journey was a lot longer than it should have been.

 

On Tuesday, 19 May, the much anticipated match between the two Chester level play golf croquet teams of Chester Centurions and Chester Chariots took place.

The Centurions were drawn as the home team and fielded Sam Seal (captain), Edward Baskerville and Andy Wilson-Chalon. The Chariots team was Sarah Clements (captain), Chris Thomas and Robin Tasker.

The early matches were very tight with a number going to a ‘golden hoop’ finish. By lunch time the Chariots took a slim lead knowing that either team could win during the course of the day. Indeed it was decided on the last round of games when the Chariots gained a marginal lead and held onto it with a final score of 10 games to 8. On an initial count the number of hoops scored was incredibly close with 104 to the Chariots and 102 to the Centurions. On a later recount the figure was 104 for both teams showing just how close the match was.

No match report can avoid mentioning the weather and, wow, that was really three seasons in a day. All the players took coats off, put them back on and took them off again at least three times. The teams gallantly played through the rain and basked in short bursts of sunshine as if someone had switched a heater on.

Thanks to Jayne Taylor for helping with the match reporting form and the process of the day. And good luck to both teams against the rest of the North West Federation teams in the level play golf croquet league.

In a quiet week between two busy weekends Chester played away against Ellesmere on Tuesday, 12 May, in the NW golf croquet handicap league. The result was an 11 – 7 win for Ellesmere. Everyone faced a major weather challenge with continuous drizzle interspersed with downpours in the morning but it was a cordial match.  Individual games were much closer than the overall result would suggest and, despite a disappointing result for Chester, the team played well and there were some standout individual results.

 

The Southport Festival of Croquet takes place over the weekend 27/28 June and clubs have been invited to submit their entries no later than 31 May.

The following events will take place:

• • Advanced rules AC: teams of 2 players playing 26-point doubles games and likely 14-point singles games
  • Handicap AC: teams of 3 players playing 18-point singles and doubles games with adjusted full handicaps played to a base of 6
  • Short lawn AC: teams of 3 playing 14-point matches comprising of one doubles and one singles games played with gross handicaps (i.e. no base)
  • One-Ball: teams of 2 players playing two singles games handicapped in accordance with the Croquet England published method for One-Ball handicapping
  • Level Play GC teams of 2 playing 13-point games
  • Handicap GC: teams of 2 players per game – doubles pairs playing 13-point games using the Advantage Scoring system

If you wish to take part in any of these event – either on both days or on one or other days – please contact:

Tom Grievson for the GC and One-Ball events
and
Robin Tasker for the AC events

so that Chester can enter the appropriate teams.

Robin Tasker

The sun shone and the forecast rain very considerately stayed away when Westminster Park celebrated its 80th anniversary on Saturday, 9 May. Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Westminster Park volunteers and council staff, the park was looking its best and the GreenDay cafe erected a welcoming marquee and offered an excellent range of refreshments. The sports clubs laid on games and demonstrations and they and other local associations had information stands in the marquee.  It was a truly festive event with crowds of visitors of all ages throughout the afternoon. The Lord Mayor of Chester, the Sheriff of Chester and the Deputy Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council arrived about 1 pm and toured the park and visited the various clubs. They were followed at 2 pm by the Duke and Duchess of Westminster. Speeches in the marquee towards the end of the afternoon expressed gratitude to the earlier Duke of Westminster for his donation of the park in 1946 and appreciation of the great value and benefit of the park to the whole community.

Thanks to Sally and Chris Slater and Lesley Newman, Chester Croquet Club had a stand in the marquee with excellent pictures illustrating the history of the club and telling visitors more about the game. We were particularly pleased to welcome George Collin who was a founder member of the club in 1977 and happened to be visiting Chester on the day. Meanwhile at the croquet lawns, club chairman Tom Grievson welcomed the visiting civic dignatories and the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, and members of the club were welcoming and demonstrating the game to visitors. Altogether a very successful and enjoyable day.

Plus more photographs from the celebration:

On Monday, 4 May,  short lawn association croquet players from Chester Croquet Club faced players from York Croquet Club in the first round of the national Inter Club Short Lawn competition organized by Croquet England.

This was the first time Chester had taken part in this knockout competition, and facing that match on a Bank Holiday Monday proved to be the first major challenge ! Not surprisingly, many members of the club had other family things to do on that day. Sarah Clements, Rick Davies, Jayne Taylor and Doreen Curtis faced an experienced team from York, and particular cheers to Doreen who has only recently started to play association croquet, stepping up to the mark to play in her first match for the club, and along with Rick securing a win for Chester in the doubles game. Whilst only 2 of the singles games were secured for Chester, two others were very close, with only one hoop difference. Whilst the match was lost 8 – 3 to York, the day was a very enjoyable one, with many useful lessons learnt, in good company.

In the vernacular of two esteemed Roman cities, Eboracum superavit Cestriam – York beat Chester.

On Friday, 1 May, Chester Croquet Club played Nottingham at home in the first round of the national Murphy Shield inter-club competition. This level play golf croquet competition has special restrictions on  players’ handicaps. A total of at least 8 ensures a good mix of players and abilities.

Chester’s team of Rick Davies (captain), Sam Seal, Edward Baskerville and Sarah Clements welcomed Nottingham’s friendly team of Tom, Cathy, Roger and croquet ‘royalty’, Patricia.

The format of the Murphy Shield is that there are a best of three doubles matches and simultaneously, a series of best of three singles matches involving all players.

Nottingham’s doubles pairing of Tom and Roger took the first game. Chester’s pairing of Rick and Sarah came back strongly and secured a 2 – 1 win thus receiving one point overall. Meanwhile Edward and Sam both secured wins in the singles matches.

In order to win, a team must score at least four overall wins, so with Chester in the lead 3 – 0 at lunch time there was still time for Nottingham to secure the win.

The afternoon games were singles only and Chester secured the overall win thanks to Edward and Rick picking up a point each. This was despite Cathy’s efforts picking up a Nottingham point from a 2 – 0 win.

Tom and Sarah had very close games with a win each and twice a 7 – 6 score line with the ‘golden hoop’ being played. As the result didn’t matter it was agreed that the final game should be forfeited enabling Nottingham to travel home a tad earlier.

The final score was a 5 – 1 win for Chester who now go on to face Leicester in the next round.

Thank you to Nottingham for a fun, relaxed day of croquet and to Doreen Curtis who provided both teams with refreshments, sandwiches and cake.