Good morning all (or whatever time of day it is in your part of the world). It is another lovely day here at NCC.

On Lawn 11 this morning we have Forster v. Mulliner.
Forster plays to standard position on EB
Mulliner does duffer.
Forster down the EB to corner
Mulliner down the centre to SB below H4
Forster at partner in corner
Mulliner at single ball target in corner.
Forster taps on to partner - 1st hit of the game. Rushes Mulliner's Black to near 6, croquetts it to 3, rushes Blue to 1. Makes 1 and misses 3y rush after the hoop.

Lawn 12, Fletcher v. Huneycutt.
Fletcher subershort
Huneycutt 3y off EB, peg high.
Fletcher from B-balk at Huneycutt into C4
Huneycutt at Fletcher's supershot - hits. doing a square shot putting Fletcher up lawn and trying to get behind his own ball near EB. gets a rush to Fletcher in C4

Lawn 11, Mulliner has missed and Forster has hit a long one. Is now approaching hoop 2 (with Yellow, his 2 ball...) and should have a 3ball break.

Around the corner on Lawn 7 we have Trimmer v. Chapman.
Chapman is the favourite, but Trimmer has been picking up since the start of the tournament and played a pretty good good match yesterday against Essick.

Trimmer does supershot, 2yw of of centerline, between 5 and peg.
Chapman to C2
Trimmer misses Champman in C2, leaving balls in contact - But, it appears to be less than a double target, as Champman's black wasn't quite in the corner.

My delightful research assistant tells me that out of the 10 matches played between Champman and Trimmer, Chapman has an 8-2 lead. Good record.
Chapman has hit in C2 but no cannon. rushing partner mid lawn to put back at 2 while rushing Trimmer's supershot yellow to 1

Over on the windy Lawn 11, Forster has failed to approach 2 and Mulliner is in. All the balls are rather spread out (his Blue west of 3, Forster's Yellow near C4) and has just rushed to WB level with one. Good approach and fails it from a reasonable position. Forster's Red is a 4y receiver, but not sure whether he's open on Black.
The last time these two played was in 2003 at NCC in the Mac, and Forster won both games with TPs.

Looks like not - he's firing at his own Yellow on C4. Snicks it. Should be another good shot at a 3 ball breadk.

Lawn 7: Champman has made 1, and is digging Trimmer's red out of C2. 4ball break coming up.
Lawn 12:
Huneycutt is still motering around with a 4ball break, currently approaching 5
Lawn 10, Maloof and Dawson are battling out trying to gain control of the opening, and Maloof currently has it, but neither seem to have made any hoops yet.

Lawn 11. Forster runs h2 with a rush towards 3, where Blue lies in wait 3y E of the hoop

Lawn 10, Maloof has got going and has all the balls reasonably in lawn, but has just stuck in 2 form dead in front. Calls oppo, then ref. in turn. Looks like a question of size. It matters here.

Lawn 7. Chapman rushes oppo into the back of the hoop after 4, but has a load at 5 and a ball mid lawn so might be a 3ball for a bit.
Up on Lawn 8. we have Williams v. Maugham.
Williams has made 2, and Maugham is on a break to 5. He's just left Williams' black at 1, so maybe setting for an sxp? Would be good.

Lawn 9: Murray v. Clarke.
Clarke makes 9, Murray misses lift with 2 ball of a 2/4 leave into C4

All still go on other courts. Bamford has won the opening of Bammford v. Hopgood and seems to be rushing to 1 from h2. No score yet.

Lawn 12. Huneycutt sticks in h9. Plum in the middle. Fletcher's red was the receiver, but is almost directly out the side - only a yard away though... The other 2 balls are 5ft apart mid-lawn, so shouldn't be a problem to get going one way or another.
Takes the shot on at the ball in hoop and hits it 2y south. Fletche with the innings, Huneycutt on 3back

Drama alson on lawn 7. Chapman seems to have stopped after 5. If it is a tactical stop, I'm not convinced it is th best choice, leaving his balls on NB and next to 6, and Trimmer's Red and Yellow 4y apart between 6 and 2.
Trimmer hits the setup (4y) at the ball at 6, and has the innings.

Fletche does a gentle cut rush to 1, would have stoppoed 2y short had not the wind taken it to 1ft S of hoop - via the leg. Good use of the conditions by the Victorian/South Australian. Aussie anyway.

Ref's are in demand.
One is resetting H2 on Lawn 10 (Maloof must have successfully claimed a stick), and Williams is getting a sore arm up on Lawn 8, where he appears to have a ball just having snuck through 1. It seems that Maugham failed h7
The court seems to be a mirror image - ball in 1back with receiver 4ft SSW, Ball in 1 ,with receiver 4ft NNE

Trimmer has made h1 on Court 7, adn has a 3ball break against Champman, after Champamn's not-so-tactical stop at h6

Around on Lawn 11, Forster made a 9 and did a 2/4 leave. Mulliner lifts the 2 ball and shoots at Forster from A-balk. Snicks Forster's 4back Red. Rushes Yellow to C4 and croquetts it towards 2 (stops 10 short), and gets a dolly rush on partner to 1.

Just a warning in advance readers, as many of you will already be aware, the internet here has a tendencey to be elusive at crucial times, sometime vanishing for extended periods without permission or notice, so if I vanish during the day, that might be the reason. Either that or I will be playing, on a lunch run, or simply deceased.

Mulliner sneaks through 1 and is hampered. Misses. Forster from midlawn at double by 1, hits and rushes Mulliner's other ball down near C1 in the same stroke, now taking off behind it. Nothing special in that shot, gets level. Forster is playing his h2 ball, and the only other live one is his Red over by the EB peghigh. tries to split to 3 getting behind it but both balls pull up short. Will either be rolling to 2 (risky, as Blue is short and that is Blue's hoop) or setting up near C4. Looks like the latter.

Bamford Hopgood is still going on 1st break. Bamford is making h7, so a standard tp or qp looks like the aim.

Re. the matchup there, out of the 5 games they have played, Bamford is up 4-1, so again he's favourite on that account apart from being every so slightly higher ranked.

Hopgood's one victory was in 2011. He's in good form though, so it wouldn't be surprising if he takes at least a game away from Bamford

Lawn 10, Maloof continued after his replay, and is now approaching h7.
Lawn 11, Mulliner hit Forster's set, and has now got a 2y sideways takeoff to get position on 1.Looks good. Runs the hoop with a rush and should be away, although there is no near pioneer for 2

Lawn 9: Clark has started a tp against Murray. 1 down, 1 jawsed, 1 more after that.
Lawn 12. Fletcher is making a break and setting a kind of 2/4 with Maloof's h1 ball on WB 4y S of 2, and presumably the 3back ball on the leg of 3back. Has to make 3back yet though

The wind has picked up significantly now, which should add a challeng to the games. I won't say an extra challeng, becuase from what I can see, there isn't anything else challenging them at the moment bar careless play and failure to get the lawn speed during their warms-up.
My stats assistent tells me the wind should advantage Trimmer in Chapman v. Trimmer, since Chapman is a known dunce in the wind. Or words roughly to that effect. Trimmer is the bigger bloke too...

Lawn 6. Bamford sets a tight diagon spread leave after making 9. Hopgood picks up the Westward ball and will be shooting at Bamford from A-balk. Probably.

Lawn 5: Riva v. Patel.
Not sure what's happening, but Patel's Black is still on 1, Riva's Red on 2, and Riva has just made h7 with Yellow. Can't see Blue clip, it's not on hoops 1,2,6.

or 4

or 5 or 3 or peg. Looks like it's a tpo Watson!

Lawn 6. Hopgood shoots at partner at the peg, missing to NB. Bamford loads partner to 2 and rushes Hopgood to 1.
Lawn 12. Fletcher set a leave, and Huneycutt has picked up his h9 ball (whcih was on the leg of 9), and shoots down EB. Misses. Fletcher's on the go again.

Lawn 11. Mulliner in trouble.

He's just squeezed through 1back, and is nicely hampered. Receiver is only abotu 4ft away and should be able to get half a mallet on striker's ball, but not much more. Looks like he's attempting off the leg. Saw Maloof do that yesterday with success, but at a 4ft receiver, that's just suicide. Also, interestingly, he's peeled Forster through 4back and penult, so Forster has an 8y lift to potentially finish. Not generally confident in crucial shots over that distence, so chooses to play red form where it lay next to 6 and Black. Hits. Will be a set.

My stats assistent proclaims that that probably wasn't the right option. I would tend to agree, but if he does a good leave... he gives the opponent 1 more hit. Why would you? Back yourself man!

Clark takes the 1st from Murray 26tp-0 (I think).

Lawn 12: Fletcher has made 1 with his second ball and will be 3balling it around until he picks up Maloof's Black from C4 at some point.
Lawn 6. Bamford lining up for his first peel after 3. Long on though - i.e. 5y. Jawses it.
Lawn 7: Chapman hits Trimmer's leave after 9 with his h6 ball. now on a break to 4back.
Lawn 11: Forster attempting to crosswire Mulliner through 2, setting up just west of C4. Looks good.

Lawn 11. Mulliner hits with his h2 ball, meaning that Forster may well be punished for backing out of an 8 or 9 yard lift, since Mulliner's other ball is still up at 2... Told you.

Lawn 12. Fletcher sneaks through 3 by 10in and is hampered. Sweep shot through the hoops looks like the method of choice. He's got a thin mallet so should have a good chance. Receiver is 4ft away. hits.
Lawn 7: Chapman sets a leave. Trimmer's 4back ball in the jaws of 4. his 1 ball 5y west of h2. Chapman on EB with a rush to 1. score are level. 9 all. Trimmer playing his h1 ball down EB. Misses to C4. Interesting to see how Chapman solves the problem of the h4 ball. a bombard through sending striker to the corner ball then a load and hold.
Lawn 11: Mulliner through 2 and has a break. Odds for a qnp? or a boring old pegout with lift. Or peg both off with a 6h advantave (Mulliner on 2back v. Forster on 2)

Bamford happily tripling. 1 peel done, approaching 1back with partner near h6 and escape ball near 6. Break looks a bit ragged by his standards. Approching 1back from 3y NW. Good shot.

Lawn 7: Chapman attempts the bombard but misses. Croquetts C4 ball (for h1) to 2 and ruhes yellow S out of the Jaws. 15yard toll to h1 coming up.

Lawn 9: Murray is in against Clarke in Game 2. approaching h2, 4 balls in lawn. Should be a 9 if he keeps up the play he's had in the last week.
Lawn 7. Chapman does a superb roll and makes h1. a tp to finish. parter is only a couple of yards out of C4 but should be able to get it on time without much trouble.
Lawn 10. Maloof is hampered out of 3back. He's done 1 peel and has peelee positioned at penult with an escape ball wired from it on the other side. Looks like a nasty hamper. I tip a miss.

I lose. A hit and ref. calls legal.

Lawn 12: Fletcher doesn't get position for a peel before 6. will be leaving it there for later. On the way to 1back? The 1back pioneer is about 2y SE of the hoop, so might not be easy. Doesn't seem to be thinking about an exchange - i.e. croquetting peelee te Eastward receiver position after 6, rushining it across and peeling going to deep 6 receiver... I would.

Lawn 10. Maloof wired from partner at penult, so will just be rushing to 4back and doing a striaght double? or has he already peeled penult. He may have done while I wasn't watching. We'll see.
Lawn 6: Bamford has 2 peels and is trucking along.
Lawn 11: Mulliner is going to peg and will be taking at least 1 off. Unless he sticks in 4back leaving Forster a 6y mid lawn or a 6y double lift... Just hypothosizing of course.

Lawn 11: Forster takes the hypothetical lift and hits the receiver. State of play is Forster 2 and Peg, v. Mulliner 4back and 2back.
Lawn 12: Fletcher has a ball at 2back, has not quite jawsed 4back peel, and has stopped 5y short of his 1back pioneer. I won't tell you what my stats man said about that shot... Hits anyway, and will now be approaching 1back fromm at least 3y SW into the wind.

Does a reasonable approach and should be ok. no peels done yet though. Not sure whether partner is rushable, but otherwise the options suggest a peel on the way to 3back, or straight. He won't want to give Huneycutt another hit given how well he's been roquetting. Interesting.
Lawn 10: Maloof takes game 1 v. Dawson. Not sure of the score. 26 - something more than 1. Red clip nowher to be seen.
Lawn 11: Forster sticks in 3. "Didn't stalk it" is the word. Mulliner chose not to make that hoop a minute or two ago, so may be a tight one. Here's hoping.

Lawn 6: Bamford is finishing his tp - doing rover straight.
Lawn 7: Chapman is on his merry way to a tp. Seems to be handling with wind alright.
Lawn 12: Fletcher loads 3back and approaches 2back, so it will be a series of striight peels if anythhing.
Lawn 11: Mulliner plays his h8 ball, but rushes it to 9, so wont' be trying a striaight tp. Why not?

Game 2 has started between Dawson and Maloof on Lawn 10. Dawson supershot with Blue. Maloof to C2 with Red. Dawson hits Red with Black and puts it S of 6, failing to get a rush to 1. Doing a 10y diagonal takeoff to get position at 1. Looks good. 1y position.

Bamford takes game 1 aginst hopgood. 26tp-0

My imaginative assistent has just given me an interesting parallel between breaks between hoops and school exams. Basically, the idea is that all the work you do between hoops is given it's final test on the last croquet shot before a hoop - i.e. a hoop approach, becuase it's that one that tests how well you've done everything before, and if you foul it up, the is no proceeding on in your onward course... unless you're given a free pass by some kind person afterwards. Croquet or study, I think it works.

Lawn 8 - various bits of interaction.
Current state of play is Black and Blue (Williams) for 4back and penult, Red and Yellow (Maugham) for 1back and 2back. Williams has just failed penult by the looks of it and Maugham is thinking.

Lawn 6: Bamford v. Hopgood.
Bamford has hit 3rd turn (didn't see the opening) and has made 1 and just rushed oppo to EB, where partner awaits. Should be able to get a load reasonably in lawn for 3 adn a rush to 2.
Lawn 7: Chapman still tripling.
Lawn 11: Mulliner made it to the peg and took both off, leaving himself on 4back (blue) and Forster on 3 (Yellow). Forster has made it through 3 and 4 withotu Mulliner scoring. Will probably now be taking position at 5.

Lawn 11: Mulliner didn't have great position at 4back, so Forster went to EB level with peg instead of taking position at 5. We in the commentary booth are a bit surprised at this. Anyway, Mulliner makes 4backs and runs to WB level with 6. Forster takes lift from A-balkd and gets good position at 5. Mulliner firing from WB. Hits H5 and bounces 10y East. Yellow runs 5 and takes 4ft position at 6. Mulliner now thinking hard... Can't really afford to shoot at Yellow, as it would end up on NB infront of 1back, Forster's next hoop. Retreats to C3. Forster runs 6 and takes position. Mulliner comes 7y along NB. Forster comes through 1back.
Lawn 12: Fletcher makes a leave without getting any peels adn sets a diagonal. Huneycut picks up the westward ball and comes down EB. Misses. 3hoops to go to amke it G1 for Fletcher. Has made 4back.

Lawn 11; Forster shoots at Mulliner and hits. will be croquetting him down to 3 back from C3 and taking position. Not too bad at all. 3y slightly angled position at 2back. Blue ends up 4ft East of 3back.
Lawn 7: Chapman takes G1 with a tp.

Lawn 11: Forster takes position, Mulliner takes 3y position at penult. Forster through nicely. takes very angly position at 3back. very difficult.
Lawn 10: Maloof in against Dawson - Dawson only made 1 hoop.
Lawn 9: Murray made 2 early on - dont' think he's increased the tally since then. Clarke has made 9 and Murray misses the lift down EB, leaving a ball over by 2. Delayed tp a likely one for Clarke.

Lawn 12: Fletcher will be finishing to take G1 v. Huneycutt 26-8
Lawn 11: Mulliner takes position at penult. Forster takes position at 3back. Mulliner comes through penult by 3y.
Lawn 8. Game 2 of Chapman v. Trimmer starts. Chapman seems to have hit 3rd turn and set a diagonal without a westward ball. Trimmer fires at partner down the middle and misses.
Lawn 7: Bamford approaching 2back on 3rd turn.
Lawn 8: Looks like Maugham is around to the peg - his partner still on 2back. Williams still 4back and Penult. The leave was a reverse diagonal, and Williams has hit from Abalk up the line with his 4back ball. Still game one and could go eithe way.

Lawn 11: Forster has position at penult. Mulliner has angly 4ft Rover... Wind is blowing. Sun is burning. Tough match so far.

Mulliner takes on the hoop and jawses.

Forster runs penult to 2y north of Rover. Hits Mulliner further into the hoop. This will be game 1 to Forster, 26-25. A good match to watch!

However, I'm going for a lunch run for Greg. A burger is called for to keep the champion in form, and maybe some chicken nuggets and a coke for your commentator.
So, my knowledgable assistent will be taking over for his 1st ever commentary stint. Over to you sir!

Courts 11 & 12, Forster v Mulliner and Fletcher v Honeycutt have just started their games two, both with the duffers tice.

Mulliner has the play and has set a three ball break.

Mulliner has the play and has set a three ball break.

Flelcher has made h1 but looks like he's seting up.

Flelcher has made h1 but looks like he's seting up.

More hoop problems on court 10, Maloof v Dawson, hoop 4 this time.

Court 7 has Chapman setting up a leave after going around to 4b.

Mulliner now coming to the end of his break - looks like he's going to set up a 2-4 leave.

Chapman has set up a reverse diagonal leave.

Trimmer shoots, but misses.

Fletcher now has his break under control, heading to h6.

Mulliner has set a diagonal leave. Forster shoots from B baulk and just misses.

Mulliner has established a three ball break.

Fletcher setting up his leave against Honeycutt, looks like it going to be a 2-4 leave.

Chapman is establishing his second break.

Mulliner has run h4 and setting up a delayed TP.

Williams has won his first game against Maugham. And its been report they had to have three hoops re-set during that game.

Honeycutt misses the lift and Fletcher is back in.

Mulliner is calling the ref for a hamped shot aver h6. Hits..

Fletcher has bomb h1 !

Honeycutt miss. Fletcher running h1. he got a long shot to keep the turn going.

Chapman is doing a delayed TP. Looks to be in control.

Fletcher turns on Honeycutt on the South boundry and misses.

Mulliner has call the ref for his stroke at 3b - its fine.

Honeycutt has made h1 and looks set for a break with all balls ahead of him.

Maloof going around against Dawson.

Chapman is doing the pen hoop peel for a straight double finish.

Nope. Chapman is not going to finish in this turn.

Mulliner has completed the TP to win the second game aginst Forster.

Trimmer looking at his options.

Honeycutt making h5, pretty good standard stuff.

Hello again folks, Callum here again, full of lunch and enthusiasm for the rest of the day.
Many thanks to my cocommentator for the last hour or so's work. All the best for the rest of your matches. (he tells me he's a nervous wreck after that commentary stint, so hopefully it won't affect his play)

On lawn 7, we have interesting things happening. Chapman seems to have stopped at penult and rover, leaving his rover ball just south of penult, partner on EB, Trimmer (still for 1 and 1), just out of C4 and somewhere else.
Trimmer takes the lift with the elsewhereball down EB and hits Chapman's red. Takes off to partner near C4 and cuts it across a bit. Rolls to hoop one, gets long but good position and fails the hoop.
Chapman willbe hampered at the Trimmer balls at h1 with his rover ball (S of 6), so it will be interesting to see what he does. Trimmer might be wired from himself at 1...

Lawn 6, Hopgood finishes peeling Bamford out and leves the balls thus: Bamford (Black) is 1y S of h1 (it's for h5), Hopgood's 1 ball is 4y N of C4, on EB. his Peg ball is in C2. Bamford has contact and takes it from the ball in C2. looks like he'll be splitting, puttint red as a receiver neer the North Boundary, adn eithe rgoing for position at 5, or to Hopgood near C4. Looks like the latter. Good shot. Gets within 3y of Hopgood, and Red goes 1y off N. boundary, between 3 and 6.

Lawn 7: Chapman has fired from 6 at his own ball East of 4 and missed. Trimmer (wired across 1), shooting with the nearest ball at Chapman.

Trimmer hits the backward ball. He still has partner at 1, and has the other ball 3y in-lawn off EB, so should be all go from here.

Other players in play are Maloof, Murray, Maugham, Riva (taking a long shot and hitting), Bamford (thinking - having not got position at 5) and Fletcher (well, sort of - he's taking a lift shot). Will update on clip positions soon.

Oh and Mulliner. Easy to miss him.

Lawn 10: Maloof v. Dawson, Maloof is on Peg and 4back, laid up near C4 with a rush to 4back. Dawson is on 1 and 4back, and has a lift. Old fashioned leave. Ball mid lawn in line with C4 and H3, Ball 8Y west of peg. Dawson picks up Westward ball (for h1), and is taking the short lift from Abalk at Maloof in C4. I'd be making a triple out of Black and the 2 of Maloof's. Same distence to front ball, back up in the background.

Dawson Misses. Should be an easy final 3 hoops for Maloof to take the match 2-0 (best of 5 though...)

Lawn 7: Trimmer going round.
Lawn 6. Hopgood retreats to just out of C4 with the ball Bamford left at 5. Bamford on EB level with 3, Hopgood's other ball is where Bamford left it, which you should have read already so I won't tell you again.

Lawn 5: Riva v. Patel: Riva is now walking on - he has a ball stuck in 1 (for h1) and his partner 3y to the East. parter for 4back. Patel is on 3 and elsewhere.

Lawn 8: Maugham has made 9 but Williams is now in and making 1. His partner is on 5 and he's a game up.

Lawn 7. Trimmer hampered after 4, but hits the 5 ball. Approaches 5 a bit short and has an agly hoop. Grinning in dissapointment. Thumps at the hoop and it goes through getting a rush to EB.

Lawn 9: Clarke is on 4back and 4back, Murray has just failed 1 - not sure where his other clip is.
Lawn 6: Bamford has hit and made h5, rolling oppo to h7 and getting a rush on other oppo to 6. Almost an under control break.

Lawn 10: Forster v. Mulliner G3 (1 game all). Mulliner is on 4back and 1, Forster on 1 and 2. Forster misses lift to C4, Mulliner has a chance of an on-time tp.
Lawn 7: Trimmer in control approaching 6. Reading the wind well.
Lawn 12: Lunch.
Lawn 9: Clarke back in and has just rushed to 4bacak.
Lawn 6. Bamford approaching 1back from the side - calls a ref. as his load seems to be in a hole.
Lawn 5: Riva is in and making a break with his h1 ball. potential tp no the cards. The wind is blowing more now, and the sun has been out all day, so even with the excessive watering that's been going on (i.e. the lawns are lush anyway and there was standing water on some lawns last night after watering... Please stop! we've already got rain forecast!) the lawns are speeding up.

Speaking of lawn speeds, here at NCC they have been running between about 11 and 13 seconds, depending on the time of day, cloudiness etc. Hope it speeds up as the lawns are pretty true and the hoops easy. Really.

Lawn 7. Trimmer has rushed Chapman through penult, meaning he's now got both clips on rover. Not sure whether it was tactical in order to make it harder for Chapman to finish if he hit, or accident - result of rushing receiver into penult after 6. Doesn't matter really. Trimmer has a problem at 2back. His striker's ball is in the middle of the hoop, receiver to the north... I guess he's croquetted from the C1 side and run into the back of the hoop. Whatever's happening, he'll be trying to roquet Blue through the hoop. Blue is just off centre, so will probably be wanting some wire. Didn't work. Chapman has a 5y shot at his partner over at h3 to get in. Both are on Rover though. The othe roption would be to take a 9 y lift at a double from C1. We'll see.

Chapman takes the 5yarder and will be doing a set.
Mulliner attempting peel 1 on the way to 6. Jawses.
Clark and Murray still at it.
Patel in against Riva.
Maugham in against Walters
Bamford takes game two 26-13 agianst Hopgood
Huneycutt still lunching v. Fletcher.

Lunch is on for most of the spectators and officials, and some players. Still no sign of Huneycutt. Might not want to wait too long, the lawns might have sped up by the time he gets back.

Lawn 7: Chapman crosswires Trimmer at 1 and goes to the peg. 1 hoop to go for Chapman. Lays up in C3 with a rush towards 2. Trimmer playing his h1 ball at CHapman. Misses by a lot. Should be game 2 to Chapman.

Lawn 11: Mulliner has done 1 peel and has put peelee in a hole next to penult. Will be attempting to jaws or peel on the way to 4back. Not a great position, but should be ok. only a stright double peel to go anyway.

Lawn 8: Maugham on 2 and 4back, together down near C1 with a 2y rush in lawn towards 6. Williams shoots together near middle of EB. He's for 5 and 4back. Misses. On-time tp opportunity for Maugham.

Lawn 7: Chapman left Trimmer in C3, and did an attrocious rush toward rover. only got half way. Rolled down putting partner as a receiver at rover, trying to get a rush behind Trimmer's ball which is 1ysw of 1. Just stays in, but misses 6y return to a couple of feet SW of 3. Trimmer in C3, possibly wired from the ball up by 3.

Trimmer plays the ball by 1 at the Rover receiver of Chapman's. 10y? Hits. Takes off from it leaving it S of 4, going to Yellow up by h3, which he rushes to NB 5y W of C3. Trimmer is playing his 2back ball, so will be trying to takeoff behind his partner just west of C3 and making 2 hoops and setting a leave.

Good takeoff and will have a rush to 2back.
Lawn 11: Mulliner takes Game 3 against Forster 26tp-1. Mulliner leads the match 2-1
Lawn 9: Murray is on 2back, can't see any of the other clips. He is together on EB (with a rush in -lawn) and Clarke is S of 1 and N of 2. Shooting.
Lawn 12: Huneycutt sticks in 1. Lunch mightened have increased somethign in size. FLetcher hits with the receiver, which was his 4back ball. Will be setting a leave. Clip positions are Fletcher Y on 4back, R on 3. Huneycutt Bl on 1, Bk on 4back.

Lawn 12: Fletcher croquetts out joining up with partner near C4. Huneycutt shooting from 3 to 2 with his h1 ball. Wind blowing. Not quite a full target. Misses by a whisker.

Lawn 11: Dawson has hit 4th turn. Has 3 balls to play with mid-EB. and his partner is in C2. Rushing one of Maloof's (Blue) to 1. Good length rush, although a few yards S of 1.
Lawn 7: Trimmer setting a leave. Chapman's peg ball is 3y N of 1. his Rover ball 3y West of C2 on N Boundary. Open to each other. Trimmer on SB in line with hoops 1 and 2, wired from Red on the other side of 1. Probably open to Yellow up on N. Boundary.
Lawn 6: Lunch for Bamofrd and Hopgood.
Llawn 12: Fletcher rushing to 3 from West of 2. Hoop 2 is in the way so will have to be a good rush. Huneycutt's other ball is by the peg, and Greg's is just of SB between 4 and 5. Good rush to 3.

In other news, the Bowl is proceeding nicely, and perhaps the most notable upset is Simon Jenkins taking game 1 off Ben Rothman. Simon has been playing far above his ranking all week and seems to be keeping it up. Tally ho Simon!

Having said that, another worthy effort in the Bowl is Ted Salter's straight games win over Dwayne McCormick with two tps. Ted to is in good form.

Lawn 7: Chapman shoots at Trimmer from near C3. Trimmer thinking fo how to dig everything out. Hits Chapman 1st and will be croquetting him to 2 going to the other ball at 1. Bit odd really, considering he could have rushed himself out into the lawn - anywhere he wanted - taken off to Chapman and done exactly what he's doing, except having the advantage of all the balls in the lawn and one would think, therefore, easier to start a tp.
Lawn 12: Fletcher on a break approaching 5. Partner is up at 4back ready for peeling, with an escape ball to the west indicating that it will be attempted on the way to 6.

Lunch for lawns 9 and 11.
Lawn 8: Maugham has stopped at 3back with 2 peels done. Not sure what happend but there are balls al over the place. Not sure there are any close to any others or balks though. Williams not in sight so may be lunching too.
Lawn 5: Riva in against Patel. Approaching 2back with partner on Penult. Patel on Rover and Rover. Not sure what's been going on there.
Lawn 10: Maloof making 3. No other clips are off 1.
Lawn 7: Trimmer on a break and will be attempting his tp on time

Lawn 7. Trimmer has 1 peel done and is still on time. Going for 5.
Lawn 12: Fletcher does 1 peel and is approaching 1back. 2nd peel will be on the way to 3back or 4back
Lawn 10: Maloof in a break, on the way to h7.
Lawn 5: Riva lining up for a straight double peel
All the other main draw matches are at lunch.
Bowl still progressing adn a few plate games going on in the distance.

Things are getting uninteresting for me. I'm going for a stroll. Back soon.

Riva has just taken Game 2 against Patel on Lawn 5. 26-24. This is a good matchup and I think could be as likely to go to 5 games as any out there at the moment.

Lawn 12: Fletcher has just jawsed penult getting a rush to 4back.
Lawn 10: Maloof setting a diagonal spread. Dawson still on 1 and 1.
Lawn 7: Trimmer has done 2 peels and is approaching h8, all set for a controlled finish. Nevertheless, there have been a few unforced errors from both players in this match, so nothing is a sure bet yet.

Over in the Bowl, Death has just beaten Morgen in straight games to continue through to the next round. He and Salter are the only ones I know to be through so far. Jeff Soo and Kevin Beard are in play, but I don't know their game scores, and Simon Jenkins is in against Ben Rothman - clips were scattered all over the place so that could be another close game.

Lawn 10: Dawson taking the westward ball down the line for a lift shot. Misses to C4. A chance for Maloof to take the match 3-0 if he can tp from here.
Lawn 7. Trimmer carrying on. Jawses Rover on the way to 3back, so all plain sailing for him. Wind still blowing. Hampered stroke after 3back. THe receiver is straight on, adn he can swing through the hoop so should be fine.
Lawn 12: Fletcher Irish peels penult and the peelee stops 2y short of rover.
Lawn 11: Mulliner and Forster have resumed. Forster seems to have won the opening and is getting his break under controll. Approaching 2.

Referee wanted on Lawn 9, but none are within sight. Lunch time en masse for the refs?

Jeff Dawson isn't doing anything so occupies himself as a substitute referee. I'm sure he'd prefer to be substitute player at the moment, but he'l just have to take what he can get. Maloof is making h4 and will be trying his first peel on the way to 6.

Lawn 12: Things seem to have gone wrong for Fletcher at rover. Seems to be a commonish occurence from my experience. Partner has been peeled but striker is on the leg. all balls dead.
Scatters Huneycutt's 4back ball to C4 and his striker ends up at h4. Huneycut has a tap on to Fletcher's Peg ball, which he is now croquetting to 2, going to Fletcher's ball at h4. Hits the hoop and is wired. Doesn't even seem to be able to hit himself in C4. Lucky break for Greg!
Flees to C2.

Lawn 7: Trimmer pegs out to take Game 2 agisnt Chapman 26tp-21. 1 game all.

Lawn 12: Fletcher shoots his rover ball from h4 to C4. Hits. 1 hoop to make to peg out. Rolls Huneycutt to receiver position at rover, but goes too far, ending up 2y SE of 1. Gets a rush on his own ball towards Huneycutt in C2. 2y rush. Seems to lift his head. Misses. 3y tap on for Huneycutt's h1 ball. Oh dear.
Lawn 11: Forster still going round. Just made 1back on 1st break.
Lawn 9: Jenny Clarke pegs off wiith a gentle roll from near the south boundary. Excellent shot. Clarke leads Murray 2-0.

Lawn 11: Forster sets a diagonal spread after making 9. Mulliner pick up the peg ball and is coming down the line. Seems to be a pretty standard leave response doesn't it? Misses.
Lawn 6: Game 3 has started with Hopgood and Bamford. Hopgood seems to have hit 3rd turn and has a 2y cut rush on his supershot to 1. Rushes it, but not much cut. 3y SEsterly take off to 1. Falls short. Retreats to C4. Bamford will have a double from A balk at the receiver for 1 and the load at 2, or a 10y shot from Bbalk at the h2 load.
Lawn 10: Maloof is on a tp. has penult jawsed and is rushing to h10

Lawn 6: Bamford seems to be making a double from Bbalk. Hits the H1 ball rusing it into 1. Lucky.
Should be a break around now. It will be interesting to see whether, with a 2game lead, he goes for an sxp. Conditions are toughening with the wind and lawns speed, but hoops are still easy, so I think it's more than possible.
Lawn 11. Forster does an excellent roll out of C4 loading H3 going to partner at 2. If he can get a rush across after 2, he could be up for an on-time tp. Does so, and will attempt the first peel.

Lawn 11: Forster has failed the 1st peel, but carrying on with break to h5
Lawn 12: Huneycutt has failed 2nd peel but carrying on break to h7
Lawn 6: Bamford has made 3 and should be on with a good 3ball break.

Lawn 10: Maloof has been standing still for a long time down by h5. All balls are nearby. Not sure what he's contemplating since he doesn't seem to be in trouble with his break and peeling shouldn't be a problem. Aha, he's not got his rover peel and is setting. Dawson has 1 more chance.
Lawn 11: Forster doesn't get peeling position on the way to 6. Looks like he might be contemplating piking out ofthe peeling turn. Is.

Lawn 10: Dawson misses double. Should be Match to Maloof. Pegging out now.
Lawn 11: Forster snicks return roquet after 2back. No tp unless it's straight. unlikely. Fails 3back by the looks of it.
Lawn 12: Huneycutt peeling penult and gets a cut-rush to 4back. Plays it well and should be an easy rover peel to finish.
Lawn 6: Bamford busy going around and will be going around to 3 or 4 back.

Lawn 11: Mulliner is in and although still on 1, is playing well and should only give Forster 1 chance from here. We'll see...
Actually, "we" might not, as I am called upon to go and beat John Christie.

That's all folks!

Hope you find another commentator. (Should be back tomorrow at some point though).