We have now reached the final day of the 2014 NZ Open. On lawn 1 Greg Bryant and Jenny Clarke are practicing prior to the final. Both players have won all their singles games so far. The final will be best of 5 without time limits.
On lawn 2, Brian Bullen will be playing Chris Shilling with 4/7/9.5 hr time limits.

G1T1 Greg plays Black 10y N of C4
G1T2 Jenny Red to in C2
G1T3 Greg Blue at Black from A-Baulk............misses by a ball on the left.
G1T4 Jenny Yellow at U/K from B Baulk...........hits K

G1T4 (cont.) Jenny plays a good croquet stroke getting K 3 yards in lawn and obtaining a perfect rush to hoop 1. The ball almost stops and then falls 6inches off the lawn. Good chance for Greg

The lawns are running at 11 seconds and have grooving marks in most areas along with some repairs. The East boundary from C4 to 13y N of C4 is faster than the rest of the lawn and hills off.

G1T5. Greg gets 2 feet in front of h1 and runs it by 9 yards with no wire. He has a 8 yard return roquet.........middles it. Plays very good croquet stroke from S boundary sending K to H3 and getting a 1ft rush on Y pointing West which he rushes to 2yards SW of H2. Makes H2 and should be round.

G1T5 (cont.) Greg misses a 3 yarder on his H3 pioneer. He was on one of the flattest pieces of lawn and he was trying to hit it pretty much in the middle.
G1T6 Jenny takes 16 yarder from H4 to H3.........middles it.

G1T6 (cont.) Jenny plays a good rush to partner near H2 , but then a poor croquet stroke leaving herself a sut-ruch to H1. Rushes 4Y NE. Takes off to 3foot straight............runs it by 12 yards. HAS 8 yarder at H2 pioneer or 13 yarder at partner at H1. Shoots at partner............misses
Manager already starting to worry about letting these two play a best of 5 :-)

G1T7 Greg shoots with K at H2 at U. It's about a 14 yarder............misses
G1T8 Jenny has an 8 yarder which is taking with her H1 ball at partner near C1.............snicks it. Needs a couple of decent croquet strokes and a good rush to get going from here. Takes off to K in middle of E boundary, hits it and croquets it to H1 getting a rush on U which is 10 yards in-lawn. Overhits shot and her rush points at H4. Rushes U S of h4 and croquets it towards E boundary and hits off in C1. It isn't a guarded corner because R is only a couple of feet out of the corner.
G1T9 Compulsory shot for Greg with K at H2 at R/Y near C1..................misses - Greg can't believe it.

G1T10 Jenny plays her H1 ball and rushes K to U. Croquets K in-lawn and rushes U 5 yards NNW of H1 - ugly place. Takes off to R, failing to get a rush and rolls 27 yards N to try and guard C2. R is 5-6 yards S of C2 and she plays Y to 2y E of R.
G1T11 Greg will be playing U at h1. He could shoot at R/Y leaving Jenny a 5 yard pick-up.............no......he plays U to C1

Just to note that Robert Fletcher was 2 games up after this number of turns of his Worlds QF.

G1T12 Jenny rushes to H2 poorly, approaches and runs H2 into partner. She'll be rolling towards H3/C3 to leave a guarded corner. Yes, lays up guarded at H3.

Clip recap
U3 K1
R3 Y1

G1T13 Greg plays K to C2
G1T14 Jenny rushes to H3 and runs obtaining a rush pointing at H1. Turns down the cut to C1 and opts to rush South and lay up guarding C4.

The sky is mainly blue with 20% cloud cover. It is about 17 degrees C. Unusually, there is virtually no wind.

G1T15 Greg is shooting from C1 to C2 - this is too aggressive in my opinion.....................he could deem or play K to C3. Shoots................misses the 33 yarder. Jenny has done well out of that tactical exchange. Can she turn it into a ball to 4-b?

G1T16 (this is the turn in which Robert Fletcher won his world Q-F 3-0). Jenny rushes partner to h5 and takes off to C2. She now needs to rush from C2 to H4 for a break. Her rush finishes 3Y NE of the peg........ugh. Rolls to H4..........AMAZINGLY LUCKY SHOT.............front ball stays on lawn by 1inch. Back ball hits left upright and bounces back to 3inch straight position. That more that compensates for her 4th turn. Runs H4 and has a 3 ball break.

Meanwhile, in the Plate final (best fo 3), Shilling has just broken down on 1-b and 4-b and Bullen has the innings on 1+1.

G1T16(cont.) Jenny gets to 1-b, but plays a bad croquet stroke out of C2 sending her 2-b pioneer 3 yards S of 2 back and leaving herself a backward take-off to 1-b...........runs 1-b by 6 yards and has a 5yard return roquet............she's been very good at these for the past couple of months..........snicks it.
This match is between the current world numbers 8 and 9. They have played each other 32 times before and Greg has won 20 of those encounters.

G1T16(cont.) The approach to 3-b is slightly faster than most of the other approaches and Jenny looks like she's opting to try for a diagonal spread in preference to her normal NSL. Poor croquet stroke after 2-b send the oppo 2y N of the peg - she'll need to play some good shots to avoid an OSL from here. Makes 3-b and sends K to near W boundary level with H6, leaving herself a 4-yarder at the ball at the peg pointing S. No attempt to rush it to spread position, just tonks it 12 yards S and croquets it 16y N of C4 and 5 feet inlawn. She'll have to be careful not to leave a double near C4 now. Goes 2yards apart in C4 leaving a 3 ball gap.

G1T17 Greg is shooting from where the balls lie at the balls near C4..............hits the near ball, rushing it 9" W of the ball just N of C4. This corner is none trivial to stop a ball in. Greg does well to get a rush pointing NW, but only manages to rush it into C2. He's playing his H3 ball, so he now needs to get a rush to 3 on K which is near the W boundary 11y S of C2. Sends Y 18Y S, but finishes without any useful rush. He is now rolling towards H3/C3 from the W boundary...........4 feet short of position. Lays up near C3 with very little room to dig a ball out if Jenny shoots.

Plate final update
Shilling 2-b + 4-b
Bullen 1 + break

G1T18 Jenny shooting with her H1 ball on the W side of the lawn at Greg near C3.................misses
G1T19 Greg rushes Jenny into C3 and croquets her 10y inlawn getting a rush to H3. Grovels through hoop 3 from 1 foot 10 degrees and will probably need a referee. Not sure how easy/difficult this is. Looks like he's playing through h3 to hit partner 7 feet S of h3...........hits quarter ball - fairly easy. Still some work to do with R only a yard or so out of C4.
Greg gets a good rush to C4 and rushes it off the lawn about 2y N of the corner. Plays the take-off into the tricky area well and has a rush to H4. Blobs H4 from 1 foot straight.

G1T20 Jenny plays her H1 ball and hits her 4yarder at partner. U is in H4 and K is 5y S of H3, so good chance for a break. I don't hold out much hope of any peels, but you never know :-)
She has already left partner near the S boundary instead of croqueting it 10 yards N. A good set of shots gets her a ball 4y E of H2 and a 1 foot rush to H1 which she takes to 5 feet SW of H1. Approaches to 18" straight, runs the hoop and has a break.

G1T20 (cont) Jenny is making H2 off oppo with partner and an oppo ball 5y S of H3, so about as easy a standard TP position as you could get. Runs H2 to the boundary and has a 5 yard return roquet.............clips strikers ball on cast.............restalks..........hits.

Plate update
Shilling 2-b and 4-b
Bullen 1 + 4-b
Shilling has just missed the lift

G1T20 (cont.) Jenny sends her H4 pioneer 4y NW of H4 and contemplates sending K out as a pivot rather than leaving it at H3 as an escape ball, but decides to l;eave it at H3. Fails rush partner within 5 feet of H3 and has a backward take-off. 1 yard staright hoop. Runs it into K (good decision to leave it at H3 :-) ) This will now be another ball to the peg. Will she make a spread or a defensive leave? Or an OSL ? :-)

G1T20 (cont.) Jenny runs hoop 5 by 17 yards and needs to hit a 5 yarder at her H6 pioneer...........copes.

Ian Burridge has just written in to ask whether Tim Murphy has added a "delete all commentary before my wife reads it button". Sounds like a priority Tim.

G1T20 (cont.)
Jenny has pottered round to the peg. Makes reverse OSL, with U on the E side of the lawn.

Plate Update
Chris Shilling 4b + pen with the innings
Brian Bullen 1+4b

Clip recap
Jenny R4b + Y peg
Greg K1 + U4

G1T21
Greg lifts U and shoots at R near C2.............middles it. Sends Y to H5 getting a rush to H4 which finishes 9Y N of C4. Greg is comtemplating either approaching his hoop or taking the H5 wire which is 5 feet N of where he is. I'd approach H4 from here. Greg opts to try and get the wire..............gets it.

G1T22
Will Jenny shoot Y at R or corner into C3? I'd go to C3. Nope..........Jenny has found her 32 yard double R at UK....................about 3 balls gap in the middle.................nope, changes her mind (woman's prerogative), shoots R at Y.......massively too aggressive imo..................misses

Slightb error in the commentary. Greg left a rush for his H1 ball on his last leave which explains why Jenny took the shot she did.

G1T23 Greg approaching H1 from 3y straight. Gets 3 foot position. Runs it with a forward rush. The fact that Greg has opted to play his H1 ball indicates that he is probably going to peg Jenny out. Oh great, a long pegged out ending after a scrappy game and 4 more games to come. Out flight is at 8.45.

Plate final update
Shilling 4-b and box
Bullen 1 and peg

G1T23 (cont.) Greg has reached 3-b and for some reason has to approach from 2 yards. Gets 18"foot straight hoop......restalks..........copes. We will be seeing Y pegged out and a contact leave.

G1T23 (cont.)
Greg has pegged Y out. Fails to rush partner off the lawn after pegging out Y. Is rolling both balls off W boundary. U is in C2, K is 16y S of C2
Clip recap
R 4-b, Y box
U 4, K peg

Plate update
Shilling 4-b and box
Bullen 2 and peg

Bullen is laid up with a rush to H2 guarding C2. Shilling attempts to move from near C1 to C3, but hits 4-B, leaving Bullen a perfect 3-ball break.Bullen immediately rushes 3" N of H2 leaving a tricky approach. Looks like he is irish peeling 1-b to get in front of H2. Succeeds and now has a 6" hoop. Is looking at whether Shilling has a backswing at the balls at H2. Runs H2 - can he see partner? Doesn't look like it. Retreats to W boundary 13y S of C2
Shilling shoots..............hits and is finishing. 26-14

G1T24 Jenny goes to the end of B-Baulk with R - has she forgotten her contact? Nope, goes to K and croquet it 3y NW of 4-b - good shot - going to U. Rolls U 3y S of H5, finishing 3y short of position at 4-b. Plays 10y E of C1.

G1T25 Greg tries to play U off the N boundary near K, so it is wired from R...........calls ref to watch point of exit. More good refereeing from Graeme Roberts ignoring the ball and just placing a marker where th ball crossed the line.

G1T26 I expect Jenny will shoot at this........yes, she's having a pop....................restalks..............misses boundary ball narrowly. Jenny informs us "looked online until it reached penult"

The game has been going 3hrs and 5mins
G1T27 Greg croquets R to H6 and rushes K 4feet SSE of H4. Approaches to 18" straight, runs it off the lawn. Now has a 5 yard tonk pointing back to R..............rushes it 5y NNW of H6 ........rolls partner to H6 getting a rush on R that points closer to H4 than H5................good rush to 2feet E of H5.............should finish from here.

G1T27 (cont.) All under control after H6.

G1T27 (cont.) Poor croquet stroke going to 1-b leaves him a backward take-off to 1-b and a 2-b pioneer that is 4 yards short. Good take-off to 1-b and he runs the hoop. Now needs a big split. Sends R 3Y W of 3-b and has a slight cut-rush to 2-b - excellent rush to 1y straight.

G1T27(cont.) Once again approaching 3-b from 5 or 6 feet. Has an 18" hoop. Runs it by 7 yards and has a 4yard return.......hits. That's the most difficult section of the lawn done with.

G1T27 (cont.) Approaching 4-b from 6 feet ...........slightly angled hoop, makbe 15 degrees..........smashes through to the boundary. Looks all over now. Poor croquet stroke sends partner well short of rover and leaves a 4 yarder at his penult pioneer. Hits, rushing it 8 feet away from the hoop. Approaches to 2 foot straight........... runs it past the peg and has 3y return.......copes. Game 1 Bryant 26-22 (3hrs 27mins)

The referees check the hoops. As usual in the N.Z. Open, half the players have gone home on Final Day, so the atmosphere is somewhat lacking. The doubles final yesterday afternoon was a thriller that kept the crowd on the edge of their seat.
The refereeing and hoop setting has been very good throughout this event. The lawns at Waimarie were excellent. Game 2 will start shortly

So, the 2 players will exchange ranking places after game 1, with Greg moving from 9 to 8 and Jenny vice versa.

G2T1 Jenny Y to 9Y N of C4
G2T2 Greg U just S of C2
G2T3 Jenny R at Y from A-Baulk..........misses
G2T4 Greg K ay R/Y from B-Baulk............misses to C4
G2T5 Jenny rushes into C4 and has a cannon. As usual, it's a hopeless effort. Partner finishes 3y NE of the peg and the rushed ball fails to make it into the correct quarter of the lawn. Good approach leaves her a straightish 2 yard hoop which she clangs.
G2T6 Greg has a range of options. Turns down 9 yarder at ball at hoop 1 and takes 20 yarder at partner just S of C2...........I'm surprised by this choice. Shoots...............misses
G2T7 Jenny has a nice target with her ball near the peg - 2ball gap in the middle of her 20 yarder. Shoots.................misses badly.

G2T8 Greg rushes to worse than death at 3-b.............copes. Makes a diagonal spread.

Clip update
Greg 1+4-b
Jenny 1+1

Plate update
Shilling won the first 26-14
Game 2
Shilling 1+1
Bullen 2 + 4b.

G2T9 Jenny lifts the ball at 2 and takes the long lift.....................misses the in-lawn ball narrowly

G2T10 Greg takes a rare line of play. He taps partner, takes off to the ball in C4 and plays the big croquet stroke loading 2 getting a rush to hoop 1. Plays it well and now has all the balls for a standard TP. Greg's triple completion rate has been orders of magnitude higher than any other player in the singles.

The last time I took that line of play was the Presidents Cup in 1997 and it probably cost me the event

G2T10(cont.) Greg peels 4-b after H3

I've booked "Courtside Couttsie" in to commentate on the 3rd.

G2T10 (cont.) Greg fails to peel penult after H6 and runs into his escape ball, so his 2-b pioneer will be SW of H6.

Plate update
Shilling (game up) 1+break for 3
Bullen 2+4b

G2T10 (cont.) Peels penult before 2-b and rushes to 4y N of 2-b. Approaches to 2feet straight, runs hoop and should make it 2-0 now.

G2T10 (cont.) Yet again Greg approaches 3-b from 7 feet and this time only runs it by 3". Looks like his 5 yarder is pretty straightforward through the hoop..............yep, no problem.

G2T10 (cont.) The breeze is just starting to pick up a bit. Greg has made 4-b. Sends peelee down to rover from 3y N of penult - not ideal. Peelee finishes 2y in front of rover - not bad.

G2T10 (cont.) Greg rushes peelee to 11" straight and is irishing. Finishes 26TP-0 to go 2-0 up

Meanwhile in the Heenan Plate Final, Chris Shilling (game up) v Brian Bullen is 1+4-b v 2+4-b

Jenny is having lunch. Greg is having a cigarette.

The first 2 games have taken 5hrs 5 minutes. Over to Courtside Couttside now.