Good morning ladies and gentlemen!
Welcome back to the delightful Wynnum croquet club. Management have once again provided excellent weather, green lawns, and tight hoops (though the rain-soaked ground makes firmness a rarity).

Today we are up for the singles of the first test.
Each of the 8 players plays a best-of-three match against someone from the opposing team. Today, numbers 1 play 2, and numbers 3 play 4. So, the matches are (Aus names first):
Court 1: Forster v. Shilling, and Verge v. Robinson
Court 2: M. Fletcher v. Hakes, and Bassett v. Mayard-Husson
Court 3: Wilson v. Bryant, and Landrebe v. Clarke
Court 4: G. Fletcher v. Freeth, and Sharpe v. Fisher

Today will be an interesting one with regard to assessing the confidence of the respective teams - through their attacking/aggressive openings and leaves, and shot choices throughout the day.
I'm not sure how much time (or motivation) I will have to commentate throughout the day, but I will try and do a scattergun commentary of whatever interesting things come within my field of vision, rather than focusing on particular games.

AUS Ladies have won the toss in game one on lawns 2, 3, and 4, and have all chosen to do standard first turn openings.
NZ responses have all been corner 2, and Aus then firing for partner (2 from A baulk, 1 from corner 3 - that was Rosie v. Jenny)
Aus all missed, and NZ have then shot for oppo (if double - Nina) from A baulk, partner in corner 2 (Pam), and oppo down the line (making a double - Jenny)

All of these three NZs missed, and Aus is off the mark.
The fourth toss was won by NZ (Alison Robinson) and she went standard, Alix Verge put in a duffer, Alison fired at partner from A, and Alix hit oppo double from A.

Lawn 2:
Hakes goes standard, M. Fletcher goes corner 2, Hakes fires at partner from A and misses.

Lawn 3:
Bryant goes standard, Wilson shoots at him down East boundary and misses to corner 4. Bryant hits Edward from A baulk, putting Edward 7y west and slightly north of peg, and sets a rush for himself somewhere on East boundary.

Lawn 4.
Freeth goes standard, G. Fletcher goes C2, Freeth hits in C2, and rolls Fletcher douth of 2, going back to partner, but hits 2, so lags back to 5 yard from partner, with the long rush pointing towards 2. Greg hits the in lawn ball from B...

Aus women are ahead.
Lawn 4, Sharpe is in a break to 3 back,
Lawn 3, Landrebe is up to 5,
Lawn 2, Bassett has made 2,
Lawn 1, Verge has made 1.
Can't see that any NZ ladies have scored yet, however, I haven't seen one opening roquet hit from them, and only Verge for the Aussies.

Lawn 4, G. Fletcher has made 1 on turn 4,
Lawn 3, Bryant has done a leave... through not sure how Edwards ball got on the lawn. but he has just fired from at partner in corner 3 from mid court between one and two, and hit. Bryant is together on East boundary, up from 4.

Hakes seems to be doing things on lawn 2, but not sure whether he's made hoops yet.
Lawn 1 is out of my vision, and all I can see is Alison Robinson wandering about - I think shooting at a "non leave"
Forster may be doing the same.

Lawn 4.
Sharpe makes 9, and does some sort of an imperfect leave, and Fisher is setting up south of 1, leaving Sharpe's 4back ball 4y NW of peg, and her 1 ball just off EB 6y north of 4.

Lawn 4, G.Fletcher is busy making a break - up to 4.

Sharpe plays 4 back ball at partner and hits. Will be setting a leave.

Lawn 3.
Wilson has hoop 1, and a good chance at a break, and Landrebe overapproaches 2back, leaving Clarke with a 3 yard lift shot on partner south of 1, a ball sitting east of H5, and a ball in C2.

Lawn 4.
Sharpe sets a leave with her balls rather close together on the East Boundary 2y north of 4, and Fisher a couple of yards west of 1, and a couple of yards NE of 2.
She plays the ball at 1 at oppo, and hits, which should give her a good chance at a break.

Lawn 3.
Wilson hampered after 3, but hits a ball 7y West of peg to continue his 4ball break.

Lawn 3,
Clarke hits and makes 1, but misapproaches 2 (didn't see the stroke), and retreats to partner East of 3.
Landrebe shoots from 2, and misses.
Clarke plays her hoop 1 ball, missaproaches 1, and retreats to mid-east boundary, leaving Landrebe west of 2 (with her 1 ball) and 3y north of 2back (2 back ball)

Wilson approaching 1back.

Off to do managerial duties - back soon!

Lawn 4.
Fletcher sets 2-4 (lose ball at 2... guh. Boring), and Freeth picks up the 4 ball and shoots down east boundary, missing to C4.
Fletcher rushes partner to 2, and Freeth's pink ball to 1. Delayed TP attempt in the wings.

Pam Fisher is continuing her break, and is approaching 4 with balls under control. Sharp still on 1 and 4back.

Lawn 3,
Wilson made 9, and I assume Bryant hit the lift, as he's now going around.
Landrebe seems to be approaching 2 with her back ball (the front is on 2 back), and Clarke is still on 1 and 2.

Roquet percentage is up from all the misses we saw in the openings, and the games are getting more interesting (and by no means 1 sided, as they were half an hour ago).

Lawn 3.
Landrebe failed 2, but ended up in the jaws with partner on the other side, Clarke shot from 3 and missed to C2. Landrebe ran the hoop to the boundary, snicked Red (Clarke's 1 ball) in the corner, and has a load and hold to get a break going (Yellow is 2y off EB just north of 5.

Lawn 4.
Fletcher (who has hardly missed a roquet so far this tournament), is merrily 3 balling around, and will be digging Freeth's White out of courner 4 for a delayed TP in a moment.
Fisher has made 1back, and is making a nice neat break around.

Lawn 3.
Apparently Bryant got in by playing the leave as it lay, and shooting from 2 to a double Wilson had left him on EB.
However, he seems to have come unstuck at or around 3, and Wilson has hit in with his H1 ball, and has a good lawn for a TP if he plays a few good shots to get things laid out.
Landrebe is up to 4 with her backward ball.

Bryant slid past his reception ball at 3... which is "careless" indeed, but not unprecedented either. Both Bassett and Hakes did the same at 2 and 3 respectively yesterday in their doubles when everything was under control. That's not uncommon though with easy conditions - players may well focus on hoops and croquet strokes, but switch off the mental application a bit around short roquets. Lawns are true except a few boundaries (and a couple of long and gradual slopes on lawn 1), so no excuses there, should one want one.

Lawn 3.
Landrebe is up to 3 back on a break to the peg, and Wilson is approaching 5, with 1 peel done and partner sitting at penult.

Lawn 4.
G. Fletcher seems to have declined his delayed TP (not getting the balls in position as early as desired) and is now up to 1 back, with partner at 2back.
Fisher has made 9 and set a diagonal, with Sharpe's 1 ball over near west boundary. This she proceeds to pick up, place on B baulk near C3, and hit it into C4, only touching grass and air on the way. Nice stroke, and cunningly avoiding opposition balls my millimeters on the way down.

Some of you are wondering about the lawn allocation for today - given that some players play on lawns they have played on, and some not. Given the particular doubles pairings, it's unavoidable during the course of the event that someone will have a lawn advantage over their opponent at some point, and that some players will play on certain lawns more than others, and the organizers seem to have decided to let such situations arise (and players' theoretical advantages and disadvantages works themselves into a neutral state by the end of the tournament), rather than deliberately working to avoid double-ups and restricting some players to certain lawns more than others.

Haven't asked any players' opinions on it, but they seem a chirpy bunch this morning, so no complaints as yet!

Lawn 3.
Mr. Wilson seems to have come unstuck at hoop 6, and let Captain Bryant in.
Edward's clips are on 6 and penult, and Greg's on 1 and 3.
Greg has played his 1 ball and is now approaching 3, with a ball 8y north of 4, and another 2y south of 2.

Landrebe setting a diagonal spread after rover.
Rosie's clips are on 2 back and peg, vs. 1 and 2.
She has left Jenny Clarke's 2 ball 3y SW of 2, and unintentionally glued Clarke's 1 ball to the north westerly side of the peg, rushable to 2 for Clarke, but not to 2back for Landrebe...
Sets a rush on EB towards 4back. I expect Jenny to make a double down East boundary with the 2 ball.
My expectation is fulfilled...

Misses to C4.

Ahhh. the hot drinks have arrived (carried by the delightful and ever helpful Fleur Brockway).
I do like a good hot chocolate!

None of this cardboard-tasting coffee rubbish...

Q: "How are you liking the tournament Mr. Freeth?"
A: "Ummm, I'm really enjoying it, there's a nice relaxed competitive atmosphere... I'm surprised the weather's this consistent."

Excellent.

Lawn 3.
Landrebe plays her 2 back ball, rushes it in lawn, croquets it to NB behind 3, rushes the peg ball to C4 and gets a cannon! Top shot. Will be cannoning to 2back. She's a very experienced player, and a good person to have playing this shot.

Bryant hampered after 1back, and shooting at either receiver (3y south of 2) or the ball at 2back (1y north) - with ever cheery referee Brian Foley (Vic) in attendance.

Misses everything except H1, and sits on the leg.
Wilson will have a 6-7 yard 1.5 ball double, with a ball up nearish to 6. Should be able to hit and finish, though has been airing the fact that he can't seem to get lawns speed today. That'll come.

Lawn 4
Fletcher sets reverse diagonal (long cross wire really), and Freeth lifts the Easterly ball and hits oppo from B-baulk. Has the lawn laid out and is approaching 1 from 2ft to the side. Both clips still on 1, vs. Fletcher on 4back and peg.
Freeth is a good steady player, who seems to know his percentages and when to back out of a peeling turn when it gets difficult (he keeps it simple) - which combination is what won him his block in the Worlds in February - and these conditions suit that sort of game well. He's also a top shot, so I would expect that there will be a 9, and a lift shot almost certainly coming up.

Fisher is going round on break 2, and should have a clip on the peg (to compliment the one on 4back) at the end of this turn. Sharpe still on 1 and 4back, but has only missed 1 opening roquet and a lift, and has been playing well otherwise, so could be plenty of play left in this game.

Quick update as I do other things.

Lawn 3,
Wilson finished that last turn to beat Bryant,
Landrebe finished to beat Clarke (these are all 1st game of a best of 3 match)

Lawn 4.
Freeth made 9 and Fletcher hit with peg ball, and will be setting a leave
Fisher finished her break to the peg, Sharpe missed, and Fisher is about to begin the final 3 hoops and pegouts.

Lawn 4.
Fletcher's leave was to put himself in C1 with a 4ft rush towards mid north boundary, Freeth's 1 ball NW of 2, and his 4back ball 10y East of peg.
Freeth shoots with his H1 ball at oppo, and misses.
Should be a finish from Fletcher.

Pam Fisher seems to have been unable to make 4back, and Sharpe hit in. Has new set up just north of corner 4, with Fisher's 4back ball 5y South of 1, with a 1.5 ball target at Sharpe. The peg ball is 4y NW of penult.

Shoots the 4back ball at Sharpe, and misses.
Should be an equalizing break for Sharpe if she gets the cross-court rush to 1 and proceeds.

Lawn 3.
Wilson puts in supershot, Bryant went EB (longest point). Wilson hits from A-baulk, makes 2 hoops, and misses a 5 yard dribbler somewhere. Bryant making break and approaching 6.

J. Clarke is in against R. Landrebe, and seems to be setting some sort of defensive leave (i.e. balls in C4, with oppo up near 2 and peg high 2y off EB.

Lawn 4.
Fletcher wins game 1, 26-9 against Freeth.

Sharpe made 1 but didn't have a shot on receiver, so set a rush. Fisher fired with her peg ball which was up at 2, and ran 2back, leaving Alison with a southerly rush, which she took, putting Fisher between peg and 3, and rushed partner in the 2 direction. Had an angled position and fails 2 with partner ball up there as receiver.
Fisher will be playing the ball over near 3 (the red - peg ball) and shooting at the Black which is sitting in front of 2.
Shoots, and misses.

Sharpe gets going, and has done 1 peel (jawsed on the way to 6 - rushed after), and is up to 2back (partner is the load)

Fletcher does a supershot in Game 2 (3y north and half a yard west of 5 - basically standard position for him), Freeth goes C2, Fletcher shoots at Freeth and just misses leaving a double... Freeth should hit .

Sharpe fails 2back while trying to clobber it through to the boundary and get a rush back. Fisher will now have a 4-6 yard double with her 4back ball...

Lawn 3.
Bryant plays a wrong ball while setting his leave after 3back. Luckily, he had his leave set (Wilson's 1 ball up near 2, his 3 ball 8inches north of 4 and open to A-Baulk), and it was his partner he played - which meant he left them in contact 7y East of the peg.
Wilson picked up the ball at 2, shot at partner from A baulk, and middled the leg of the hoop sitting there.
Bryant starts break and should have a standard TP

Lawn 4.
Freeth hits and is approaching 1.

11min to go for Pam Fisher and Alison Sharpe, and Fisher overrolls 4back, and sets a rush along the North Boundary behind 3.
Sharpe shoots from north of 4 to west of 2, and hits (with her 2back ball). Will be taking off to Fisher on NB.

Lawn 3.
Clake is on 4back and 1, Landrebe on 2 and 3.
Landrebe has hit partner to EB just north of 4, and will be taking off to Clarke who is together on SB just west of 1.

She's playing her 2 ball.

Lawn 4
Sharpe is off the lawn - may have taken off out or missed a roquet, not sure.
Fisher has a rush to 4back, and a receiver on NB behind. Good chance for a finish.

Lawn 3.
Bryant has done 1 peel, and will soon be approaching 5.
Landrebe has an angled 2, and runs away to partner on EB level with 4. - Clarke is North of 2, and south of 1 (4back ball is the northerly one)

Bryant sticks in 5 and has called ref. asking for a jam.
Clarke is in! with her 4back ball (seems to have hit the hoop 1 ball) and is setting a leave.

Lawn 4.
Freeth still going around, Fisher making rover with partner sitting 5y SW of 2. Only 1 hoop and pegs-out to go and it'll be game 1 to NZ.

Lawn 4.
Time has gone, Fisher didn't get a rush to the peg, and has just pegged one out.
Sharpe has a 13 yard lift shot at a ball in C4 to continute the game.
Misses... Fisher wins game 1, 25-17. Interesting times. Pam played very consistently, and each only hit 1 long roquet in the game. Sharpe failed 2 hoops.

Lawn 3.
Bryant didn't receive his jammed ball ruling, and Wilson is now on a break up to 6. DPO plans?
Clarke is in with her hoop 1 ball, and has just made 2. Good lawn ahead, and there will likely be a TP attempt sooner or later (probably sooner, although partner was the hoop 2 receiver and she only managed to rush it to south of 6.

Wilson made 9, did a leave (don't know what), and Bryant missed. Wilson now setting up for a standard TP

Clarke seems to have stopped at 2back without any peels done, but is back in - with her 4back ball. Will be setting a leave as she doesn't have anything ahead. Not sure what happened.
Landrebe is still on 3 and 2.

Lawn 4.
Freeth makes 9, and Fletcher has picked up the easterly ball of a diagonal, and hit oppo down East Boundary. Here we go again... Freeth comment's that "it's hard to win when you're playing someone who hits everything." Well observed my lad, but there are ways....
Game 2 between Sharpe and Fisher has started, and no hoops have been made. Sharpe is (correction - was) in... and the ball positions are:
Sharpe's Blue is 6y South and 3 East of 3, and her Black is on EB 2yards south of 4. Fisher's Red is 1y north of this, and her yellow in C4. Will be rushing Yellow into C4 for a cannon. Does so.

Fletcher is rolling to 1 from 2y South of 5. Oppo balls at 2 and somewhere near C4. Gets good position, and runs hoop with a forward rush. All good.

Fisher has made 1, but only just. Hits receiver ball and will have a couple of big shots to get her break going.

Lawn 3.
Clarke is at rover setting a leave (partner for 4back), and Landrebe is still on 2 and 3...
Wilson is still peelless, and is approaching penult with partner. An escape ball awaits him at 4back though.
Bryant is for 5 and penult.

Clarke sets a diagonal, and Landrebe picks up the ball at the peg (for 3) and shoots down EB. Mmisses. 3 hoops to go to equalise for Clarke!

Nope, looks like Wilson did in fact do the DPO - and has pegged off both balls. So, Bryant has a lift, an opposition ball on EB (middle) and will be trying to catch up from hoop 5. Wilson on 4back.
Clarke making rover and will win Game Two, 26-3 against Landrebe.

Lawn 4. Fletcher happily going around on break 1.
Fisher made it to 3, and Sharpe has just hit a boundary. Huge target. Lucky for Fisher that none of those balls got in the way!
Fisher joining up near C4.

Bryant shoots down EB (of course) and misses.
Wilson tries to lag to 4back but goes deep.
Bryant takes position at 5.
Wilson hits Bryant to South Boundary.

Wilson is taking off to 4back. Will concede a lift once he makes this hoop. Goes long and will take position.
Bryant is 2y west of 1, and slightly south, so taking position at 5 may be tricky. Does well and has a 5ft hoop - relatively straight. Both players are playing quickly.
Wilson runs 4 back and retires to West Boundary level with 2.

Bryant takes position...
Wilson is drawn in and shoots...
Misses. Bryant will be happily ignoring him and running 5.
He does so, but unexpectedly, just runs it by 4 inches. Not pleased.

Hits the peg when taking position at 6...
Wilson Lurks to middle of West Boundary.
Bryant will be shooting now.

Lawn 4.
Fletcher sets 2-4, and Freeth lifts the 2 ball (for hoop 1) and will be trying to line up a ball and a fraction from A-baulk.
Fisher on a break and rushing from 3 to 4.

Lawn 3.
Bryant hit, and will be doing a defensive roll.
Puts Wilson just north of 4, and doesn't get position at 6. Takes position on his continuation shot. Very nice.
Wilson goes back to West boundary longest point.
Bryant will run hoop and probably shoot.

Does so, and this time....

misses...

Wilson makes penult and takes position at rover. Bryant shooting from West of 1. Misses.

Wilson fires at rover and hits it, and his hit back to the West Boundary.
Bryant takes angled position at 1back. Mostly wired from Wilson.
Wilson takes position at rover again.
Bryant runs 1back by 8 yards, shoots at Edwards balls at Rover, and misses (though he did nick rover on the way).
Wilson now has a 4ft hoop.

Wilson runs rover to South Boundary.
Takes position on the West Boundary level with 6.
Bryant takes position at 2back.
Wilson shoots at the peg. Misses.

Lawn 4.
Fletcher doing a TP.
Fisher on 1 and 5, Sharpe on 1 and 1. Sharpe has just hit.

Lawn 3.
Bryant takes position at 3back.
Wilson hits the peg from 8 yards.
Wilson takes Game 2 and the Match against Greg Bryant, 26-20

Lawn 4.
Sharpe makes 1 and hits 6 yard return roquet.
Work to do, but a break is more than possible. Certainly a slower game than the first...

Actually, it was 26-21 above.. Was looking at the clips, not the ball positions.

I'm going for a stroll. Back lat

later.

Back.

So, on Lawn 4:
Greg Fletcher won Game 2 against Josh Freeth 26tp-9
Things are going slowly in the other game though.
Pam Fisher has made it to 4back with her Red (the one which was earlier on 5), and is on her way with the second ball - approaching 2 at the moment with a ball a few yards south of 3 ahead.
Alison Sharpe is still on 1 and 2. She's not roquetting well today, and Pam is making nice neat breaks when she gets in.

Lawn 3,
Jenny Clarke is steamrolling her opponent.
Rosie Landrebe is still on 1 and 1, while Jenny is on rover (ball in break) and rover (peelee) - being most of the way through what appears to be a TP.

While Jenny didn't play that well this morning (or yesterday morning), but as usual (in my experience) having one bad game is no indication that her next won't be excellent. She has adapted to the lawn speeds well, and put in some really comfortable breaks.

She has now peeled rover, and is now rushing to the peg from 3 yards off the south boundary.

Lawn 4, Pam Fisher is digging a ball out of corner 4, and will then have all balls in lawn and under control for a break to the peg. Alison is good under pressure, but will have a lot of work to do to come back in this match. Pam's play has been nothing spectacular, but consistent.

Jenny Clarke wins Game Three - 26TP-0 against Rosie Landrebe.

Lawn 4.
Pam is up to 4back, and will not be attempting a straight TP...
Lawn 2, Nina Mayard-Husson has a 7 yard peg out from near rover (having rushed there from mid West Boundary) to make it game all against Claire Bassett. Hairy shot.

Great pegout! Game All
Nina won that one 26-12.

Pam Fisher has just misapproached penult on a finishing turn, and run. Alison has missed an in lawn 8.5 yarder at partner (Alison is still 1 and 2).
Pam does a wide join, Alison hit a 6 yarder with her hoop 1 ball.
Plays a good takeoff and should get a rush to the other oppo ball and a rush to 1.

Lawn 4.
Alison Sharpe didn't make a hoop (not sure of the circumstances though - might have been a takeoff out?) Might be on the other commentary too.
Anyway, Pam is in, and has made penult. Rover and pegs to go.

Gets a rush to rover and will be approaching from 4ft East.
Gets good position, and will now only have to get to her own ball near 4, and do a 10 yard rush to the peg vicinity. This is where she struggled this morning...

Has a rush to the peg...

Over on Lawn 1, the score for Verge v. Robinson, Verge leads 9 - 4.
On that note (of request) I must go off for some managerial stuff.

Pam Fisher wins Game 2 against Alison Sharpe 26-1.