Just a quick update whilst Jenny is having lunch.
Burch is on a delayed tp against Fulford to equalise
Death is on 3 and 4-b against 1 and 4-b and has a chance for a standard tp against Chapman

Chapman is game up. Death makes hoop 3 and is peeling partner through 4-b. His h4 pioneer is 5 yards SW of h4
Burch has made penult. Peelee is 3yards NNW of rover

Burch rushes to 3 feet straight. Plays a stop shot peel and the peelee hits the outside of the wire bouncing 2 feet East. Still a big lead.with Fulford yet to make h1
Death jawses partner after h3. Copes with making h4 and rush peels 4-b before h5. Fails h5.
Chapman takes his lift and has a 5yarder near h3...........hits. This should be a finishing turn for the match

Jenny says she doesn't understand the rules or tactics so it is silly her taking over, but she can touch type, so we'll be swapping in 15 mins

Burch is trying to dig out a spread, but it is going to be an OSL
Chapman needs to rush Death's ball in the front of h5 as close to h1 as possible

Chapman gets right on top of the ball for his rush which hits h1 and bounces a couple of feet NW. Approaches well and now has all the balls for a standard tp.
Fulford takes a 12-13 yarder from where his ball near the peg lies..........hits half ball. From this position yesterday, Burch pegged out Patel which I thought was wrong. It will be interesting to see what Rob does against a good shot.

They are playing on the same lawn that Bamford failed 2 sextuples on yesterday and today the hoops are in fresh holes, so I expect a 2 lift option followed by tp from Fulford. Can he get the peg ball in/on a hoop so it doesn't rush to the peg should Burch hit? Anyway, first things first.....can he make hoop 1?

Chapman makes h3 with a fair bit of wire and needs to peel from 4 feet 20 degrees -not ideal. Peel fails and bounces a bit West
Fulford has made h1 and has a break.

One of the keys in the Burch/Fulford match is that by not finishing, even if he wins the game, Burch has given Fulford more lawn time He could have started the decider with Fulford having been sat down for 70 minutes.

Chapman does well to get a forward rush out of h5 for his delayed tp

Chapman jawses 4-b getting a short if angled rush to h6 which he plays perfectly

Chapman sends oppo to 2-b after h6 which will give him the opportunity to play a death roll to 2-b

Chapman peels penult close to h1 and gets good position on his 2-b pioneer
Fulford runs h5 by 10 yards and hits his h6 pioneer. Now opts to send it to 1-b, so will he be pegging out or giving contact going to 4-b? I will be surprised if either was his first line of play.

Chapman has peelee at 4-b and is making 3-b, so he will probably need a straight rover peel unless he plays a good rush after 4-b
Fulford is making 1-b with partner at 2-b

Chapman doesn't rush near rover after 4-b and sends peelee to what looks like 18" straight

Fulford sends out a 4-b pioneer, so it will be a peg-out. I expect corners 2 and 3 for the leave. Patel left C2 and a couple of yards N of c4.
Chapman is peeling from 6" 15 degrees

Chapman's peel waited in the jaws, his strikers ball hit it and peeled it and he is now in the front of the jaws with a slightly angled hoop which he needs to run by less than 3 feet to avoid hitting peelee. Copes.
Chapman becomes the first Opens finalist with a 2-0 win over Death.

All the punters who have taken 9-1 against Chapman will be happy

Fulford is on penult

Fulford pegs out Burch who now has a contact for rover. Fulford's balls are 10y N of c1 (h1) and just N of c4 (peg) which gets h4 in the way of the roll to rover. This is a more positive ball position in terms of being aggressive next turn than Samir chose.
Handing over to Jenny

Oh God, I know nothng about SuperAdvanced - sorry world!

C fancies taking croquet off the hoop1 ball, sendingit to the endof B baulk

Jamie has taken croquet and approached rover. 7 foot straight hoop... runs it really nicely, and now has a 5 yarder to equalise. ... hits it comfortably. 1-1

That'll slow down the doubles...

++Game3: Fulford v Burch, lawn , Surbiton++

hmm...looks like lunch for Jamie - back later

And we're off...

Pretty sure Rob has the toss, but Jamie starts - back to 9 y north of corner 4

Rob puts red in as a very short duffer west of hoop6.

This keyboard is awful - will take a bit of getting used to :(

Blue declines the short shot, and takes on partner from A baulk. Misses left

Rob shooting from the end of B baulk at partner....hits, rushing it halfway between the peg and hoop4.

The lovely Susan Fulford wanders onto the lawn to deliver Rob's cap.

Takes off to blue and black, and has rushed south-west of hoop 1.

18 inch hoop to start the break... through comfortably with a rush pointing towards the end of A baulk

We're expecting Rob to head to 3back, possibly with some POPs. I'm going to need an expert commentator at my side here!

Puts out a poor hoop 3 pioneer - well short. Taking off from black to make sure of the rush. Blue's about 5 yards south-west of 3, black just under peg high and between the line of hoops 3/4 and the boundary, decent rush to hoop 2

Rob has approached hoop 3 rather badly getting short and very angled, but he's through just fine.

Ian Plummer measured the lawn at 12.5 seconds - using the Surbiton ramp

Slightly angled at hoop 4, but no problems.

Great to be back in the UK, Ian Plummer, Chris Williams and Paddy under the marquee outside the clubhouse. Delicious catering - just like old times.

Looks like Rob's going to rush black down after 5 and pop it through 1. Chris a bit concerned about the percentages on this line due to the big hill in front of 1. Doesn't get black in front, so will just go to 3back without any peels.

Not sure what's happening with lawns - Rob's playing his singles semi where he'll be continuing the doubles semi shortly, and Reg is now warming up on lawn 2, about to play on it. One of the doubles semis (Reg & Ben v Paddy & Dave)

Meanwhile Rob has made 1b off blue, red is pivot, and black's down at 2b.

The contact leave is expected to be an oppo ball in C4, or a y west of C4, other oppo 8 yards N of C4, Rob in C2 with hoop 1 ball, other C3 ... nope - change of expert commentary - he's sending balls to 3back - he'll be going to4b, but same contact leave - should be a lot easier to construct starting from there.

Makes 2b, croquets black towards C4 going to blue. Will be putting blue to rush to C4 after 3b

Approaching 3b off partner from a tight position - just has to be careful to leave it open to rush to c2. Puts it east and safe

Runs 3b, rushes blue off 7 yards north of corner 4, taking off to black. Spoiler alert: Ashes going well for brits

You can rush this into the corner, or a yard west. Rob's putting it into the corner

Takes off from black, nudges it a few inches west getting a rush pointing a c2. Its a 3 footer... cuts it badly - off the west boundary about13 yards north of corner 1.

Taking croquet - rolls red up a couple of yards, and yellow's off to corner 3

Just testing formatting... test ##testing## (sorry)

this

Rigt... doubles has started (italics)

*corner 2 opening. Ben missed at partner 3rd turn, Dave missed 4th turn, Ben has rushed 3 yards west of hoop 1

Ok, so Jamie has taken contact from red in mid west boundary, plays a big roll putting it near the north boundary north of hoop 2, and coming up 9 yards short of yellow in corner 3. Takes it on .. hits

Pass rolls yellow short and east of 1 and goes to partner, takes off to 8ft 25 deg for hoop 1, back to partner - 2 yards west of it.

Rob'll shoot from 1 to 2 with his 4b ball

*In the doubles, Ben Rothman took off to hoop 1, creamed through by 10 yards and has hit his 10 yard return in the middle. Big split... almost perfect - good 3 pioneer, gets a northish rush on partner on East boundary, hits this takes off short of ball in corner 2... misses his 6 yarder at yellow. That's Paddy's ball.

Back in the singles, Rob has had a good think and has yet to play

Shoots yellow at red ... looks close, but misses on the left, and these are now joined up. Jamie has a 2 yard rush along the south boundary out of corner 2

Paddy has rolled blue out to south of hoop2, rush on partner was a bit northwards, and he rushes it to the middle of west boundary, is now trying to roll off hoop 1. Decent effort, getting a 2 yard straight hoop. Stalking...

Clangs hoop, and yellow bounces around the hoop to be cross-wired from red which is towards corner 1

Meanwhile Jamie doesn't take on his rush - nudges blue, takes off to red and yellow, croquets yellow into the back of hoop2 - that cant see anything. Rushes 4y east of hoop 1. He's taking off down the hill...has a 4 foot 10 deg hoop. This is a big shot, as it's off Robs hoop 1 ball... but he's through a good hoop.

Ben shoots from hoop 2 at partner on east boundary. Hits to some applause

Takes off short of red, has a 4 yarder which he nudges

Jamie has a rush out of 2 for a TPO - turns it down

This first singles semi-final has two square Pidcock mallets, Rob's with a bent shaft. They're competing to play Paddy who is also sporting a square Pidcock.

(ok, it's actually technicallyprobaby the second semi...)

Jamie has made 3, has two ball somewhere near hoop 4, but puts out a good hoop 5 pioneer and gets a decent rush to tidy things up

Ben's through hoop 2, has a poor hoop 3 pioneer which is playable, and black still near the east boundary nearish hoop 4

Jamie rushes east of hoop 4 stops blue across... he's short ... take a lot of wire running hoop 4, but he's ok, and continues his break. Not sure how far he'll take this break

Two Solomon grip players on the lawn at the moment. Another waiting off the lawn in the doubles (Dave), Rob Irish, Paddy and Reg standard.

Jamie runs hoop 5, tries to rush red in front of 1 for a POP, not in front, but he has taken off pushing it in front.. about 4 inches back. Maybe he'll try to rushpeel it after 6 -he'll have to hit that very hard to avoid disaster. And now he has a bad 1b pioneer - between 6 and 1b. I suspect he'll give up on the POP, unless it's right before making the hoop

Rothman didn't get a rush to 4, approaches from some distance and is angled and 18 inches back... runs it well, and has a 4 yard return roquet.

Jamie makes 6, has tried to rush back to 2b ... off west boundary... looks like he's taking this rush peel on? - no ... rushes red near the peg

Ben's at 5 with a tidy break now

Jamie approaching 1b from a wee way - no problems at all. Runs 1b, hits partner, putting this to 3b

Looks like Ben's going to 1b with a diagonal spread. Not sure which ball he'll lay up for - but Reg is his partner...

Jamie has POPped red through 1 after 2b, rushes yellow to 6 inches on the wrong side of 3b, and blue looks nearly halfway to the peg from 3b. This is looking a little scary.

Taking off to get a rush back to 3b... nice rush- back in control

Overhits his approach to 3b, but the hoops look pretty friendly

Runs hoop, rush into corner 4. Wants yellow 10 y south of c3 -won't be able to do that from where it is

Ben has laid up for his 1b ball with a good diagonal spread. Yellow looks very close to the west boundary. Paddy has been sent out (yellow)

Computer problems with everyone streaming the ashes. Grrr. try to retype those last two turns...

JAmie... leaves partner just out of c4. Chris hates his decision to take off getting a rush on yellow west - wants it East. Takes off too far, and has rushed it off the end of A baulk. Awful spot to be in

Croquets it 4.5 yards west of hoop 1 - lots of room for Rob to get behind. Croquets red 20 yards up west boundary, and black is off in corner 3

Rob takes off from corner 3, is a bit short on blue but hits a bit of his 6 yarder

Paddy sentout to take the lift... hills off the long lift. Ben fails 1b off partner. Dave had a lift with red tight by the peg, and hits the short shot at partner near c4, and he has picked up his break.. runs 1 by a long way ... 4-5 yard return...hits it. He has a good hoop 2 pioneer, so should be ok

Rob has taken off from blue, rushes yellow to the west boundary just north of hoop 2. Croquets yellow to the north boundary, and has about a 2.5 yard 15deg hoop..

Blue is near the north boundary north of 3....runs 2 with little wire, but he has gone east of it.

Dave got quite an angled hoop 4, but plays it smoothly through to the boundary.

Rob has a delayed TP for the match. He's got partner at hoop 4, and has played a nice croquet stroke from near corner4. Needs to cut yellow a bit - it has gone a bit far, but all good.

Peelee has been put 4 feet north-east of 4b, then he nearly rushes black into the jaws of 4b. Good takeoff though, although he'll need to wibble very gently onto the hoop 5 pioneer to get enough room for a forward rush ... plays it all very well. Rushes blue towards corner 3, and he's well in control now

Very messy... Rob hasn't got much of a rush on peelee. Blue is west of 1b, so isn't great to peel to. Cuts it to angled position - looks like he'll cope

No problem at all .. peels it straight, andhas rushed well to hoop 6

*Meanwhile, Dave has left blue east of corner 2, and is making 2b off back. He's got a 4 yarder pointing westish... hits that gently and he'll leave it just in from the west boundary and stop at 3b, wth yellow in corner 4 (nice rush over there). Red will be heading to corner 3. Chris doesn't seem to be having any trouble getting to grips with super advanced tactics!

Rob's making 1b from very close, partner at 2b,all under control

Dave has finished his turn. Dave 3b, Paddy hoop 1 v Ben 1b, Reg hoop 1

Reg will be wishing that diagonal spread was left for him to have a sextuple...

Rob has rushed short after 2b, but it's all looking pretty standard

Reg takes the 1 foot rush to nudge red south of corner 3, before playing a big roll sending it 2 yard north of hoop 1, gong to partner. No rush of any sort, and he's now taking croquet in corner 2. Yellow still nestled in corner 4.

Rob rushes towards hoop 6 after 3b, blue's in great position and it should be a regulation delayed double

Ollie Chapman seems unhappy Dad's off the lawn, and is having a wee grizzle. No great dramas, as Reg lays up in corner 4

Yellow peeled to just south of the peg, rushes blue nicely to 4b

Bit of cornering here... Dave (red) to corner 3! - in fact, genuine kiwi cornering... 6 inches south of corner 3... he is playing doubles with a kiwi!

Rob's got all the balls still...blue a couple ofyards north of rover, he's croqueting yellow to rover - giving himself a lot of room to play this shot and plays it well. Slightly offline having yellow hit blue, but only gently, and red is good.

Back on lawn2, it looks like Reg had laid for partner and Ben plays the turn ending by putting blue into the front of the jaws from a very angled position. I don't think they'll take red at black, but it would leave a 7 yarder

Rob's deep ball is very deep, gets a nice side ball, should take this game, and the semis can resume. 3.17pm. No idea how I'm getting to Glasgow tomorrow!

Doesn't achieve anything with his rush on partner..leaves himself an 18 inch peel -hard to tell how he's going to play this

Paddy shooting yellow at red, from corner 4 to corner 3 -seems to have missed that by a mile on the left

Rob plays a gentle stopshot. Yellow nicely through - contemplating not jumping as yellow falls over the side...no .. restalks the jump...

Turns his mallet around with the top bent part facingaway... no ... back toward him .. it's just the place he wants to hold the mallet where the shaft is bent.
... no... back to flat. Yellow is offline, but disaster awaits...

Hopeless internet... lost another 10 mins of commentary!

Rob's semi... after much deliberation... runs rover on the ground... heaps of wire... rushes yellow halfway to hoop 4.

Misses the peg to the right, and scatters the balls to give Jamie a 10 yarder with his 4b ball with Rob's other ball pegged out

Jamie takes the short shot

Rob pegs out to reach another Opens final. Rob wins 26-9 and will play UK-based kiwi Paddy Chapman tomorrow.

Rob has now had a great warmup on lawn 3, so the other chaps are having a hit there now for their semi final. Chris in black with his stripey MacRob warmup shirt.

Back on lawn 2, let's retype everything from Paddy missing from corner 4 to corner 3

Reg hit partner in the back hoop 2 - didn't get the rush peel. Took off to oppo balls in corner 3. Needed a good rush, and a sextuple for the match...

*Lovely rush to hoop 1, made it, rushes to east boundary level with hoop 3, good croquet stroke to get a tight pioneer and a rush on the ball near corner 3 to north of hoop 2. *

1-back peel is lovely - through all the way ... 4 feet east of hoop 1

*Some trouble at hoop 4, but he copes and runs a longish angled hoop. He has just run hoop 5 short of yellow, so will be disappointed, particularly given a decent peelee at 3b.

(srry - I need two *'s, and they have to be tight on the text. Should just be the one semi on soon at this rate, so won't need the italics)

Chris reports that it's a bit brown in front of hoop 3, and there's a clear ridge from the north boundary, through hoop 3, angling down to east of the end of A baulk

Robert Wilkinson returns sporting the world's largest wedge of chocolate cake, and reports that Reg only flicked his shortish shot at the reception ball after 4.

Makes 5, doesn't have a rush, so nudges it and takes off - makes the peel... misses the hoop 6 pioneer into the jaws of hoop 6!!!

Dave's now in play with his 4b ball - he's making 3b

Makes 3b, has a leave ... in corner 3, Ben at hoop 1, Reg well north of hoop 2. Ben's on 1b, Reg was peeled to 1b by Dave.

Ben hits. Rolls black to the peg going to red and yellow. Plays a poor stroke to not get a rush to 4b. Cuts it somewhere well south east. Takes off pretty well, and he's through 4b.

Meanwhile, Rob is back on lawn 3.... Giraud in standard east boundary position. Chris south of corner 2. Hopgood misses Giraud. Rob's off to B baulk to make a rather long double. Looked like hoop 3 might be in the way - no.. hes ok...

Shoots... hits black... rushing it off in corner 4. That'll be hard to get going off.

Ben's now through penult, and will be going to the peg

Rob's takeoff leaves him with a rush on blue pointing at corner 4. Chris off for a chat.

They have a leave... black c4, blue near c3, yellow is in c2 with a rush on red towards c1

Ben's on the peg, and is having a diagonal spread

Blue shot from corner 3... missed. Chris has made hoop 1, and has a rush north.

Croquets red towards 3 (it's pretty well short) but gets a good rush to hoop 2.

Paddy is taking a very long "short" lift. He reckoned he hilled off the last long lift he took down that boundary, blamed the wind a bit, so prefers this one. Doesn't get close - approx. through the middle. And Reg now has a 4bb for the match - just has to rush to 1b from near the peg

Chris is on hoop 4 with all the balls.

Reg has rushed a few yards north-west of 1b, but should be fine

No - horrible stroke and he's lining his shot up from corner 2!

*Still contemplating running it on the ground. It'soff the 4back ball, so worth a go. Runs it hard on the ground. Great stroke - runs it by a couple of yards.

Blue is about peg high, but Reg has a slight cut on it t0 2b, which he plays well.

Chris is through 1b, puts partner into corner 2. Quick discussion with Rob, and he's going to 4b

Reg making 3b with all the balls and everything looking tight

Blue is now in corner 4 (not sure which oppo ball that is)

aah - James is blue. Black 8 yards north of C4, yellow in C3. Nice turn Chris

James takes croquet from corner 2, moves red 7 yards south, goes 2 yards from yellow.

Reg on penult and finishing to take their match 2-0. A quick win on the other lawn and we may yet get the doubles event finished tonight!

Plays the big roll from corner 3 - yellow is well south, and he has missed partner - probably not a double for yellow, and it's red that's on hoop 1.

Chris shoots... he hits!!

Takes off short to blue and black... hits.

Reg pegs out - Reg Bamford and Ben Rothman have beaten Paddy and Dave 2-0

Chris has a very long crosswire about hoop 4, and is joining up on the north boundary north of hoop 2.

Black shoots at red and yellow... misses red by a long way on the right, so Rob should be able to get a rush to yellow - yup - lining black in still right of red. Rob'll be back onto the lawn soon

Croquets black 4 yards NNE of hoop 2, and rushes well to the east boundary. Chips yellow out 5 yards and he has rushed red in front of hoop 1, taking the hill out of play.

Makes 1, rushes behind hoop 4 - very tidy start. Getting windy though, not gong to impress Robert.

Blows the noticeboard over.
It gets put up again.
It blows over again.
David Wise is putting it up again. Hmm....

Yellow (peelee) now just west of hoop 6, but rushes beautifully to hoop 2

He has a rush to hoop 3 - standard TP for the match...

He hasn't rushed dead in front, and there is the big ridge, so it's not a given. Has gone a little far.

Yellow now in the jaws of 4b. Another nice croquet stroke, blue is northeast of 5, Rob on top of hoop 4.

Back up for the rush peel after 4. Takes off to 5. Rushes blue off the east boundary level with hoop 3 after making 5.

Rolls blue a wee bit south-west of 1back, and he has rushed partner north of penult. Should get this peel on time also.

Peels yellow after 6.

Hasn't got a rush to 1b, and his 2b pioneer is slightly short. Should cope

Runs 1b quite firmly and gets very little wire... not much fun having a 6 yarder at this stage.

Hits it on the left-hand side - very nice cut

Good croquet stroke to load 3b. a couple of yards south.

Great croquet stroke puts peels 8 inches north of rover and gets a rush to 2b.
Puts 4b pioneer short south-west. Need to dribble off this roquet... no - rushpeels it!

Approaches 3b... gets a short 45 degree hoop!
Runs it firmly up to partner.

4b pioneer isn't great, but should be ok... approach looked ok, but turned sideways leaving another 45 degree hoop, this time a bit further back.

Takes on his hoop.. bounces back! Returns to the shelter rue-ing not taking a little longer to line it up.

James now hits his 2 yard lift, James and Alain 1 and 1 vs 4b and peg

Sends a good hoop 2 pioneer out, getting a rush on red to yellow. Rushes yellow a little far (4-5 yards past 1). Approaches the hoop putting yellow deep, should be off now.

Taking his time...1 yard straightish hoop...

Doesn't look very confident, but he's through and has a 5 yarder to continue... hits it pretty centrally.

James still going on a 4bb. Doesn't look very confident but its getting there. Red and black have hoop 5 somewhat surrounded

Rope hoop 6 pioneer here. Chris expecting yellow to come off

Rope? - stupid keyboard/autocorrect... ropey. I.e. bad. Expected him to replace that pioneer, but puts red to the peg, so Chris now anticipating a ball to 1b

Yup - definitely a ball to 1b now

Bit short on his approach to 6, but should be ok... is. Easy spread here now.

Its a diagonal spread, laying up for the 1b ball.

Rob's ball is at the peg. He'll be shooting down the line.

Rob's shooting from south of hoop 1 up towards corner 2 .... hits most of that!

He has rushed yellow into the front of the jaws of 2, but that'll be no problem.

Nope.. it is a problem.. he has played a half roll and has faulted himself. Checks with the oppos - puts the balls back. Dave goes racing onto the lawn to get red put back to where it was in relation to yellow at the time of the shot. This is now two balls in contact basically in James' hoop, with James joined up on east boundary.

James playing blue - rushes it into red and yellow!

Stops black to 2b and will be making a few hoops here.

James approaches 3b to a bit angled, but no problems, and he has had an NSL, with the peg ball (yellow) at hoop 4, and red very deep near the east boundary

Chris and Rob contemplating their options. Chris taking the defensive lift

Internet problemmatic here, might have to send the rest of this report in one go.

Shoots down towards corner 4. Goes through the gap, mostly towards the outside ball.

Giraud on the lawn now for the first time. He has rushed to the west boundary, but is quite far south of red.

Croquet stroke... blue to hoop 2, has a rush on red pointing straight at yellow, but he's looking at hoop 1, and cuts it to 1 - hits the RH wire of 2b - should be able to get hoop and roquet out of this.

Through hoop 1 without a rush.

Rushes off the end of A baulk, and is rolling this to hoop 4 going to yellow. Puts it well north of hoop 4 and will be needing a Hogan Roll to get yellow to hoop3. Very aggressive line of play

Doesn't get the ratio right -black's ok, but yellow only just in from the yardline.

Will need to do some work to make hoop 3, but he's well capable of it

Runs 2, has a rush pointing at red - he should be ok here. Doesn't take the rush!!!

Rolls blue across, but too far. Gets a good position with black, cuts it to still north of 3 -not that easy to approach 3 down the ridge. He's directly north of the hoop

Plays the approach well. It's a bit long, but pretty straight

Creeps through the hoop - rather lucky blue is so far south and east.

Stalks again in the breeze

Hits blue. Chris must be knackered having had to get up at 5.30 to pick me up this morning.

Rolls blue into peeling position and has a south rush on yellow

Doesn't rush it to a great spot - he can't easily get this to 5

not too bad - 3y east of 3

oops - 3east of 5

runs 4, no rush, puts red deep between the lines of 6 and 3, getting a decent rush to 5.

good approach to 5

Through 5 with a rush. The bigchallenge is peeling 4b getting a rush on that northerly ball to 6

1b pioneer a yard west of 1b. rushes blue SW of 4b... bit too west for comfort, but should have a good chance to get into the jaws

Good effort - hits the jaws and bounces out a wee way

2y rush to 6... hits that really well.

OK, quick change of computer. You didn't miss much ... a very long discussion after failing to get the peel through. Puts partner to 2b. Should get this around, but let's see. - gave himself some length at 1b. Yellow to 4b to try to rush back after 2b and peel

One peel could be quite handy here

He's approaching 2b looking at where to go to get that rush back up

Rushes up, leaves blue in front. makes 3b. Now up at 4b - tries to rush closer in front - falls over to the right. Discussion time again. Seems a very aggressive option to try the peel, but let's see. It is a guaranteed loss if anything goes wrong. (well, that last lift being hit was a guaranteed loss too...)

Good grief! - doesn't do the peel, but Susan has just drawn my attention to the fact that Alain has made rover off Chris's peg ball - with the other two balls at the peg!!!

Runs rover - rush points towards corner 1!!. puts yellow in no man's land - kind of between 3 and 4, and in terms of east-westness and halfway between 5 and peg in terms or northness.

red to the peg, it's a reverse spread. They'll cross fingers on that last lift, and this game may go to a decider!

4b and peg plays 4b and peg

They sound unkeen to play against Rob and Chris tactically, so crossing fingers instead

Rob has lifted red from the peg - Susan concerned he's left his cap behind. Taking the "short" lift from B baulk at blue and black...

It's a miss.

James has a finishing turn. Good start - chips red out, rushes past yellow - has enough room to get closish to penult

Rushed to 4 yards SE of 4b - awful croquet stroke which sails past the hoop - probably need to join up in the middle of the lawn and cross fingers here.

blue has gone about 4 yards inlawn guarding the boundary red would miss to if it took on black.

Chris and Rob in conversation - looking at not joining up - shooting yellow at black's about 3 yards east of the peg, yellow is near the boundary north of hoop 3

Misses - looked fairly close.

Alain has had a leave. Yellow at 4b, Red near hoop 1, them joined up on east boundary.

Chris has missed to near corner 1

It looks like they'd left no sort of rush, so James taps partner and has taken off to red and yellow

James overhits his croquet stroke putting yellow towards hoop 2, and only manages to rush red back to black (only a few yards north of hoop 4).

Tries to roll off 4b. Almost perfect- but also almost off

Joins up again, and Rob has a free shot with his 4b ball from the north boundary, pointing at corner 4.

Misses into corner 4

Bereft of stopping bisques, Susan and I went for a hotdog. Did the trick...

James rushed to 4b, made it, rushed SW of penult. Took off back - bit short but runnable... failed penult!

Chris rushed blue off the north boundary, took off to partner in corner 4 (nearly going off!), took off back, and pegged black out

James shot at the wide join, missing, and Rob has just rushed nicely to 4b, nearly overapproached, but with a lovely deep pioneer. Through to the boundary... and a poor rush to penult, having conceded a lift with red near the south boundary (5 y from baulk).

Reall good approach to penult - 18 inch straight hoop and blue is well through...

Runs it well and has a rush to rover!

Rushes past yellow to tidy up

Chris seems comfortable, as he's having his dinner. Reg is still here, so we should at least start the doubles final tonight.

Poor croquet stroke - he'll need a good cut to get yellow to rover. Blue is a deep reception ball

this si a bit hopeless in terms of commentary disappearing after I've typed it and seen it appear. Hate to think how many double copies people are getting. Ho hum... I dd report that Chris and Rob won game 1. Rob rushed yellow into the jaws of rover, played the croquet stroke having striker's ball bounce off the wire into the jaws and finished.

Finals now under way. Commentary on final in a new thread...