Betty Bates wins All England Final
Betty Bates from Fylde has won the All England Final held at Roehampton last weekend. Her outright triumph wins a magnificent trophy for herself (The Trevor Williams Cup) and the New Zealand Tray for Fylde CC.
North West Federation of Croquet Clubs - for everything Croquet in the north west
by Peter Wilson
by Peter Wilson
Pendle reach Final of Mary Rose Competition by Peter Wilson (17/09/07)
Robert Essler (2) & Peter Wilson (2.5) paired up in the morning doubles against David Walters (1) & Alan Mayne (2). The game was a dour tactical battle with very few chances to get going although the quality of the hitting in was very high. In the singles Pendle’s captain, John Filsak (2.5) beat Lorna Frost (4.5) but Liz Wilson (3) lost to John Wastell (3). By this point David and Robert had got to 4 back but Peter and Alan had hardly started so the game was pegged down and lunch taken with the game score at 1 -1.
After lunch both teams were chasing the magic four games to win. Pendle added to their score when John Filsak beat John Wastell but Robert lost to David. The score was now 2 -2. Peter then beat Alan leaving just Liz in play in a very tight game with Lorna. Liz’s nerve held and as she pegged out there was a lawn invasion as her team mates ran on to congratulate her and each other. The doubles game remained unfinished. Final score 4 -2.
Pendle would like to thank Bowdon for their hospitality and sportsmanship throughout the day. We will be trying to bring the Mary Rose back to the North West.
by Peter Wilson
All England Handicap North West Area Final by Peter Wilson (4/9/07)
16 players entered this 5-round Swiss tournament representing Bowdon, Southport, Huddersfield, Bury, Pendle, Woodhall Spa and Fylde on 1/2 September at Pendle. At the eleventh hour an injury prevented Ashby from sending a representative and a reserve from Southport was called in.
On Saturday short spells of sunshine broke through the cloudy gloom throughout the day. The lawns, now settling into their third year, played well. Bronze merit awards were achieved by Justin Brightmore from Bury and Francois Garcia from Bowdon. At the end of the third game Mel Foster and Robert Wilkinson had both won three games and so they met on Sunday morning.
Robert beat Mel and won a silver award in the process putting him as the only player on 4/4 however a group of four players were close on his heals with 3/4.
The final round saw several players in contention for the 3 places on offer in the Roehampton Final. The draw threw up a magnificent final round game – David Eckford from Woodhall Spa (the current holder) who got to peg and peg against Robert on 1 and 3. Robert got in and took a ball to peg and made a good leave. David missed and Robert was off again with another all round break and peg out to take the outright tournament win and trophy. Melanie Foster (Southport) and Andrew Webb (Pendle) won their respective games to take the remaining places.
Five players tied for fourth place. The reserve list in tie break order J. Dennis, J Guthrie, S Cooper, F Garcia (All Bowdon) and D Eckford (Woodhall Spa).
The three winners travelling to the national final being Robert Wilkinson, Melanie Foster and Andrew Webb.
During the tournament any player could be drawn against any other player providing they had not already played each other. Bowdon sent 5 representatives and yet, in none of the five rounds, was a Bowdon player matched against another. What are the chances of that?