Bryant K to EB level with h5
Bald R to just S of C2
Clarke B misses K
Fletcher.. heading up to NB.. down to c4 or taking the aggressive shot at R?

Shoots into c2.. hits! Big take off now for Malcolm early in the match. Particularly difficult on this lawn as it is very two paced. you can just about see a line between c1 an c3 with it being a lot faster on the SE side

Falls short.. middles 7 yarder. Looks to be playing with a lot of confidence already

Good rush, approaching H1 from 1.5y N

John Prince an Roger Murfitt have just arrived. Great to have these guys here supporting again

Fails to get in front, retires to 2y w of yellow in c4.
Bryant shooting from 3yN of 1 to EB at partner.. just misses

Malcolm fails to get in a runnable position again..
Jenny playing B hits 9 yarder at partner.. finishes near 7yN of h4. Oppo is c3 and by hoop 3.. good few shots and could be a hance here

Runs a good 1y hoop.. 4y return on k...

Good rush,. fails 2ft h3

Malcolm hits the 3 yarder, has a ball at h2 an partner down by h4

Rolls B to h2, gets a 3y rush on K pointing at c1

Good weight, but still approaching from 5y W

Takes off to R instead.. now has a 2.5y rush to h1

Rushes to 4yE decides not to approach. Back to EB and leaves a rush to H2.

Bryant 5yW of h1 shooting a Jennys ball which is 3yS of h2.....

I didn't look up but I heard that lovely sound of a roquet. Good shot from Bryant

Bryant makes a leave.. ball at 1 an 4 with Jenny having a 2y rush to c3 on the NB level with 6..
No thought of a corner, Bald is straight up an will be shooting. Hits the gap

Jenny rushes down to c1.. sends that towards 4 an rushes Y back up to h2.. finishes 7y SE.. takes off.. finishes 1.5y 20 degrees.. retires back to partner

Aus misses.. not sure who ;/
Jenny hits 4 yarder.. has 2 balls on the NB to use an make h3 Good chance now

On a break.. round to 1b in control...

She's not stopping before 4b.... makes penult as well. Shes had 2 of the balls afterwards.. K (Bryant) s on the WB inbetween 5 an peg , R (Bald) is in c4.. has just rushed Y to the NB 2yW of 6 and is sending Y towards c2.. finishes 3ye of it. B retires to c3.

Good turn from Jenny

The Aussies still sitting down discussing there options. Remember it is a contact they have.
Clips
B (Jenny) on rover
K R an Y all on h1

Bald takes his ball in c4.. goes to the ball in c3.. rolls this to between peg an 4 and going to the ball in c2.. sends it out.
Jenny puts the B in c4

Bald gets a northwards rush on K after taking off from c2.. not sure how that happened. Take off to h1 leaves him a 3 yarder.. lags back at 7 which is 6y E of c2.. looks like approx a 4y rush pointing at h4..
Bryant plays K an heads to c3

Bryant misses into c3.. Malcolm fails h2.. Greg has a 6 yarder from c4 to a ball near h4 with 2 balls at h2

Snicks it...

From all the players this is really interesting to watch... I'm so used to them just having it so easy getting rushes out of every hoop an a ball just landing on any blade of grass. It makes mere mortals like myself feel ok to see them genuinely having a challenge on the courts for a change as well! Chris approaching 2b now

Above comment wrong tap for the second part of it. Greg is approaching h1 from 4y E of it.. defensive appraoch sending partner towards 2b.. falls short on approach?

Above comment wrong tab*

Bryant misses an 8 yarder near h4 with 2 balls in c3 an him for h2.. he'll be disappointed with that one. Malcolm an Greg now on h2. Jenny on Rover an Bald on h1

Malcolm plays an comes down to the ball at h4. Croquets a ball to h4 getting a rush on this to the ball in the middle of the NB. Good rush. Should get a tight rush to h2 but nothing at h3 an will have to leave a ball on the NB

Somethings gone wrong an Malcolms clip is now on 4 Bryant has hit an has a chance for a break

Bryant has made h2... has a 1.5y approach at h3 with a ball at h4

The crowd has quadrupled doday.. we now have about a dozen club members along with a few names you might recognise; Prince, Murfitt, Steve Jones, Mike Crashey Jim Wardle John Versey and Josh Smith (commentating lawn 6). I've just gone in for a feed an the sausage rolls/mince pies/pickelets with cream and jeam have been gulfed down by myself to no complaints. Kapai (good job) Marewa catering team!

Made h3, has gone over to the other near 1, dug that out an approaching h4 with all the balls now. Partner will be at h5 so a chance for the peel after 5... I think his h6 pioneer was short so aborted the peel there? Tidies up the break an now approaching 6 with rover ball at 1b and another ball 3yw of 1b

Bryant puts rover ball 3ft NW of rover after 1b.. R is 2y W of 3b.. making 2b.. I heard a lot of wire.. runs it by 6 inches has a 4 yarder... referee is called.. no problems

Beautiful 4b pioneer.. lining up the peel from 18 inches going to 3b...

Bounces off near wire, still has a nice rush to 3b so should be fine but it will be a straight rover peel now

Not happy with his penult pioneer to takes B up before going to 4b as a safety, will croquet it back afterwards

approaching 4b.. grovels through and cant hit the deep reception ball.. has to roquet the rover peele which is 7y W of it.. no dramams. Leaves it within 2y of rover as he comes back to the others

Straight rover peel now..

Creams the peel... DONT GO OFF FRONT BALL!!!!!!!!!!!

pulls up in a hurry.. finishes 1y off yard line. K bounces onto the wire but is ok, just out of the jaws. Referee just in case.. no dramas

No dramas.

NZ takes G1 26-3

G2 has begun;

R (Bald) to EB
K (Bryant) just s of c2
Y (Fletcher) shots at the ball in c2.. middles it

Rolls it down the WB and has a 7y wide join on eb
Jenny shoots at the ball on the WB.. misses into c2?
Aussies miss their wide join? Missed a couple of shots so just guessing based on ball positions.
Greg hits an is making a leave

Malcolm misses 25 yarder, Jenny going round, good pickup from the Kiwi

Fails h4, players break for lunch

Malcolm goes round to 4b with an NSL. h4 ball is Jenny who is also currently for h4. Ran through 3b to far so had to roquet partner an roll it to position during the croquet stroke, didn't go the the h4 ball and rolled them both to the eb during which he send partners ball off the line. Is that a target from a baulk?

Jenny goes an has a look, nope, heads to c3... looks like she hit it ok.. its on? Nope, just slides past an misses into c4

Clip positioins;
Jenny 1b?
Malcolm 4b
Bald h2
Bryant h1

Australia have the innings and Bald has a chance for a break

a bit harder now - Bald (playing R) was rushing to a ball on the NB level with 6.. but hit h6 on the way. Good croquet stroke and has some sort of cut rush on it... will be approaching h2 from 6y S of it. Sensible decision, rather than playing the take off, sends the enemy ball down to the peg while getting in front. Runs the hoop and has a southwards rush

Some really good shots, has a laid break ahead of him but fails a 18inch h3. Greg hits an is making a leave

Jenny an Greg have the innings again, laying up near 1b wit R in c1 an y in c3.. very clever, Jenny jawses 1b so Bryant can rush peel her an avoid the lift. Good thinking batman! =)

Rush peel is a success, Jenny now on 2b. Greg still on 1 but Bald has hit something, is approaching 4 from a yard with a pioneer at 5. Australian readers will be happy with that, very good chance to go to the peg from there

He's called a referee - must have grovelled through 4. Looks trivial... no problems

Bald on h6
Malcolm on 4b
Greg on h1
Jenny on 3b? Aus have the innings

NZ had the innings and had a good leave, Bald hits across court which ruins there plan and now has a chance

Clip positions;
Jenny on 3b
Greg on 1
Malcolm on 4b
Bald on h6

Sorry I haven't had as much commentary on this one, partly me being lazy and not wanting to sit in the sun where I can see both courts. It's been an interactive match but all players are still playing some really good shots and it only takes one or two before a game can change completely

Jenny approaching 3b from 3y straight.. ball at 4b again...
Runs 3b down to 4b makes 4b of that ball.. gets a 2y rush on K (reception ball after 3b) over to y which is on the WB. Good shot! Good rush here an I would suspect she will again make penult but stop on rover

Jenny goes to penult, leave is; R (6) over on the EB
Y (4b) 1yS of 6
B (penult) in c2
K (h1) on WB level with peg?

Malcolm lifts Y an shoots at partner.. misses

Bryant shoots at partner.. misses into c1

Malcolm playing and will be setting a leave for Ken

Kens clip still on 6. Bryant playing and is making a leave. Australia deciding what to do

Bald goes to c4. Good rush over to 2 from Bryant, good rush to 1 an he could be away here

Makes h1 an has rushed the reception ball back to the SB, top croquet stroke going to the ball at 2 an he will be away

Has run h3 but has a northwards rush.. will he play the roll down or take off to the ball in c4? yeap, take off

Tries to rush the penult ball into peeling position after 4.. okish cut but turns out to be overhit finishes 6y NW of penult

Wheels have fallen off.. Bryant sticks in 6 with everything laid out and Bald's R as the escape ball (for H6). He's going round an currently approaching penult on his way to the peg

Bald failed penult and isn't happy about it

NZ possibly getting hoop checked?

It's the penult ball up there unfortunately for you Kiwi supporters.

Currently
Bald penult
Malcolm 4b
Bryant 6
Clarke penult

Jenny fails penult.. that hoop has certainly been a challenge. Bald has a 1ft rush to his hoop...

Has Bald taken off to an unrunnable position?

He's going to go for it but a referee has been called.. this is getting outrageous

Balls are marked...

Sounded pretty bad from here but called clean from the referee. To be fair, a lot of hoops have sounded quite bad as when ran they are all catching a lot of wire. I haven't seen as many hoops failed from a ft or less than what I have the last two days

Bald now on the peg an currently making a leave...

Looks like a crosswire at 1 an trying to lay up in c3. Got hampered getting the crosswire so will have to roll to c3 from near h1. All sorts could happen in that shot

Pretty good effort. 4b ball finishes 3y NE of 4b and they are just looking at the final spot for r

Greg goes to c2

Malcolm over approaches 4b. Will he take it on or abort? I think he will abort

Jenny goes to c1?
Malcolm misses 3 yarder on partner all the way down to Jenny.. she hits, takes off up to K but goes off the NB 2y W of K
Is it a double for Bald..? Looks like it... regardless of double or not he's hit the back bacll

I don't know what a bacll is but he hit the black ball*

Something bizarre has happened.. I'm certain Bald hit.. but all of a sudden there are 3 balls around the corner and the Kiwis are on the lawn.
Jenny approaching penult.. rejects out of it. K 1yS of the peg

Bald takes the 12 yarder at B... misses to EB level with 6
Jenny fails penult to 3y 15 degrees
Malcolm shoots through at K.. misses to 3yN of red
Jenny shoots at black.. not the best result =( Middles the peg an finishes 3y NE of it.
Malcolm hits his 4 yarder an should finish to take it to a third

Has he overapproached 4b???????? Doesn't look like its runnable, goes over to partner

Turns round he's playing for the scatter! Hits it with a lot of power.. Middles it sending K 4y N of c1 and finishing 1y N of h5.. its not wired from partner at penult is it?? I don't think so

Jenny shooting at R...

Middles the 13 yarder! Great shot

Bryant has made 1b but loading 3b going to 2b it hit the peg.. currently approaching 2b from 2y NE with his 3bb pioneer 2y w of the peg and the other ball up in c3..

Bryant has made 2b with a northwards rush.. a couple of big shots coming up for him

Malcolm makes 4b. hits his 4y return down to rover, takes off to the double on the WB.. falls 6 yards short

Misses the 6 yarder double.. did he hit the gap?? I don't think so but it gives NZ a chance again

Jenny rushes over, through penult down to the peg ball waiting at rover.. fails rover from about a ft maybe 15 degrees

Now we have;
Bald on peg
Fletcher on penult
Bryant on 4b
Clarke on rover.

Bald rushes the rover ball to 2y S of 4b. sends that to 2yN of the peg going to K, rushes K off the EB.. sends it 5yN of 4b going to y

B goes to c2, Malcolm rushes over to EB. Takes off to K trying to get a rush to c2.. doesn't but a great cut gets it within a foot. Should be fine with the take off but I think I've heard some of the players discussing a few of the boundaries sloping towards the boundary

Gets a rush an approaching penult from 4yN

This is a very tough hoop an has caused people the most problems today.. Bald is out on the lawn to show him the hill. Good shot, runs the hoop with a rush

Rushes B o 5y E of h4, taking off to R up the EB a few yards in peg high..

Finishes with a 1y rush pointing at h4

Another excellent cut, approaching rover from 3y NE

Looks good... 1footer

rejects to 2yards... is it wired on partner??? I don't think so but might be close

Kiwi's look at a few options.. Jenny will play, heads down to baulk for the lift.. I'm thinking 'geeze these guys are focussed, i would have forgotten all about it by now!' Bald walks onto the lawn an the turn started at Penult so no lift was required. Jenny instead shoots at the 35 yarder in c2...
Looks happy with it...

Middles it!!! Great shot Jenny

Big takeoff coming up.. has a 4 yarder on red now

Forgot to mention, the English team arrived for a bit of a look minus Maugham an Burch. Nice to see them make an appearance

Hits 4 yarder.. takes off to Y doesn't get a rush on it approaching from 2yN.. takes off to hoop as R is closeish to the SB.. runs the hoop no worries

5 yarder on R coming up now.. Goes to consult with Greg

The leave will be... R (peg) 2y E of 4b, y (rover) just off the wb inbetween 5 an peg, B ann K laid up in c2 with a rush pointing...

Consultation again

Reminder of clip positions;
Jenny an Ken; Peg
Malcolm: Rover
Bryant: 4b

Bald takes the shot at the single ball in c2.. doesn't like it

Bryant digs it out, rushes down to the ball on the WB, takes that accross to 4b.. great rush approaching from a ft.. rushes back to the wb after making 4b, digs that out to rover an gets a rush back to the ball by h2.. rushes that to 1ft S of penult.. this is a tough take off

Didn't look like it hilled so hopefully will be ok.. 1ft maybe 15degrees from the angle hes stalking it at

Taking his time... stalking.. halfway now casting...

Its going to be a half jup...

Fails to 3y back from the hoop

6y lift for malcollm.. hits

Plays some great shots, runs rover.. 4y return

Misses.. it's not over yet.
Bryant hits.. leaves partner 5y s of rover, gets a rush on the ball near h2 to the ball on the NB level with 6.. pretty good cut, finishes 3yW of it.. big take off now

Looks like a good shot, rushes to penult.. will be a 2.5y straight on approach

1ft hoop, looks straight.. reception ball 2y n of the peg.. will he try an hammer it or will he control it?

has a discussion with partner.. begins the stalk..

Hammers it.. has a 6y return on B...

Rushes it to 7y w of the peg

Has a 1y rush to rover.. possibly a bit of a cut needed

Good shot! approaching from 2ft straight

His approach looked good but rolled back down the hill.. 1ft looks straight

Runs the hoop.. 5 yarder on Y...

Hits, finishes 3y S of partner

1y rush to the peg.. 1y peg out.. takes G2 26-24 to a big round of applause from the remaining specatators.

NZ 4 AUS 0