It was a very successful week for Chester croquet club in both regional and national competitions.
Chester visited Southport on Wednesday 11th 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 12thJuly, 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 14th 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 15th 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.