Good morning. We are resuming the doubles from day 1. Box's Aaron Westerby and Felix Webby, vs Australia's Ian Dumergue and Edward Wilson.

This match was pegged down in failing light on day one. We start with the kiwis well advanced, on 4back (Aaron) and rover. Edward on 4back, Ian on hoop 1.

Kiwis on play, rushed partner in corner three and set a rush to yellow (Edward) which is on the west boundary next to hoop 2.

Ian shoots red at yellow from corner 1...hits!

Takes off well to corner 3...this would be an impressive finish if Ian can organise the rush to hoop 1 and dig the balls out a little more

Today is another overcast misty day. The last couple of days have been super cold, which isn't really conducive to comfortable flowing croquet

Ian plays an excellent rush to hoop 1, but we are on lawn 2, for this resumed game three of what is now match 21...so black sails down the hill toward corner 1, leaving a 5y angled approach

Nice shot back up the hill. This has a Wee bit of distance, as many first hoops of a break do. The aussie captain lines it up, his new Solomon style has a better backswing than the previous standard grip I feel.
Runs hoop 1...by not much!
Party has shown me a photo of his line on black, and there's a hoop upright immediately behind the striker's ball. Has a red on as he tries to join with partner near hoop 2...can only reach the west boundary between hoop 5 and the peg

Black technically wired from blue, but you don't want to shoot into corner three. Chris fancies the 9-10 yarder black at red on the boundary. Yellow is a safer 15 harder. Red and yellow only about 8y apart on, and just off, the west boundary

This is a big decision...black at red is short (10y) and is a potential finishing turn for the kiwis, but missing it gives a potential finish for the Australian pair

Aaron shot at red....and has missed north of it! Ian now has a rush to yellow which is slightly in lawn of the west boundary and level with hoop 2. Blue is still up near corner 3, maybe a couple of yards in

Ian rushes black well to the boundary level with yellow, chips it in and rushes to 2, has approached it well. Still a lot of work to do here

(Apologies for any typos...using swype keyboard on my phone) (even worse, I have to leave in half an hour)

!!!! After running hoop 2, likely trying to cut it back to black, Ian has missed his reception ball! Lines red in on the south boundary.

Aaron is on...hits a 5ish yard shot, rolls to Pruitt and 4back. Black is very long, but stays on the lawn and he has a rush pointing north of 4back. Yellow is about 3yards east of penult, rushed 5 yards north west of 4back...and has a good take off to in front of his hoop

Runs 4back very smoothly, now has a rush back down the lawn. Needs a river peel to win, and he is croqueting partner to rover

Croquets blue 8 feet short of rover but dead straight. Has a rush to penult, which he plays well.

Red is still on the south boundary but could function as a deep ball if needed

Approaches penult...Runs it without a rush. That's a shame from where he approached it, but I can't criticise!

Rolls down...Yellow is neither deep nor sidey, it's about 6 yards south west of rover

Rush on partner isn't great..about dive feet back and 15 deg angle.

Felix on to consult. Aaron approaches rover with no peel. Groves through...hits yellow..Croquet it towards the cliff otherwise known as lawn 2's east boundary...and yellow sails off the lawn

Quick recap...red for three, yellow 4b, black for peg, blue rover.

Ian takes over the lawn, plays the balls just about from where they lie instead of taking his lift. Where they lay was red on south boundary, black 2 feet north east of it, with that rush pointing back to bluetiful is a few yards south of river. Yellow is level with hoop 4 on the east boundary

Black croqueted to 4, blue rushed to yellow, we should see a go at a delayed tp. (Meanwhile Paddy is gently chuckling at my typos...apologies all!)

Decent rush to 4yards northeast of hoop three

Approaches the hoop and has a 2 foot hoop to run

Catches a lot of wire on the way, but it's through.

Just this match finishing today, but we also have some former Australian Mac players coming for a hit up a little later.

Ref on, but this looks very easy...hits the middle of the reception ball

Gosh it's cold this morning...and I'm inside!

Takes off well to blue, let's see if he can put this finishing turn together

Hmm..it looks like Ian is having a hoop 6 pioneer...yes...black cruises towards hoop 6 and finishes a little west of it. No triple coming

Ian has pulled up a bit short of his hoop 5 pioneer...blue, which is for rover and was north of the hoop...but he has managed to not rush peel it. This will be a nervy ball to the peg

Through 5. He has two pioneers at six, after that first one was a little wayward.

Definitely nervy..the 1 back pioneer is 5 yards north of one bank

1back, that is

He should cope here, but the pivot placement means it'll be very hard to get anything near 2back without a difficult croquet stroke

Anonymous new commentator here - hi.

Dumergue has done well, decided to swap the balls over and put his 1back pioneer to 2b, getting a rush on pivot to 1back.

2b pioneer a bit short but has a good rush to 1b and runs it cleanly under control, and everything is back on track.

Has to take off a few feet across the face of 2b, down the hill but plays it well and runs another controlled hoop.

3b pioneer is 5yd N of 3b but should cope.

Can he be tempted into a STP attempt?

Definitely one of the warmest days of the Mac so far, currently a balmy 13°C

Approaching 3b from 2yd straight. Back in my day this hoop approach on this lawn was a bit fraught, but I think the hill has flattened over the years.

Runs 3b by 9yd, conveniently up to his pivot (partner). We won't be seeing any peeling attempts here.

Recap. NZ's Felix and Aaron are Rover and Peg respectively, vs Wilson and Dumergue on 4b and break at 4b respectively.

4b run under full control with a rush back to the pivot.

Wonder what leave we will be seeing here. I quite fancy putting the NZ peg ball in front of h6 so it doesn't rush to rover or the peg.

Penultimate is run but he doesn't want to leave black behind afterwards. Looks like some kind of DSL or reverse DSL leave coming up.

Approaching rover from very close, he ends up with a 35deg hoop...

Runs cleanly with a 4yd return coming up.

And hits, rushing it almost on top of the other oppo ball at the peg. The reverse DSL may end up as a cross-peg here.

Seems happy enough with the effort and rushes partner to the west boundary. They will be laying up quite far north here, as the NZ balls are fairly diagonal across the peg.

NZ investigating options. There might be a bit of ball poking out around the peg - the ball on the eastern side is very close to the peg, so the western ball may have an edge of it

The western ball being the ball for the peg...so clipping the peg wouldn't be flash here.

NZ taking the shot...it's short and risky.

Aaron hits partially wired partner at the peg, NZ have regained the innings with their forward ball.

Aaron taking off and leaving partner in middle of lawn. Looks like they are planning to peg out red. We should have an exciting finish here.

Red has been pegged out and NZ are keeping 3 balls on the lawn. Aaron plays black to a spot wired from yellow, on the south boundary in front of h1.

Yellow is north of H2.

Blue (for rover) is a couple of feet south of the peg.

Recap. Australia is box and 4b Vs NZ rover and peg

Ned plays yellow level with h5 on the west boundary.

Felix plays blue to c2

Ned now has a 13yd at black on the south bdy. Misses

Aaron rushes Ned's ball to near c4 and will take off to blue near c2, trying to avoid the peg on the way.

Plays a couple of yards South of partner in c2. Ned doesn't shoot - that could be the last time he is open on a ball.

NZ leave a wired rush to rover.

Ned plays to c1

Kiwis rush down towards c1 and bury Ned's ball past h3

Ned now looking at a spot level with h5 on the west boundary.

And plays it there.

NZ have a 3 yarder along the south boundary. Felix takes it and doesn't find the wired spot through h1 from Ned's ball. Takes off to Ned's ball and buries it to h3 again.

Ned turns down the shot again in favour of C4. Kiwis have something more resembling a rush this time, but it's not ideal. Sort of 2yd, and pointing about 7yd south of rover.

Kiwis looking at a spot west of h2

Aaron is rolling the balls there from c1

Kiwis leave a sort of reverse rush. Ned eyeing this one up...

Shooting...

Misses 40 ish yarder by almost nothing.

NZ have a 1ft roquet with the peg ball or a 4yd with the ball for rover.

Playing the forward ball. Probably another leave.

Aaron rolls partner in front of rover and pegs himself out.

Ned misses from near c2 at ball in front of rover.

Felix runs rover from about 3yards straight

Felix hits Ned's ball on the south boundary and pegs out to take the match and finish the test at 11-10 to Australia.

It's goodbye from me