Good morning from a chilly Nottinham. Temperatures are expected to range between 13 and 18 degrees today (it was 20 degrees in Christchurch earlier this week in the middle of winter!!). There is a 50% chance of rain, but at the moment it is dry and fairly still.
The players have started their practice. Jenny has just put blue in hoop 1, looked over at mer and said "huge". I checked the hoops after play yesterday and they are very consistently set, but the gap between ball and hoop is about 3 times larger than it would be in NZ. The hoops seemed to be between 3 and 4 64ths larger than the balls. I believe that new hoop holes have been used at least once and possibly twice so far. Jenny said lawn 1 was in fresh holes yesterday, but just as easy as before. Lawn 2 seemed to be slightly firmer.
Today, I'll be trying to cover Miranda v Rachel on lawn 1. I expect Miranda to be strong favourite. I'll also try and cover the lawn 2 match between Jenny and Jannine where Jenny will be strong favourite. It's still best of 3 today before we change to best of 5 tomorrow.

The lawns are still in lovely condition and running smoothly.
The Plate continues today - I think both Louise and Charlotte have had 2 full days off which is a shame during a Championship. 4 blocks of 5 would have allowed a much smoother progression.
The Bowl starts today and is best of 3 for those players knocked out in the last 16 of the k.o.

Rachel looked pretty shaky in her match yesterday and I thought she might lose at several stages. Miranda is looking good and is having regular sessions with her coach Keith Aiton
Jannine put out a couple more errors yesterday than I would have expected, but is a good player, very capable of tripling. Jenny had one error and a whole host of good play yesterday and looks in good nick.

Big congratulations to the Kiwis on an excellent day yesterday. Nina and Alison both had excellent wins and Kathie put up a spirited fight against Jenny.

Jenny has just approached Brian Boutel and asked for all the hoops on her lawn to be checked before start of play because she thinks they are all too wide.

If I were offering odds, I'd say 8/13 all top 4 seeds winning today 11/10 them not all winning.

The light coloured clouds are replaced by darker ones

I'm not sure what lawns the semis are being played on - that could be tricky to achieve fairness now.

Brian goes on to check the hoops

Rachel puts the clips on hoop 1 on lawn 1

Jenny appeals against the hoops being set to white since white isn't being used in this match.

Brian decides red is the largest ball and pops round checking the hoops

Ian Vincent wanders down to lawns 4 and 5 carrying an umbrella - never a good sign when the locals have umbrellas!!

T1 Rachel plays 9y N of C4
T2 Miranda just S of c2
T3 Rachel shoots at partner from A-Baulk, missing
T4 Miranda shoots at the double from B-Baulk..........missing

Brian reports the hoops as all between 0.8 and 0.9mm, so they'll have to do. Just double the gap in NZ at the start of play then. Then you can add the extra easier die to the large wires on Hopewells that funnel balls through the hoop, but the fact the hoops are painted.

T1 Jannine 7y N of C4
t2 Jenny just S of C2
T3 Jannine shoots at partner leaving a big target
t4 Jenny shoots at big target from A-Baulk, missing

t5 Rachel rushes oppo to h1 and makes it with a forward rush which only goes 9y S of c2. She'll need to approach h2 from the corner. Rolls up and has a 2 yard 15 degree hoop...........outside left hand wire
t6. Miranda takes 9 yarder at partner, hitting. has to approach h1 from 5 yards for a break - it's short - about 60 degrees - runnable with these, but not something she should be going for at this stage, Takes it on!!!!!! Slams it into the middle of the far wire, leaving Rachel a 4 yarder for a break.

t5, Jannine rushes 2 ft in front of hoop 1 - excellent shot. Gets a 2" rush out of the hoop and only rushes it peg high. Rolls partner behind h2 and will be sending oppo to h3 trying to get in front of h2. Great approach - both balls excellent. 2 ft straight hoop for a break.............smoothly through

T7 Rachel hits then takes a small divot sending oppo to h3 going to partner leaving her 7 yards short. She seems to think it might be a fault (due to lawn damage - remember, she ex-GC World Champ) but is relieved to find it is ok. Hits her 7 yarder and now has a break. It has started raining

t5(cont.) All going smoothly for Jannine

Jannine has a lovely compact style and plays tidy croquet. She may lack a bit of power, so I hope the rain stops soon.

I would be surprised to see Jannine make a break play error. Rachel, on the other hand, often looks slightly out of control and her breaks are looser.

As an example, Rachel is currently approaching h6 from 5 feet whilst Jannine approaches 2-b from 1ft

t5(cont) Jannine reaches 4-b with a spread - good turn.
t6 Jenny lifts the ball on the W side of the lawn and takes the long lift...............misses

t7(cont.) Rachel reaches 4-b - she's trying to make a spread

The rain starts to ease slightly.
Jenny reports the lift hilled off.

t7(cont.) Rachel seems to have just about made a spread., but lays up 4y N of c4, so Miranda has a 12 yarder.
t8 Miranda lifts the Westerly ball and takes the very short lift...........misses by a couple of balls on the right.

t7 Jannine gets a cut-rush to h1 which she plays well for angle, but overhits by 4 yards. Approaches to 1 yard 10 degrees...............runs it with lots of wire to get a forward rush. That's the sort of shot that doesn't go through with Atkins. Jannine will be rushing partner back after h4 to start her tp.

The rain has stopped.
t9 Rachel plays a good cut-rush to h1 and runs it with control. She'll need to rush partner over to h3 after h2 for a standard tp.
t7(cont.) Jannine's position has got a bit ragged as she sets up for a delayed tp. She has to take off from 4-b to get a rush on a poor h5 pioneer, but plays the shot well. However, she'll struggle to get a forward rush out of h5.

After hoop 5, she hits oppo and the ball finishes in the front of rover. It looks like she's got an easy take-off to peelee which should now go to 1-b and the triple should be aborted. Yes, she's aborting, but can only get partner behind h6 rather than over to 1-b

T7(cont.) Jannine plays a stoppo aproach to h6 leaving a 3ft 45 degree hoop. Turns it down and plays 2y S of c3, guarding Jenny's 7 yarder That's a big let-off for Jenny, but she still needs to hit the 7 yarder......
t8 Looks at the 7 yarder, then at a 15 yarder at partner near h5, but decides the 7 yarder is the right shot................misses.

t9(cont.)Rachel didn't get the peel after h3 and her h6 pioneer is only at the peg, so I don't expect any peels

t9(cont.) This break from Rachel is ragged. She's taking croquet from partner in the middle of the E boundary going to her h6 pioneer at the peg with her 1-b pioneer 5y E of the hoop. Approaching h6 from 8ft...........it's angled.............goes through off 1 wire and comes out of the hoop at 20 degrees - amazing! Hits a 4 yarder and continues

t9(cont.) Jannine runs 4-b inside the yard line and has a 4 yard return roquet. That's about as uncontrolled as this tidy break player has been .......misses the 4 yarder!!
T10 Jenny takes her lift and centres the 4-yarder to give her all 4 balls near the peg.
Recap Jannine 4-b and penult v 1+1

t9(cont.) Rachel reaches peg and 4-b. She's trying to make a fairly horizontal spread

t10 Jenny doesn't get a good rush to h1 and has to approach from almost the S boundary. Does so with a drive and gets a 3foot hoop which takes loads of wire leaving her a 7 yarder.................hits

t9(cont.) Rachel gets the ball at the peg pretty much touching it just NE - it may not rush to 4-b and may be open. Opts to lay up about 9y N of c4 with a rush in-lawn
Recap Rachel 4-b+peg v 1+1

t10 Miranda lifts the Westerly ball and takes the long lift - this clearly indicates that she thinks the ball at the peg doesn't rush easily to 4-b...............hits both balls. I'm not sure how well the ball at the peg rushes to h1

t10(cont.) Has Miranda just deliberately rushed oppo from near c4 into partner at the peg to free it for a rush to h1????? If so, fabulous shot - she should go round now. The question is will it be a ball to 4-b or a ball to the peg with a Riggall and contact? I really like her pace of play - she's made h1 already and is away.

t10(cont.) Meanwhile, Jenny is playing a tight 4 ball break and has just run 1-b

It starts to rain again, this time gently....then stops

t10(cont.) Jenny is going to be making an NSL with Jannine's penult ball at h4 - that's the wrong way round - the 4-b ball should be at h4.

t10(cont.) Jenny lays up level with H5 on the E boundary.
t11 Jannine lifts yellow and takes the long lift - that's the correct choice of shot..............

t11(cont.) sorry, yellow was the ball at h4 - Jannine's penult ball.
Shoots from c3....................hits. Now she can get the peg without conceding a lift

t11(cont.) Jannine gets good rush to penult, but cuts it to the peg. She's playing a backward take-off now - good positive play...........gets 4-5 ft almost straight position.............through with no wire past the ball at the peg which she rushes to 4-b in preparation for her leave. Takes off to the other oppo ball, but doesn't get a rush. Takes off to partner but doesn't get a rush and will be putting a clip on rover with a leave
Recap
Jannine 4-b + rover v 1+4-b

t10 Miranda goes to 4-b with an msl, but like Jenny, gets oppo balls the wrong way round - she has left Rachel's 4-b ball on h4
Recap
Rachel 4-b+peg v 1+4-b

t11 Rachel lift the ball at h4 and takes the long lift............hits. Both Jenny and Rachel punished for getting the parity wrong

t12 Jenny shoots from 4-b at partner 3y NW of c4............misses

t13 Jannine rushes partner 8feet NE of 4-b and approaches with Jenny joined up. Runs it with no wire. Has another 4 yard return roquet.....................hits. Good croquet stroke sends partner 5ft NNE of rover ready for the peel going to Jenny's balls near c4.

t11(cont.) Rachel is approaching 4-b from 3 yards with a ball 3 yards from penult. Runs it and should take the first.

t13(cont.) Jannine slightly overcuts ger rush to penult and finishes 5yards East. Approaches to 2yards straight..................this is off Jenny's h1 ball....................runs it well, but it finishes 9" N of the peg and she can't hit the 3 yarder at Jenny, so has to try and hot partner at rover..................middles it. That was a good shot under pressure missing into baulk having finished in an unlucky place.

t11(cont.) Rachel takes the first +17

t13(cont.) Jannine makes rover and now needs to construct a lift leave

g2t1 Miranda plays 9y N of c4
g2t2 Rachel goes just S of c2
g2t3 Miranda shoots at partner from a-baulk.............hits, makes a DL.
g2t4 Rachel shoots from c3..................misses

t13(cont.) Jannine had a great opportunity to put Jenny's 4-b ball in the middle of the E boundary, but has rolled it the peg and is making a very rough OSL which has no defensive value. Narrowly misses the peg returning to partner. Lays up 9y N of C4. Jenny will have a 12-13 at partner from where the ball lie or a 15 yarder for a standard tp
t14 Jenny takes the 12-13 yarder..................snicks it.

t14(cont.) Jenny picks up a break, but only gets peelee 3y 20 degree for the 4-b peel after h3. The peel hits the wire and may possibly have finished rush-peelable which would be very lucky. After making h4, Jenny doesn't go back to peelee. She sends out a h6 pioneer, so is clearly hoping to get a rush peel. Clubs through h5 and doesn't get a rush. That will make any rush peel tricky now. Perfect croquet stroke after h5 gets her a chance - plays a gentle stroke and jawses it. She hasn't got the angle to peel and get a rush to h6 on her pioneer which is 2ySE, so takes off leaving it in the jaws.

g2t5 Miranda has reached 4-b with a spread where she has laid up 8y N of c4

t14(cont.) After h6, Jenny rush-peels 4-b and sends peelee to 2-b going to 1-b which receives a round of applause

g2t6 Rachel lifts the Westerly ball and goes to c3 to take a very long lift shot.................misses

g2t7 Miranda picks up her 3-ball break nicely and has a delayed tp in front of her

t14(cont.) After 2-b, Jenny doesn't manage to rush partner in front of penult, so it will be a delayed double

t14(cont.) As usual, her rush out of 3-b points at rover and she'll need to play a good pass-roll up to peelee. Back ball is good, but her penult pioneer is 2.5y NW of the hoop. Peeling penult from 2ft straight............peelee goes through by 4". Jenny will be sending peelee to rover from a long way away
Gentle rain starts.
Report from lawn 5
Alison Robinson 2-b and 4-b v Gabrielle 1+6
Lawn 4
Alison Sharpe 4-b +break (h5) v Nina 3-b + 4-b

t14(cont.) Jenny rushes peelee into her penult pioneer and has to leave it NW of penult. Can she rush it to rover from there????? or will it be a leave????? or a Riggall?????

g2t7 Miranda is trying to peel 4-b on the way to 1-b.....succeeds

t14(cont.) After penult, Jenny sends Jannine's ball for rover to the W boundary 10y S of c2. She rushes partner 2y NE of rover and takes off back to get a rush oin oppo to rover. This is a 5 foot rush which she needs to rush 9 yards...............with the peg in play....rushes it 5ft se of rover and takes off in front. 2ft hoop at 10 degrees........through with plenty of wire.
She's looking at hitting partner first which indicates she wants the Riggall - don't like this

t14(cont.) Croquets partner 10y N of c4 about2 feet off the yardline getting a cut-rush to the peg which she snicks. Calls for a referee to watch a 6.5 yard peg-out

t14(cont.) Gentle go at the peg out..............hits. Retires her peg ball to c4......I really don't like that, Jannine is likely to get 2 shots instead of 1 now.

t15 Jannine lifts her ball and wanders to B-Baulk. Surely she isn't taking the very long double? The 13 yarder at the ball in c4 is compulsory. Yes, Jannine comes back to A-Baulk and shoots the the ball in c4.................Jenny tells me balck is a yard inlawn, so it will be an easy finish if she hits....................shooting...............misses by a ball on the left.
t16 Jenny will now have to make a leave and give Jannine what I regard as a bonus 35 yarder. Rushes Jannine to c3

g2t7 Miranda has done well and just has a rover peel to do to complete her delayed tp

g2t7 Miranda peeling rover from 10" at 10 degrees with an irish. Peelee nicely through and the back ball stops in the jaws. Miranda takes the match to a deciding game +26tp

t16(cont.) Jenny is rolling from the E boundary towards C1 - good shot, front ball finishes inches off the yardline. I don't think she should leave a rush to rover - a 2y rush to c4 is optimal

t16(cont.) Jenny goes off the W boundary 3y N of partner - that's ok

Recap
Jenny rover and peg
Jannine rover and box

t17 Jannine shoots from c3................Jenny has done well to maximise distance.............shooting......................close..................hills off

t18 Jenny hits oppo and has a 1 ft take-off to get a rush on partner to rover. A couple of inches short, but very cuttable..................rushes 5ft NW of rover, approaches well and runs it to get a 2 ft rush to the peg. A poor rush finishes 5yards East and Brian Boutel comes on to watch the pegout.......................misses and then chooses to peg out partner
t19 Jannine has an 11 yarder snicks it.

g3t1 Rachel 9y N of c4
g3t2 Miranda just S of c2
G3T3 Rachels misses partner from A-Baulk
g3t4 Miranda misses from A-Baulk

t19(cont.) A great approach gets Jannine 3feet in front of rover but she’s sent Jenny 4y NW of C4
Blobs rover!!!
T20 Jenny takes her lift and is lining up a target of ball and peg………………misses the ball…….....hits the peg!!! +2

Sorry, I've lost track of the game on lawn 1. It looks like both players have had multiple turns and the balls are strewn in random positions with Miranda having the innings
I'm going to break for lunch since I'm cold.

Lunch isn't ready yet, so I can report that Miranda has picked up a break and is at h6
Jenny and Jannine aren't starting until after lunch.
Alison Sharpe has just won the first +7 against Nina
No report yet from lawn 5, but Alison Robinson is in play

Big discussion on lawn 4. Brian thinks there might have been some interference and clip misplacement, but we're not sure. Ian Vincent is in discussion with the players - Nina is shrugging her shoulders. More to follow when I find out some facts

On lawn 5, Alison Robinson is 2-b+rover v Gabrielle 1+1-b (still game 1)

Miranda reaches 4-b with a spread. She is laid up 8y N of c4

g3t9 Rachel lifts the Westerly ball and once again takes the very long lift...............misses to c4

now I am definitely lunching

g3t10 Miranda once again made her delayed tp look very easy until a straight rover peel without a side ball caused her to miss a hampered shot after rover, giving Gabrielle all the balls.
Recap
Miranda peg and peg
Rachel 1+2

g3t11 Rachel plays her h1 ball and has a break

Ian Vincent reports excitement from lawn 5. Gabrielle has gone round and pegged Alison Robinson out leaving what should have been 2-b and peg v 2-b. Unfortunately, she also pegged herself out, so it is now a 1-ball game with both players for 2-b and about 20 minutes left.

Alison fails 2-b to the front of the jaws
Gabrielle shoots at her from 12y N of c1............hits, peeling her by 5 yards. Takes off to in front of 2-b and fails the hoop.
Sorry this is a bit inaccurate - I'm a long way away

Alison has a wiring lift, but she's probably a bit closer by not taking it.
Alison shoots.............misses
Gabrielle runs 2-b and there is about 15 minutes left, with both players on 3-b
Gabrielle tries to take position at 3-b it looks about 5 feet back and ok for straightness

g3t11 Rachel reaches 4-b with a spread
g3t12 Miranda lifts the Westerly ball and takes the long lift................hits. Takes the match and a WCF medal +16

Meanwhile, it looks like Alison played 12y N of c4 and Gabriellefailed 3-b to the jaws
Alison shoots..............hits the hoop and bounces to the side.
Gabrielle runs 3-b, rushes Alison to c1 and takes off to 4-b and takes position

Alison tries to take position at 3-b - can't tell whether it is in front - it is only 2 feet back

Gabrielle runs 4-b and goes 15y S of c2 - that's too defensive if Alison wasn't in position
Alison takes position about 2 feet back
Gabrielle goes 10y E of c2
Alison runs 3-b by a foot and plays 9y S of c2

Gabrielle was further E than I thought and has a gentle attempt at penult..............hits the hoop.........I can't tell whether it is in the jaws or just E of the hoop
Alsion tries to take position at 4-b
Gabrielle was in the jaws!!!!! - great shot! Runs penult and takes position at rover.................has she overhit it?????

Alison takes better position at 4-b
Gabrielle takes better position at rover

Alison runs 4-b and takes position at poenult - has she overhit it?????
Gabrielle runs rover and plays 10-11 yards E of the peg.
Alison is taking on a short angled penult.....................................nope, but it is clean
Gabrielle shoots at the peg................misses
Alison takes good position at penult

Gabrielle shoots at the peg................misses
Alison can't have much time left...............blobs penult into the jaws

Gabrielle shoots at the peg..................misses
Alison runs onto the lawn, runs penult to 5feet in front of rover..................taking plenty of time......................runs the hoop by 3.5 yards

Peg v peg
Alison is looking at areas well East of the peg
Gabrielle is in the middle of the W boundary
Alison is still thinking

Time isn't much of an issue now

Alison calls Ian Vincent - she's playing at the peg.................misses and goes 10y past

Gabrielle plays 8feet S of the peg - is Alison wired?????

Alison shoots.....................misses
Gabrielle dribbles at her 8 footer................hits!!! +1

That's all from me today