The doubles final is off!

Reg (yellow) to east boundary

Chris (blue) deep duffer

Ben takes the defensive shot from corner 3, misses to corner 4

Rob hits the duffer, rushing it to a couple of yards north of hoop 1. Takes off and runs the hoop.

Off to corner 4, takes off - this lawn (lawn 1) is much quicker than three - takes off up into black. Tries the big roll from the East boundary...

Great shot! - rolls off hoop 2. Hoops have been reset (having been taken in by some optimistic lawns-people) - rejection

Reg is in play now.

Got a rush to just west of corner 4 where red is waiting.

Rushes to 1, and he's through. Has a rush west. Black is near (on?) the north boundary, a couple of yards east of corner 2

Has a backwards takeoff to hoop 2. Ran it well, and very firmly. Visible from well off the south boundary how far that hoop moved.

Ok, Reg is around without any more drama. He has gone to 1back and is having a diagonal spread.

Rob has lifted black from near west boundary, taking the shot from A baulk down through partner at the peg...

Didn't appear to miss that by much.

Reg had laid up for himself, so will be around off pretty much anything, so might as well take the shortest shot.

Apparently it was on target - for a bit of the way.

Reg has rushed almost on top of the ball at the peg, and has no room to get a ball to 2back.

Oh dear - they've run out of diet coke!

Yip - Reg has coped with red - rushing it nicely to black in the middle of the south boundary.

croquet stroke after 2b has black travelling a bit fast - Reg did some penguin-like flapping, but to no avail

Runs 3b past blue. He'll need to tidy things up a bit as black is wayward from the peg also

Spread looks to have been successful - ref Ian Plummer called out to confirm that the wouldn't be straightened with the balls in a critical position. Yellow to 4-back.

Rob has lifted black from near the peg and is taking the defensive lift...

Hits it near centre ball - rushes it off the south boundary about 6 yards in from corner 4

Plays a bit croquet stroke... black falls off the lawn! Only solace is that it's off yellow

Reg on the lawn

Black about 11 yards north of corner 4, blue towards corner 2, red and yellow in corner 1.

Chris has put blue into corner 3

Meanwhile, after receiving a fair bit of abuse for not pegging out Chris in their doubles game, James Hopgood is now receiving marriage advice from Reg. Apparently Laura has discovered what it is to be a croquet widow.

Back on the lawn, Ben has rushed level with 1, runs 1 rushing to the end of A baulk. Lining up a croquet..... "Ben... take off" (Reg)

"Just don't do what Rob did"

Shaking his head a bit.. and he has a rush to hoop 2! - has a quick look over to the clubhouse to see that Reg is deep in conversation with the ref, so he takes his perfect rush to hoop 2.

rushes to a bit NW of hoop 2 - was a nice rush. Plays a croquet stroke to approach the hoop - bit long, and he pushes it through to the boundary. If he can smash this in the middle yellow's waiting at the end of a straight rush. Blue is in corner 3

Rushes it to NE of hoop 5. Looking at his options. Yellow near mid south boundary, blue in corner 3

Good takeoff and he has a rush on yellow pointing north. Didnt look like he'd hit it hard enough, but is just dribbles to a halt near the north boundary north of hoop 3. Still has a little work to do

Aggressive.. plays the approach off yellow! - looks like he might fancy peeling it going to blue in the corner. Needs to dribble off his return to do that

Dribbles off his return, has a bit of an angled peel from a couple of feet - great shot - peelee into the jaws, and a short roquet on blue.

James "is he pissed"? ... well, he can't walk in a straight line...

Rolls blue to hoop 5, but his rush is pointing at 5.

Rushes black to 5. Hopgood reckons he should make 5 and hope noone notices. Hate that line of play to get here - can't see Reg being happy with it, but they appear to have agreed to play doubles from neutral corners. I don't like that either. Much prefer doubles to be something bigger than just a game played with two individuals.

Rolls to 4... gets a 3ish foot 25deg hoop. Casts... bounces out.

Rob's got an 8ish yarder... just misses!

Quick discussion between Reg and Ben, and it appears they've retreated to neutral corners again.

Rushes black up towards corner 3, croquets it back to north of 5, rushpeels partner (the rest of the spectators rather fancied getting a rush on that south, but this is more in line with the previous break.

Take off gets an ok rush from the ball that's south of hoop 5 to 4. Didn't see where the rush went, but he approached the hoop well. Runs the hoop and is unlucky to run into reception ball.

Big pass roll up to yellow. Looked for a moment like hoop 3 might have been in the way. Was interesting enough to have Reg's head hidden in his hands!

Pass roll from the north boundary - gets about as good as he can - a bit north of level with the peg, but a rush to 5.

Looks a bit like a break now.

Through 5, no rush.

Another big roll - that's quite a good shot. Should finish with a double peel from here. 8pm, so no more games tonight

Lawn 2 has a plate Draw semi, and Brian Cumming is involved in something on lawn 4. Hoops have been removed elsewehre.

Hoop 6 looks a bit interesting - 2 feet, bit of an angle, but through it comfortably

Peel goes through.and he has a rush north

Ben's through 1back, got a short 3b pioneer.

Lining up the rover peel before 3b

Bit angled, but certainly doable

Bounces off to sit in front of the jaws. This has been a pretty interesting, but successful turn

Hasn't returned to rover yet, but is approaching 4b from about 2 yards. That's a bit untidy, and I have been endlessly told off by Chris for being untidy at this point

Making penult now. Good effort to finish this turn.

Through with a rush

Black to 6 y south of rover, yellow is really right in front, so that's all good.

Blue level with rover. I'm never getting to Glasgow!

Rushes yellow to 6 inches back from the hoop

Nice to be here with Reg and Rob sitting (as opponents) chatting through the options of how they think Ben could have played the end of this.

Plays the shot fairly sharply, and it's all safe... yellow about 8y through, red through and he hits blue and rushes black to a foot behind yellow

Ben pegs out to win +25TP. We'll be back tomorrow.

G'night all.