Hello from Nottingham. I'm currently writing this commentary from my phone, so apologies in advance.

I'm sitting on the East boundary of Lawn 5 so I can see only 3 games - Jannin Hawker vsAilsa Lines, Kathleen Colclough vs Rachel Rowe and Miranda Chapman vs Rosemary Newsham.

Ailsa vs Jannine are still in game 1; likewise with Rachel vs Kathleen. Miranda is game up vs Rosemary (winning the first with a TP). The current state of play is that Ailsa is 4b & peg vs Jannine on Penult & 6. Rachel is H6 & 3b H4 and 4b

Miranda on an early break in Game 2, having won the first game. She is now approaching H5.

At approx. 9am this morning, two Ians (Vincent and Plummer) and myself timed lawn 2 at 12sec. If the sun comes out I would expect that to improve.

Lawn 6 (bowls side) was timed at 10.9sec (let's call it 11sec)

Ailsa is on a potential finish, having run 4b with a reception ball, a ball near H2 and a ball near the peg

I looked away for a second and Rachel is also on the lawn in the other game (but I'm not sure how she obtained the innings)

Miranda is still on the first break and looks to be in full control at the moment.

Ailsa has a rover pioneer now and should get a good rush to penult on the ball that is near H2

I see on Lawn 1 (a long way from here) that Gabrielle has finished off the match vs Beatrice

I think she is first to finish for today

Ailsa has just got hampered after penult

Referee on to watch - misses. It looked quite a difficult shot and it was played as a sweep.

Jannine shooting from rover to penult - hits

Rachel has made H6 with something of a break ahead of her. Her partner is for 3b.

It looks like Jannine has opted not to make penult for some reason. She looks to be having a leave, laying up for her H6 ball.

Ailsa is taking on a shot at partner with her rover ball (not to be confused with her rover ball) ((she is shooting with her ball for rover, not her ball for peg))

Misses. Jannine now has a good chance at a break for her H6 ball. I can't help thinking that she should have made some hoops with her penult ball in the last turn

On lawn 4, Rosemary missed the lift against Miranda, and Miranda has just rushed to H1 - finishing 1 yard north - takes off and 'copes'.

On lawn 5, Rachel is still on a break, having just run 3b (her partner is for 3b)

Miranda has hit her return roquet after H1 and loaded a pioneer to H3 going to the ball in C4. Takes off to partner at H2 and I suspect she will be attempting a delayed TP

Rachel is still continuing on her merry way to the peg

Jannine has run H6 and now has a 4-ball break.

MIranda has a good H4 pioneer but failed to get a forward rush after H3. Long takeoff coming up

Disaster for Jannine - after 1b, she rolled partner to in front of penult going to her pivot ball, but her ball ended jawsed in penult, unable to hit anything. She is currently thinking

Miranda coped with the long takeoff and has already run H5 with two balls at 4b for the first peel. She's quite quick on the lawn.

Plays a good croquet stroke, 1b pioneer a yard north of the hoop. Jawses peel and gets a 1yd rush to H6. Cuts the rush to a yard north of the hoop

Jannine found the furthest place from baulk that she could (which wasn't very far unfortunately for her), and Ailsa has hit her 6 yarder from B-baulk. There are two balls near penult and she is for rover and peg - should finish.

Miranda rush peels partner after H6 (or more correctly, before 1b) and sends it to 2b as a good pioneer

Kathleen hits the long lift in the middle againts Rachel. Kathleen is H4 & 4b vs vs 3b & peg. She hit the lift with her 4b ball - might we see a 3-ball ending?

Delayed double is laid out nicely for Miranda. Good takeoff to the 3b pioneer and is approaching from a yard

Ailsa makes rover and hits the 5yd return in the middle, rushing it close to partner in the process. Rush to the peg and this will be 1-0 to Ailsa

Miranda's penult peel sits in front of the jaws, and she gets a good rush to 4b

Kathleen misapproaches 4b againt Rachel - she has left Rachel an 8 yarder (ball near penult and ball north of 4b)

Ailsa pegs out to take game 1 vs Jannine

Rachel turns down her 9 yarder (might be wired?) at partner in favour of a 18-ish yarder at the oppo ball in C2 - misses narrowly.

Slight disaster for Miranda - straight double, partner glues on the peg. That is the end of the TP. She makes rover and glues an oppo ball on the back of rover. Other ball goes between WB and H2. Lays up in standard spot on EB

Kathleen is now approaching 4b from close, with a 4-ball break. I think we'll see a 3-ball ending

Rosemary is taking the short lift at partner fro B-baulk to West boundary against Miranda. Good stroke, but misses narrowly. Miranda should win the match from here

Kathleen runs penult with a sort of a rover pioneer

Miranda slightly over-approaches rover to about 35deg but runs it easily along the ground. Take off to partner at the peg...

1yd pegout to reach the quarters

Miranda through to the last 8

Kathleen has elected not to peg out Rachel's rover ball (peg ball)

Instead she is having a reverse diagonal spread, with Rachel's 3b ball at H4 (Kathleen's hoop) and her rover ball at the peg.

Ailsa and Jannine have gone for lunch.

Rachel lining up the longest shot on the court making a double out of Kathleen's two on the west boundary. Hogan error I think - through the middle.

Kathleen needs to play one good stroke and she will have a 3-ball break to win game 1. Rush to H4 coming up from near the peg

Could have been better - 3 yards directly west - slightly tricky approach coming up but pleased to see she is playing it as a croquet stroke rather than a takeoff

Plays it well - 2.5ft hoop and a deep ball

Grovels through

She has barely looked at the hampered stroke - must be impossible. Lining up the shot at partner near H5 - misesto about 13 yd past. This leaves Rachel's ball near C2 a 13-ish yarder at it also

Rachel taking the shot from C2 for a break...

Hits - but not the 13yd, instead the 25-ish yarder at a ball near H5. Should finish from here

I was struggling to cope with commentating 3 games at a time, but now the others have finished / gone for lunch, I can report on the only other match I can see from here - Sarah Hayes vs Alison Robinson. Sarah won the first and had a lot of early play in the second. I was just about to say that Alison is now on a break in G2 but she has just failed H4

Rachel makes 3b and has a 3.5 ball break to the peg to win.

As they say in England, "Trivial finish from here"

Runs 4b. Penult ball maybe a yard north of ideal, but should be absolutely fine

Rushed the reception ball after 4b into 4b and it bounced slightly awkwardly East of the hoop, making going to the penult pioneer a bit more difficult than ideal. Taking off to the sort-of-pivot ball which is in a few yards from the west boundary, between penult and peg

Good split loading rover and finishing 2.5 yards North of the penult pioneer.

Runs penult

Approaching rover

Negotiated safely

Short of a grievous, that is 1-0 to Rachel

No grievous. 4ft pegout - success. 1-0 to Rachel.

I'm going to take a break because it's absolutely awful trying to commentate on a phone.

I've now had lunch and am back at lawn 5 watching G2 between Rachel Rowe & Kathleen Colclough, and also G2 between Ailsa Lins & Jannine Hawker

When I returned, Ailsa was 3b & H1 vs Jannine on 4b & H3. Jannine has just run H3 with Ailsa's balls in C1 and end of A Baulk respectively

In the other game, Rachel is 1&1 vs Kathleen on 4b & H4

Kathleen has just hit a 6 yarder at Rachel's ball in C3, with Kathleen's 4-back ball a few yards south of 4b. One good croquet stroke and she should have a 3-ball break.

plays it pretty well - good pioneer at H5 and a 5ft rush to H4 - still requires another good shot.

Rush finishes about 7 yards short of H4

Slightly defensive approach leaves a 5ft hoop and the hoop is failed. Rachel has a 7 yarder at the ball in the hoop from near H5, or a 10yd at the reception ball

Jannine now lining up a longish H5 with a break ahead of her if she runs it - runs with control and has a forward rush

Rachel shooting at the ball in H4 - Misses the ball and the hoop

Kathleen runs H4 and shoots at Rachel's ball in C4 - misses.

Jannine still on a break. I'm told that while I was refereeing Kathleen's hoop stroke, Jannine got wired from something mid-break, but no one seems to know any more details than that, and from what I can see she is still in control of this break.

Rachel has taken croquet from in C4, sending a ball towards H2 (reached about H5 level) and rushed to H1 (bit short). Rolls up and has a 3ft angled hoop which she runs by a foot. She is not hampered from her reception ball

Rachel rushes pretty well to H2 from near H5. Her partner ball is lurking west of H2 on the boundary. She approaches the hoop from where the rush finished, but fails to obtain position - now taking on her 6 yarder at partner.

Hits

Rachel plays a load-and-hold stroke but it looks like she is not in position at H2 - now having a long think

Takes on the hoop and hits near wire first - not a bad result - her ball joins up with partner near H3

Jannine is now running Rover, with the other balls near the peg. DSL coming up - Jannine is 4b & peg vs H1 & 3b

The other game has been waiting quite a while for Jannine's leave, so nothing to report there yet.

Kathleen hit Rachel's balls from H2 to H3 and if she can rush to H5 from near the peg then she has a 4-ball break.

Ailsa hits the short lift shot against Jannine

Ailsa has approached H1 well and runs the hoop cleanly

Kathleen has her 4-ball break under control and has just run H6.

Both Ailsa and Kathleen are now on 4-ball breaks.

RECAP:
- Ailsa H1 and break (at H3) vs Jannine 4b and peg

• Kathleen 4b and break (at 1b) vs Rachel H1 and H2

Both Rachel and Ailsa are currently game-up.

I'll report back when there's more to report.

Ailsa has just failed H4 off Jannine's backward ball

Jannine on a break to win G2

Jannin wins G2 - match score: 1-1.

Kathleen is still on a break to the peg vs Rachel.

Just run 4b and sent out a rover pioneer about 4 yards too far. Plenty of room to have a back-up pioneer but it is going to be partner ball that goes to rover in its place so I'm wondering what the leave will be like.

Interestingly, Kathleen has left one oppo ball between peg and 6 after running penult, then rushed partner South of her deep rover pioneer, croqueting that out East of H4 and makes Rover off her previously deep Rover pioneer. I'm not sure what leave is coming up yet.

Rushes her Rover reception ball between H5 and peg, croquets it out 5 yd west and 1yd south of H2 and rushes the other oppo ball about 5 seet SE of the peg. Takes off to partner near H4.

Rolls both balls out approx. level with H4

Rachel plays from where it lies and hits her 12 yarder at oppo

Rachel failed to approach H1 and has joind up north of the hoop, with Kathleen's ball at H2. Kathleen has a free-ish shot through to the south boundary

Kathleen misses and Rachel plays a load-and-hold stroke well, gets a 1ft H1 - which she runs. Now has a break.

I say that...commentator's curse. I think she must have miaspproached H2 because she appears to have some kind of wide join between peg and H3. Kathleen has just joine
d up near C4.

Rachel has shot and hit another 12 yarder and gaind the innings back. Looking more closely, I think she must have missed a return roquet after H2 in her previous turn, because she has a clip on H3 now. Anyhow, she should go round now.

Rachel has made H3 and come up short of her pivot ball - 4 yards short. Shoots at it and misses, but hits her H4 pioneer accidentally (which was several yards south of H4)

That was a bit lucky really.

Takes off back to pivot and has a sort of a rush to H4. Rushes it closer to H5

Takes off for position and runs a 4 foot hoop to the boundary. Now should have a break.

Rachel has misapproached 1b and looks like she needs to jump through.

Does so.

Game 3 Jannine vs Ailsa has just started. Jannine has just missed 4th turn short shot after a C2 second turn opening.

Rachel left a 3 yarder at her 3b pioneer and just snicked it. There is a pioneer at 4b I think, so we should have a 3-ball ending.

Ailsa has made H1 but not got in front of H2. Played to C3

I think Rachel changed her mind about pegging a ball out after 3b. She then started to have a leave, but missed a 4-yarder into B baulk. Kathleen has just run 4b with no rush to penult, but a ball at rover.

Kathleen rolled off penult and ran it to near the south boundary. She snicked her rover pioneer and took off back to partner at penult. Rushed this to rover and very unluckily the rush rolled through rover (no wire) by a foot.

Took off for position and ran rover, but hit her reception ball in the process. I don't think she can see the peg from where she ended up.

Kathleen has rolled over to the west boundary, putting the front ball out in the process - she is now 7 yards apart with a rush to H1 ish

Recap:
Kathleen peg & peg
Rachel 4b and (H1 or H2)

Jannine is now on a 4-ball break vs AIlsa

Rachel took the shortest shot - her lift at partner in C4 - missed.
Kathleen middled her 7 yarder down to near H1. She has elected to obtain some distance between the balls and give herself a rush to the peg.

Jannine is still on a 4-ball break.

Kathleen has over-hit her rush to the peb rather dramatically - now has a 7 yard pegout.

*peg

Front ball smacks the peg in the middle. 3 yard pegout for other ball

SMACK

Match score: 1-1.

While I was away getting a cup of tea, Jannine failed 2b. Ailsa is now on a 4ball break approaching 1b

Sorry I'm going to have to leave now. Hopefully someone else can pick up the commentary in my absence.