This morning we have 6/8 cloud but mostly sunny, with a gentle breeze. Temperature is about 18 degrees but will warm up quickly.

There are three singles starting now and I will be able to comment on only the two on courts 5 and 6 as Malcolm Fletcher v Jeff Soo is on court 1.

Tim O'Leary v Jim Basty
Game 1. Tim is K and U, Jim is R and Y
1. U to IV.
2. Y to between 1 and 2.
3. K hits U, sets up on eb about four yards apart.
4. R is placed on III.
5. K hits U, plays good split and starts break, collecting R before 3, now in control, but sticks in 5.
6. Y hits U, peels K through 5 and should start his break. He makes 1 but is hampered, calls referee for sweep shot who calls a second referee. He misses.
7. K hits (12y) and resumes his break from 6.

Ian Dumergue v Danny Huneycutt
Game 1. Danny is K and U, Ian is R and Y
1. K or U to eb
2. Y to II.
3. U or K join the other on eb, 4y apart.
4. R misses Y.
5. K hits U, goes off to R and Y, calls referee, gets cannon, sends R to 4y NE of 2 and Y to 8y NNW of 1, approaches sending Y to 3y SW of 1 and K into the back of 1. Retires to 14y S of II, about equi-distant from Y and R.
6. R hits Y (26y) to I, takes off along the wb and gets a rush on K to 1. Wow! Bounces off 1.
7. K has part of the R ball, calls referee, hits.

T O'L v JB. This match is on Court 5.
7(contInued). K sticks in 3b with Y close.
8. Y hits K, watched by hard-working referee, approaches 2, very angled from 8 inches, calls referee and clears R to the N bdry leaving a rush for R to the S.
9. U from 4y S of the peg misses K near 4, to III.
10. U hits R, goes to K, sends K to N of 2, near R, and then to wb level with 1, holding position for 2, makes 2, starts break but sticks in 4.

ID v DH. This match is on Court 6.
7(continued). K establishes break. He sticks in 5 with K and Y close, R at 6, calls referee to check hoop. It is OK.
8. Y hits K.

Court 5.
Turn 10 was with Y, not U, sorry!
11. K hits Y, sets R and Y across 1, wired and retires to III ( a sextuple leave).
12. R misses U (35y).
13. U starts break and has peeled 4b, so K must have been peeled through 3b earlier,probably by oppo. He now peels penult after 6 to peg high.

Court 6.
8(continued). Sets R and Y near I with U near 2 and K E of the peg by 4 y.
9. K misses oppo's.
10. Y makes 1 by a mm or two, calls referee, hits R and is away on a break. He has left K at the end of B baulk, for some reason and is making 4, under control.

Court 5.
13( continued). He has reached 1b and has the peelee just N of rover. He bounces the peelee off rover on the way to 3b from a good position. He peels rover straight and finishes. Game 1 to Australia.

Court 6.
10 (continued). He makes 5 but the pioneer for 6 is just N of the peg. He copes without becoming wired, runs 6 hard to the boundary, collects K.

On court 1 Malcolm Fletcher is playing Jeff Soo. I am told that Jeff won the first game 26tp - 0.

Court 5.
Game 2.
1. R. To IV.
2. K hits R rolls them to either side of peg.
3. Y to middle of eb.
4. U misses Y from III to IV.
5. Y shoots at U (11y), misses, hits peg, stays close.
6. K starts break, has reached 3 but fails. R is 8 or 9 y away.
7. Y from N of 4 hits U in IV, starts a break.

Court 6.
10 (continued). Clips are U and R on 1, K on 5, Y on a break, has reached 2b with tight pioneers. He goes to 4b and sets up with U 2y from the wb, about 15 y S of the N bdry, K wired from U and a yard E of the peg, r on the eb, 2y N of IV and Y 2y N of R.
11. K misses R from A baulk.
12. R rushes Y to U and U to S bdry, 11y E of I. Approaches 1 to 2 ft at 10 degrees, fails hoop and may be on the E wire.
13. Danny calls referee and shoots at R from 6 y. Just hits and he should have a break. Yes!

Court 5.
7 (continued). The break has become loose as he approaches 4, with the pioneer for 5 some yards S. He makes 5 and gets better control. Now for 2b. I missed this but he must have made a leave.
8. U or K must have missed the lift.
9. R is in play, has made 1, takes off from K in II, runs 2, hits K and hits a huge split, K to 6 y N of 4, R to near 1, rushes U to S bdry, takes off to Y, 6y S of 3, has a very loose break. Has now reached 5.

Court 6.
13 (continued). His break is tight as he approaches 4. Now for 2b. Makes 2b and puts Y and K at 5, makes 3b off R, just!, calls referee, copes, puts R to 8y SW of 2, puts Y N of 5, almost in the jaws and leaves K on the eb, 12 y n of IV with a 1 y rush on U towards R.
14. Y misses from III to IV.
15. K rushes U to R, R to Y and Y to N of 5, sends Y to near I, hoping to get position, fails, retires to 3y NE of 2, 9y from 7 which is 4y W of 6. R is 6y N of IV
16. Y shoots at U, misses to N bdry, 11y W of III.
17. U hits K.

The day has become overcast but now probably 20 degrees and fine.

Court 5.
7 (continued). The break is tidier as he approaches 1b.
I lost the plot here but he has peeled Y through 4b and put the clip on penult and is thinking. He makes penult and approaches rover with K as his pioneer. He makes rover, leaves K on eb, peg high, U 2y W of peg and R and Y on wb, rush for Y to penult.

Court 6.
17 (continued). He goes to Y, takes off to get behind R , goes off court.
18. R hits U, Takes off to Y, putting U to 2y N and 9y W of IV, takes off from Y and gets rush on K to 1, leaving Y 3y S and 4y W of III, rushes K S of 1 and fails to get position, retires to N of Y.
19. K hits U (14y), takes off to oppo's balls, tries to rush R to 5, gets it to 5y NE, sends R to 9y N of 1, joins U on S bdry, with rush for K towards 1.
20. R hits U (20y),

Court 5.
8. U is lifted to I, misses Y to II.
9. Y rushes R to penult, makes the hoop and rushes R to K on the eb, rushes K to rover, makes rover takes off to R on the eb, cuts it to 15y from the peg, rolls to the peg, pegs off Y. U is in II, K near S bdry.
10. K misses R
11. R finishes.

One game each.

Court 6.
20 (continued). Takes off to Y, sets rush in corner III for R.
21. K hits Y (14y), rushes R to IV, behind U, leaves R in IV, rushes U to 5, makes 5 and 6 and retires, K on N bdry,, U 5y SE of 2, R W of 1 and Y S of 4, 18 y apart.
22. R hits Y.

Court. 6.

22 (continued). Takes off to K, sends K to .2 and rushes U to S bdry 12 y E of I. Approaches 1 to a yard at an angle and runs through to 8 y S of 2. Turns and hits U (10y) and has a break. He mis- approaches 2 and bounces off by 4y to behind him.
23. K hits R (7y) goes to Y and then rushes U to II ( K is for 1b), takes off for the hoop, angled approach, runs it to within 5 y of R but declines that and hits U in II, 15y. He now takes off to Y9 y n of 4 and gets a rush to the wb, level with 1. Makes 2b but bounces off 3b to the eb.
24. Y misses K (7y).
25. K hits Y, approaches 4b and hits forehead with palm as he realises he is for 3b. Retires K to I with U 3y NE of 4b. Y is 3 y SE of 6 and R is peg high on the wb.
26. Y misses R.
27. K hits Y (15y), rushes R to 3b, makes the hoop and rushes R back to Y. With U NE of 4b he should have his break to the peg.

Court 5 has started game 3 while I was distracted.
Game 3.
K (Tim O'Leary) has made 1, R is in play, Y in II. Just rushed K to 4y S of 1. Jim Bast makes 1, rushes K to 5ySE of 6, takes off to Y, hits it in the takeoff, fails to make 2.
I lost this plot again as they are playing very quickly and messily.
Clips are U and Y on 1, R on 3 and K is in play, just made 2 from a long way out, makes 3 and rushes R into I, sends R to 5 and Y to 6 with the U as his pioneer for 4. He has a break under good control.

Court 5.
The K clip is now on 4b, with R clip on 3 and the others still on 1.R is in play and makes 3, with U near 4 and Y peg high 4 y in from the wb. He misses a short return roquet to the N bdry and K (Tim) hits R, leaves R and Y wired across 1, with U and K near III. Y has a 3 y angled shot at 1. Bounces off.
U has an easy start to his second break. Makes 4 and sets for the delayed triple. He gets the first peel before 6 and something has happened when I was not watching. He plays so fast! Ahhh, he is setting for a straight double finish. Gets good position at penult.

Court 6.
27 (continued). He goes to the peg and makes his leave: R on the wb, peg high, Y on the eb, 16 y N of IV, U on IV and K 18 inches N of U.
28. R is lifted to A baulk, misses between the oppo's balls. U makes a cannon, sends R to just N of 4 and K off court 10 y N of IV, sends K to E of 4b and gets a cut rush on Y to SE of 4b, sends Y to N of penult and gets position for 4b, makes the hoop, hits K and finishes.

First game to US.

I am told that Jeff Soo won the second game against Malcolm Fletcher.

Court 5.
The peelee goes through penult to half way between peg and rover, he makes penult and over-rushes K to beside the hoop. After making rover he attempts a posthumous bombard peel using Y but K goes to near the S bdry and he misses it with U. Jim lifts R to A baulk, sends U to 3y S of 1 and K to Y near rover and rushes Y to 4, his hoop. He has a break.

Court 6 has gone to lunch.

Court 5.
Clips are U on the peg, K on rover, Y on 1 and R is in play. Jim has made 6 and has a controlled break. He makes 3b and misses to the N bdry. Tim lifts K to B baulk, hits the 1 y roquet and finishes.

Australia wins, 2 games to 1.

Lunch

Court 6.

Game 2.
1. K (Ian Dumergue) to eb.
2. Y (Danny Huneycutt) to 14 y N of I.
3. U hits Y. Moves it to equi-distant from both baulks near wb, sets rush for K on U on eb. Ian tells me I can say he is very happy with that opening. (Good morning, Ceridwen!)
4. R misses from III to IV.
5. K rushes U to wb, sends it to 2 and rushes Y to 1 ft in front of 1. He makes 1 and has a break, but sticks in 3.
6. Y calls a referee and hits the ball in the hoop, takes off to 5 y from U, rushes it to 3y NW of R in IV , gets a rush on it to 1, approaches to 1 yard at 50 degrees. He retires to 4y W of 1, guarding both the E and S bdrys.
7. U shoots at R, misses (16 y).
8. Y hits R, takes off to K, NE of 3, rushes it to E of the peg, sends it to 2, going to U. Is 12 y from 1. Sends U to 2y E of I, just fails to get position for 1 and retires to 1y N of IV. R is 3 y E of 5.
9. U misses K to N bdry.
10. Y hits R (16y), takes off to U, rushes K to 5 ft SSE of 1. He makes 1 and has a break.

Court 3.
Ken Bald is playing Rich Lamm. Rich's clips are on 1 and 2 and Ken has jawsed U in 4b at the start of a triple. He has, however, stuck in 4. Rich calls a referee to watch and hits the ball in 4, makes 1 and has a break, but leaves his clip on 5. Ken is now in play, making 2b, with two peels done. He completes the rover peel on the way to 3b and only has 3 hoops to finish.

Court 3. Ken makes penult and sticks in rover. Rich hits the ball in the hoop and has all the balls in the middle.

Court 5.
10 (continued). R (Danny) has reached 5. Clips are K on 3, U and Y on 1 and R in play.

Court 3. Rich goes to 4b and makes a diagonal spread leave. Ken takes the long lift shot and hits Y to IV. He must have finished as the referees are re-setting the hoops.
Australia leads 1 game to nil.

Court 5.
10 (continued). Danny leaves U at hoop 2 after making 1 b, goes to 4b, leaves K 4 y ESE of the peg and returns to U to put it nearer 2 ( into the jaws?) and leaving Y and R on the wb and 3 y E respectively.
11. Ian calls referee to watch the ball at 2 and uses K, missing to II.
12. Y sends R to 3, moves K out to W of 2 , calls referee and rushes U from through 1b to 1 ft in front of 1. He makes 1 and 2 and sets up for his standard triple.

Court 5.
12 (continued). Danny sets up for a delayed triple as he did not get R in good position to attempt the first peel after 3. The peelee bounces of 4b before 6. Before 1b he rushes R into the jaws of 4b and completes the peel on the take off to the pioneer at 1 b. He makes 1b, puts U to 3b and must have rushed R into the back of 4 b as it is now 4 y E of 4b. He makes 2 b, rushes K to S of penult and takes off to the other side of R, rushes R to penult, has K 8y S of 4b, makes 3b, peels R through penult, makes 4b and penult then almost puts U into the jaws of rover - but it bounces to one side - sets for the rover peel straight, makes it and finishes.

US wins, 2 - nil.

Court 3.
Game 2.
1. K (Ken Bald) to eb.
2. R (Rich Lamm) to wb, peg high.
3. U hits R to a foot N of 2, ... I went to the other game... He must have made 1 as he is approaching and failing 2, with R 4 yards away but Y has to come into the game.
4. Y attempts something unseen and finishes 4y N of 3.
5. U makes 2 and has a controlled break which he has taken to 1b.

5 (continued). He goes to 4b, puts Y too far N of 4, sends K to IV and U to II.
6. Rich lifts Y to B baulk and misses U on the left.
7. U sends Y to WSW of 1, R to 4yESE of 3 and sets up in IV with a rush for K to the peg.
The sun came out and it was difficult to SE the screen for a few minutes but has disappeared and it's now very pleasant, mostly overcast 7/8 cloud.
8. Y hits K to applause (24y), puts K to 4 rushes Y to R and then puts it to 6 and rushes R to 5ySW of 1. Makes 1 and should have a break. Yes.

8 (continued). He sets for the tpo on U, tries the first peel after 3 but the peelee goes to a position just off the wire, probably rush- peelable.

After 4 he takes U away from the hoop, abandons the tpo, continues a controlled break, leaves U near the wb after 1b, makes 2b and 3b, puts K 3 y E of the peg and leaves R near IV with a rush on Y to the peg. Two clips are now on 1 and two on 4b. They are even.
9. K is lifted to A baulk and Ken hits R, rushes Y to 1 and should have a peeling break. He makes 1, rushes Y to IV, sends it to 12y N and 3y W of IV and rushes R to near 1. R is sent to 3 and he gets a good rush on U to 2, makes 2 with a rush to near 3. He sets for the triple but can only jaws the peelee. He rushes R to the eb, peg high and his break is under control.

9 (continued). K makes 4 and 5 and misses a short rush after 5. K is jawsed in 4b, R near 5, Y near 6 and K in III.
10. Y shoots at R but misses to the S bdry.
11. Ken calls the referee and is to shoot at the ball in the jaws from III. He hits hard and although U only moves a few inches the referee says it was roqueted. He takes off to Y and re-establishes the break, but with no peeling. After 2b he sends the peelee to 4b but attempts no peel. He goes to the peg and leaves U on the eb with a 3y rush on K to the peg, Y just E of the peg, R near the wb 6y SW of 2.
12. Y is lifted to III and hits U (17y), sends U to 3y E of 3, k to 5y W of 4 and sets up near II, probably wired from U, with a rush for R to U.

The breeze has become a gentle wind. The flags are flying well.

13. U shoots at K, hits. The sun is out again, 5/8 cloud, difficult to see the screen. U has only three hoops to finish. He rushes Y to 4y S of 4b, approaches to 4 ft, smashes through, rushes Y to S bdry behind K, puts it to rover but fails to get good rush back to R which is 7y W of penult. He rushes it too the wb, peg high and gets only a cut rush to penult on R. He approaches and sticks in penult.
14. Rich calls a referee to watch and hits the ball in the hoop from 3 y to the N bdry - using R whose clip is still on 1. He takes off to K, 2 y from the W bdry and rushes it to due S of 1. Y is 4y SE of 5 and U remains at the end of B baulk. He sends K to 6 y S of 2 and gets a 5 y rush on Y towards 1, snicks it to due S of 5. Approaches 1 to 4 ft at 45 degrees, bounces off to due S of 5.
15. U hits K (15y), rushes R behind Y, puts R to rover, rushes Y to penult, makes penult, slightly hampered, copes with referee watching and finishes.

On court 1 Robert Fletcher won his match 2 games to nil, unseen by me.

I have transferred to the balcony of the clubhouse, to watch Stephen Forster playing against Ben Rothman. They have each won a game and this is the third. They each have a clip on 4b, with BR's other clip on 1. SF is just finishing a break to the peg leaving a flattish diagonal spread.

Ben lifts the ball at the peg to III and shoots at K. It's almost a last chance. He misses by a foot to IV.
Stephen rushes U to R, puts it into court by 2 y and rushes R to 5y N of 4b. He takes off to a good 2 ft position, makes 4b with a rush due S. He rushes R to peg high 3 y from the eb, takes off to K but no rush takes off to penult, gets 3 ft position at 15 degrees, sticks in the hoop.
Ben lifts R to A baulk and shoots at Y in IV. Hits. He ponders. Then sends Y to 3 and goes to 3 y SE of penult. Calls referee . Hits K gently to 2 y N of 6, puts K to 2 and gets a 3 y cut rush to 1. Cuts it too much to 7 y N of 1. Takes position 3 ft, 25 degrees. Looks at it and ponders. Walks around it ... twice . Looks again from the S bdry. Maybe 30 degrees. Stands still. Decides to have a go. No! Retires to 3 y NE of Y.
Stephen shoots with U from near 1 at the oppo's double and hits R. He needs to make 2 hops with K as U is on the peg. He sends R to 7y NE of 4 hits Y and sends it to 3y NNE, setting up his balls on the wb, hopefully wired from Y, with a rush for K towards II. One of the balls must be open to Y.
Ben looks at the situation from his oppo's balls, returns to Y and shoots at one and misses. The wind is now significant with the flags standing out square.
Stephen roquets Y, gets a rush to R but only to the ball, so needs to leave U 9 y W of rover. He rushes R to penult, makes it and has no forward or side rush. He takes off to get behind Y, with only a couple of yards space, succeeds, rushes it to 1 ft in front of rover, makes rover and finishes.

Today the singles went to Australia, 4 - 2, yesterday Australia won the doubles 2 - 1, so it is now 6 - 3 in Australia's favour.

NZ are hosting a barbecue this evening for the Aust and NZ players and officials.

Until tomorrow, goodbye!