On a glorious sunny day on the last day of August, eight short lawn association players fought it out in this year’s short lawn open competition. There were two groups of 4 arranged according to handicap and each group played the other three players in their group. The winner of each group then played the final, which was between Jayne Taylor and Sally Slater. Most games were very close and it was a hugely enjoyable day of croquet. In the end, Jayne Taylor won her last match 14-7 and received the award of Short Lawn Open Champion 2024 from the runner-up and competition organiser, Sally Slater.
On the following day, Sunday, 1 September, Chester travelled to Bowdon for their final fixture of the season in the Advanced B Level League with both teams in contention to be this year’s winner. The day was largely warm and dry although a heavy downpour and ominous thunder accompanied the afternoon session.
In the morning Mark Lloyd and Robin Tasker played the doubles and won a tight game by two hoops, while David Guyton was defeated by a much lower handicapped player to leave the match 1-1 at lunch.
In the afternoon Chester excelled winning all three singles games, played as ever on Bowdon’s immaculate lawns, to take the match by 4-1.
The result leaves Chester at the top of the league with Bowdon requiring a 5-0 victory in their final match to take the title. We shall see…