Hello posterity,

Herein will follow a brief account of the 2020 final of the Dixon Advisory Croquet Classic (the event is in its 7th year), held at Cammeray Croquet Club in Sydney.

Finalists have had their warmup, and the game (s) is (are) about to begin.

Malcolm Fletcher - who starts 1 game down in a Best of 3 - has won the toss and chosen to go first.
Malcolm is playing Red & Yellow
Robert is Blue & Black.

T1. Malcolm plays red as a supershot, 3yards North and 1 West of hoop 5.
Yesterday, Robert shot at this ball firmly, missing to the North Boundary.

T2. Robert plays Black firmly at Red from the end of A-Baulk.
Middles it to 4y North and slightly west of 6.
Croquets Red to 2 yards South West of corner 2 (it pulled up a bit short), and retired to Corner 4.

T3. Malcolm plays Yellow from the end of A-Baulk at Black in C4.
Middles it. Croquets Black to half way between H2 and C2, approaching 1.
Falls 4 yards short with striker.
Shoots at Red near C2.
Misses into the corner.

It is a beautiful sunny day at Cammeray. Blue Sky, Sun, 28 degrees ish, slight breeze..
There are about 40 people watching the final. A mixture of players, referees, club members (and other helpful people), and a few unknowns.
The only other game still going on is the Plate Final (on Lawn 2), between Stuart Lawrence (USA) and Kevin Beard (Vic).
Everyone is outside the clubhouse sitting in the shade (apart from me, as my computer needs charging, and 1 other, who is currently snoring on a bench under the open window...)

T4. Robert shoots Blue at Black from the end of B-Baulk.
Hits.
Shuffles some balls around between H2 and C2, and rushes Red to 1. Pulls up 2 yards short and has a backward takeoff. Striker lands 2ft dead in front.
Runs hoop and should have a break to wherever he chooses.

The lawns have been a bit slow this weekend - partly due to moisture in the air and partly due to trying to get a good grass cover back after renovations, but the ground is reasonably firm, so angled/long hoops have to be dealt with with care.

Meanwhile, in the wide world of sport (or at least, the sports that interest me...), Rafael Nadal is about to play Taylor Fritz in the final of the ATP Tour event in Acapulco (Mexico), and the Victoria Climbing Championships (Lead) is under way in Melbourne. Adults were yesterday, and Juniors are today. Qualifying rounds are just finishing, and there looks to have been a good turnout so far.

The Dixon Advisory tournament is really good.
16 players over 3 days, playing constantly on 2 lawns. Event shirt, ball markers, drink bottle, duffel bag are all provided and the club puts on lunch and dinner every day.
Play starts off with 4 blocks of 4, the bottom two in each block go into a single life knockout, while the top 2 play a double life knockout, dropping down to BYE positions in the single life when they lose.
Losers of the single life knockout go into the Plate (apart from me - who, for the second year in a row, lost too late to get into the plate, and too early to get cash...)
The undefeated winner of the double life starts 1 game up in a best of 3 against the winner of the single life in a final.
Today, the undefeated is Robert Fletcher, the single life survivor is Malcolm Fletcher.

Speaking of Robert, he is currently proceeding on his merry way around the lawn.
He has put a ball over by H1 before making H5, and may be thinking of Sextupling, although not sure yet. He hasn't tried any so far this event. However, brother Malcolm has been hitting very well.... although he hasn't been finishing all of his peeling turns.

Looks like the SXP is off, given that a ball has gone to 1-back (or Hoop 7, for those of you who can count past 6...)
Will probably do some peels on Malcolm's ball instead.

And indeed that's what's happening.
Robert has lined up to peel Malcolm's Red before H6.
Gets the peel by 3 yards, but over does striker a bit. Will have a 4 yard straight hoop approach to H6.

Robert Fletcher makes H7, and will be attempting a second peel on Red, from about 4ft out on roughly a 15 degree angle.
Peelee bounces out, but has ended up in a nice Leave position just SW of the hoop. Looks like it can't quite be rushed to 1 either, which is handy, and only offers a half-ball target from the end of B-Baulk.

Back to Cammeray - it's really a good little hub of sport here. On one side of the club is a tennis club, where 4 courts get almost constant use each day, on another side is a synthetic soccer pitch, which seems to have about 5-7 matches played on it each day (at least on weekends - not sure about week days), along with various training sessions for soccer and other sports, and finally there is a skate park - thankfully behind a hedge, which muffles the almost constant stream of profanities and bad stereo music offered up by a number of its users.

The sun is still out, the sky is still blue, the breeze is now coming into the clubhouse, and the snorer is still snoring, although a little more quietly than before.
Robert Fletcher is setting his leave, and Malcolm Fletcher is about to bound out of his chair in the shade.

So, the Leave is:
Red, 1 ball width SW of H2, possibly in angled hoop running position but not rushable to 2.
Yellow is 1/2 a ball width N of H4, and maybe slightly East of center.
Black (H1) is on the East Boundary, 3y south of the center line, and blue is 4ft in lawn from that, with a rush pointing roughly at H5.

T5.
Malcolm lifts Red (for H2), and first from the end of A-Baulk at Black on the boundary.
Misses.

and it missed by far enough that it could actually have been aimed at the in-lawn Blue.

Over on Lawn 2 in the Plate Final, from my vantage point in the clubhouse it looks like Stuart Lawrence is on 1 and 4-back, and Kevin Beard on 1 and 3-back, about to try and rush partner from H2 to H9 to complete his 9.

T6.
Robert rushes Red up the East Boundary to level with H3, croquets it across towards 3 (gets it about 4y West of H6) going to Blue back on the boundary.
Hits Blue, croquets it in lawn to just WNW of 5, and gets a rush on Yellow towards H1.
The rush pulls up northerly and short (I didn't actually see if any cut was involved), and he's left with a 3 yard cross hoop takeoff to 1.
Goes a bit far and has an angled 2ft hoop.

T6.
Robert rushes Red up the East Boundary to level with H3, croquets it across towards 3 (gets it about 4y West of H6) going to Blue back on the boundary.
Hits Blue, croquets it in lawn to just WNW of 5, and gets a rush on Yellow towards H1.
The rush pulls up northerly and short (I didn't actually see if any cut was involved), and he's left with a 3 yard cross hoop takeoff to 1.
Goes a bit far and has an angled 2ft hoop.

Fails Hoop 1, leaving Malcolm's H1 ball (Yellow) with a 3 yard tap on at the ball by H5, a ball just about to start entering the jaws of 1, and a ball 4y West of 6.
Finally, the game gets interesting!

T7.
Malcolm hits the tap-on, and moves things around as if he has a TPO in mind - and on the lawn.
will be approaching H1 with partner up towards H2, and Robert's Blue (4-back) up near the 10th hoop.

Remember earlier how I said this was a good event? Well it's also good because of the Prizes!
Block winners, Plate winner, and 3rd place all get $250 cash, Runner-Up gets $1,000 cash, and Winner gets $3,000 cash. Isn't that a tempter!

TPO attempt coming up, although things went a little askew before H2, the result being that the escape ball for the first peel is 3y East of H2.
Nevertheless, Malcolm gets the first peel, sending striker into the yard line up near 2.
Hits the 6 yarder firmly, and will continue his on-time TPO.

The clubhouse is now bustling, there are now at least 6 people in it.
Still 35 ish outside.
Plate Final is still going, and it looks like Kevin Beard is in break with his second ball. currently attempting to jaws partner in H10 from quite an angle.

T7 (continued)
So, several interesting things have happend, the first of which being that croquetscores had a tiz, and has been playing up for the last few minutes.
However, more importantly...
Malcolm managed to stick black into the back of H6 (remember that it's blue that is supposed to be peeled through Penult), and had to deal with this before making 6.
This was no issue - especially since he didn't have any intention of peeling blue through Penult - yet...
Instead he went to crosswire Robert at H2 (also Malcolm's hoop for his backward ball), and camp away in a far corner, planning to NZ TPO with his back ball, and peg both his and Robert's off, leaving Robert on H2, and himself on 1-back or 2-back.
But... he didn't quite get the wire, so had to try and continue his break, and, with a mere 4 yard backward takeoff to 1-back, all looked good.
Except that the takeoff stopped short, and he had to play a scatter shot on his partner to make it back to safety.
The scatter sent his Red off the south boundary in front of 1, but Yellow (1-back), mid court East of the peg.

T8.
Robert hit the unwired crosswire (about 7 yards - and it looked to be a full ball open with not much to miss on the hoop side), is now on a break around with his H2 ball.
Approaching H4, with neither of his 2 peels done, and Blue (the about-to-be peelee) as a load for H5.

Another interesting tit-bit, if Malcolm wins this game (and then plays the subsequent finally final game), he will have played 10 games this year, and be back on the world ranking list.
However, if Robert wins, Malcolm will still have his light hidden from the public eye, until the next tournament where he comes out and does destructive things to his opponents. (Aus Men's Open, in a fortnight.)

Discussions on Lawn 2. Lawrence, Beard and Referee (Jim Hicks I think) all in discussion and gesticulation on the lawn between hoops 1 and 5.
Mr. Lawrence had some of that at about 10 p.m. last night on the same lawn, when Alix Verge (his opponent) seamlessly switched balls after 4-back and continued to the peg, pegged out Lawrence and set a leave with about 20min to go without anyone noticing. For a while anyway. Then the gesticulations really began.

Tournament Referee has now been called in to minimise the hand gestures. He looks as if he's just woken up - which is more than can be said for the sleeper in the clubhouse.

Players are sitting on a bench in conversation, and both lawn referee and TR are out on the lawn pointing at balls and patches of grass. The former looking confused, and the second patient.

T8 (continued)
Lawn 1. Robert Fletcher is making H7 off partner - no peels done yet, but a good rush out of the hoop may solve all that, as all 4 balls are now out in play.
A good rush is got, and a 3 yard straight peel is being lined up, with a close escape ball (Red). Yellow is 2y North of H8.

Peel bounces back about 4 inches, and looks like it is still rushable, although at about a 25 degree angle.
Break continues.

Hand gestures still continuing between players and referees on Lawn 2. Hope they've stopped their clock.
Now Beard is back on the lawn (not sure whether or not he was in play before, but it looks like it).

so, TR has come in, so the inside info is...
Beard had peeled rover, hit oppo, taken off to get a rush to the peg, and "brushed" oppo's ball with his foot - possibly before he had quit his stance (and the striking period had ended), at least according to the opponent.
Referee disagreed, as did Beard.
You can conjecture what you like from there.
Beard pegged out and won 26-9.

Disaster on Lawn 1 for RF.

2-back was made successfully, and partner was subsequently peeled through Penult while sending the striker to 3-back. The 3-back load was 2ft south of the hoop, and ever so slightly West.
Anyway, striker ended up in the jaws of 3-back, unable to hit the load.
Robert then hit black out of the hoop and managed to get it to the East Boundary, level with 6.

T9.
Malcolm has a 4 yard roquet with his 1-back ball (Yellow) at the ball which has just been peeled though Penult.
Hits. croquets it to 4y West of 5 going to partner near 3-back.
Cut rushes partner to North Boundary, 5y East of 2.
Approaches to 2y angled position. Has a go. Receiver is 1y N of peg high, slightly west of the line between 1 and 2.
Fails hoop.

T10.
Robert has a 9 yarder with his rover ball at Red (the 1-back receiver).
Snicks it.

I have been reminded that I missed out on the TP on the end of Beard v. Lawrence. Beard won 26tp-9 to win the Plate and $250.
I also neglected to mention that their is a golf course on the other side of the soccer field. More sport nearby for those inclined to hit-balls-around-green surfaces.

And it looks like a nice golf course too. Lots of hills.

Robert makes Rover with Blue, and will be setting a leave.
Partner (Black) is on H9.
Malcolm's Yellow is inH 2, and his Red on H7.

on H2

Leave is:
Yellow - on East Boundary, just south of H3.
Red is 5y West and 2y North of H2. possibly nearly wired from yellow.
Blue and Black are camped down in C4 - Black has a rush to H9 (its hoop).

T11.
Malcolm plays Yellow at Black in C4.
Just misses.

T12.
Robert stopshots Yellow to 3y North of H9, rushes partner to the hoop, runs hoop and rushes partner back a few yards towards C4, croquets it in a Penult direction (it ends up 3y short), and gets a cut rush on Yellow towards red by H2. Just misses the peg on the rush, but should have a good rush to H10 and a finish.
Should.

Getting there.... is just approaching Rover.

Robert Fletcher finishes, to win the 7th, Dixon Advisory Croquet Classic, defeating Brother Malcolm, 26-7.
The crowd of 40ish applauds, the day continues to be fine, and the sleeper sleeps.

Presentations to come, but I'm not going to comment on that, except that David Stanton (the excellent Tournament Manager) will doubtless make an excellent speech, and deal out some even more excellent prizes.

The end.

See you next time!