Good morning from Nottingham.

The Plate doesn't start till the afternoon, so I'll be doing commentary at least til lunch.

The knockout starts today. All ten matches start at 10am.
The draw is available here and on the CA website.

Thanks to Aston, Sam and others for keeping us posted via croquetscores.

I am outside the West pavilion, overlooking court 6.
The Mangler has kindly put one of the more attractive match-ups on 6: eighth seed Joel Taylor v the top unseeded player Omied Hallam.
And double banked with them is Reg Bamford v Euan Burridge.

There are 4 first-round matches, two of which might pose a headache for the Mangler.
The hope is to finish rounds 1 and 2 today, then we can have best-of-5 quarter-finals.

It's ten o'clock, but nobody's started yet.

Omied is starting.
T1 Black to 8yN of 4th corner.
T2 Joel Red just S of 2nd corner.

T3 Omied Blue at Black from A-baulk. Misses on the northern side.
Omied won the toss, by the way.

T4 Joel Yellow at Black from A-baulk. Misses into contact with Yellow.

T5 Omied Black taps Blue, rushes Yellow off the West bdry 8y N of 1st corner. (presumably undercut rush to 1.
He rolls up to 1, not in front, back to partner.

T1 Euan pink 9y N of 4th corner.
T2 Reg just S of 2nd corner.

T6 Joel Yellow misses Blue and/or Black.

T3 Euan white hits pink from A-baulk.

T7 Omied's rush to 1 is in the right direction, but overhit. Approach yields an angled hoop, failed.
T8 Joel Yellow at Blue (15y). Misses.

T3 Euan takes off to green, rolls it about peg-high near the West bdry. Goes off 8' N of Pink.

T8 Omied takes on 8-yarder at Yellow. This will determine who gets first break. Omied misses!

T9 Joel is thru 1 with a rush.

T4 Reg Brown at White /Pink from B-baulk. Misses to just W of 4th corner.

T5 Eua White rushes Pink 2' W of brown. Rushes Brown 2y S of Green. Rush to 1 is overhit, as is the approach. Back to partner.

T9 Joel has a big croquet stroke out of 2nd corner, loading 4 while going to his hoop 3 pioneer. Yellow is good, red some way shy of 4. Should cope.

Sorry, Euan, not Eua. I normally refer to players by their surname, but I appear to have abandoned that rule. The first names are shorter too!

T6 Reg Green at White / Pink (20y, target?) Hates it, misses by a foot.

News form the other side: Clarke has first break (5th turn). Murray and Mulliner also on their respective lawns.

Lawn 7: David Warhurst has first break v Samir Patel.
On the same court, James Death has first break v Aston Wade.

T7 Euan again fails to get going.
T8 Reg joins up in 4th corner.
T9 Euan has 25-yard target. Hits.

T9 Joel has reached 1-back.

T9 Euan makes 1. Not a break as such.

Excellent croquet stroke from Euan. Near hoop 2, he loads 4 getting a rush to 3 on a ball near 1.

Joel has made 9, NSL.

Sam Murray registers a complaint about my description of Omied as the top unseeded player
Murray has had chances, but Avery has first break.
T10 Omied lifts Black from near West boundary to A-baulk. Misses red/yellow.

T11 Joel grovels thru 1, hampered shot, hills off, allegedly.

Euan's pink clip is on 1-back. Didn't see what happened, sorry. Reg has break.

Omied has 5-yard take off to 1. Gets it, has break. Will he try TPO?

Omied declines tpo.
Reg is making 1-back!
Reg didn't complete a sextuple in the Swiss, despite trying at least two.

Death needs straight rover peel to finish. Can't avoid roqueting oartner in hoop stroke. Misses peg-out, fails to get posi for combination peg-out. Death pegs one out.

Omied misapproaches 1-back, retires to 1st corner.

Joel misses 7-yarder.

Against Death, Wade hits his last shot.

Avery is on a standard TP v Murray.

Omied joins up, Joel corners.

Reg has made 9, diagonal spread.

Omied has made 1-back. There is a ball just out of 1st corner. Has testing return roquet, rushes it into B-baulk. Pass roll, misses 9-yarder at yellow near 4th corner.

Euan lifts white to A-baulk, hits green.

Myers has equalised v Clarke, 1 and 4-back each. Clarke hit lift with forward ball, had leave. myers joined wide. Clarke has made 1.

Euan is no longer on the lawn. Reg hits 10-yarder with forward ball.

Joel is picking up break for red. Yellow still near 4th corner.

Death and Wade return to the hut, so I assume Death has won game 1.
Patel is on lawn after failed TP from Warhurst.

Joel red makes 3 off black, takes off to yellow, sends yellow to 5.

Reg makes leave.
Euan misses 20-yarder.

Joel fails to get rush after 5. Might he able to get 4-back peel before 1-back.

I shall wander off to far lawns to see what's occurring.

Warhurst got 3 peels, but misfortune means he is now 4-back and peg.
Patel had break, but blobbed 6.

Warhurst takes off from 6 to partner at 1-back, hoping for rush to 4-back. Instead he wires himself. Retires, Patel hits 7-yarder.

There are only two balls on court 9. Robert Fletcher is for 3-back, Stephen Wright for 4.

Rick Harding won the first 26tp v Brian Cumming. He has had the first break in game 2, but Cumming should now equalise.

Fletcher fails 3-back, conceding wiring lift. Wright now for 5 hits. Fails 5, another lift.
Fletcher hits.

Fletcher TPOed and had 2 balls off. Other clips on 1.

Fletcher hits, makes 3-back, no rush, rolls to 4-back, nice length, good hoop, should finish.

Fletcher fails to approach penult. Taps in front.

Wright hits, takes off to 5, long, tries 10' hoop, fails.

Fletcher takes posi at penult.
Wright misses
Not sure how much he could see.

Fletcher makes penult, has very long attempt at rover. Bounces off near 2-back.
Wright misses

Some cagey stuff, then Wright misses 14-yarder

Fletcher rolls to rover from west boundary. 6' hoop, makes it. Game 1 +9tpo

Cumming to 4-back, NSL.
Harding to A-baulk, hits hoop 4 full.

Warhurst wins game 1 v Patel.

Bamford's TP has been "scrappy". Still needs a straight rover peel to finish.

Joel was finishing but misapproached rover.
Omied gets in with his ball for 2-back, makes 2 hoops, leave.
Joel misses 20-yarder.

Omied makes 1, but then completely misses 2-yard cut rush.

Bamford wins game 1+19tp.

Joel misses 20-yarder.

Omied misses 8-yarder.

Joel hits 12-yarder. He's playing with his forward ball. (Joel rover + peg v Omied 2 + 4-back.)

Sorry, error. Joel is playing with his ball on rover. Rolls up from 7y, not in front. Retires to corner.

Omied joins up.
Joel has 16y wide join.

Game 2
T1 Reg brown 9y N of 4th corner.
T2 Euan pink just S of 2nd corner.
T3 Reg green hits brown.

Omied black makes 2 off blue.
Blue to 4, black hits red (middle of east boundary).
Takes off to Yellow in 3rd corner.
Rolls up, fails hoop.

Avery beats Murray 23tp 26tp
Myers is penult and peg v Clarke, should finish.
Mulliner on delayed tp to win 2-0.

Euan hits 4th turn, rushing ball off S bdry.
Roll north is short on green, but good cut gives him chance.
Approaching 1 with 6y backward take-off.
Four yard hoop, rejected.

Joel wins game 1 +15.

Reg hits 15-yarder for break.

Game 2
T1 Joel Red 10y N of 4th corner.
T2 Omied Black just S of 2nd corner.
T3 Joel Yellow hits Red from A-baulk.

Mulliner has won 2-0 v Grimsley.

T4 Omied misses into 4th corner (22y)
How many hoops will Reg make?

T5 Joel has first break.

Myers is game up and has first break.
Beard is game up and has first break.

Reg is putting out a 1-back pioneer.

Death has had first break in G2.
Wade is now on a break.

Warhurst has broken down at 1-back.

Cumming won game 2 17tp.
Harding has first break in game 3.

Fletcher is on a 7th turn TP.
Two peels done, he's on 3-back.

Fletcher tries to rush peelee to rover after 3-back. Does so. Peel is successful.

Reg has made 9, diagonal spread.
Euan misses the lift shot.

Joel has made 9, MSL.

Myers broke down at 4, Clarke has break.

Omied lifts the ball at 2 (blue) to A-baulk, hits red.

Omied has break.

Fletcher has won +9tpo +26tp

Various matches are at lunch, including Reg.

Clarke has gone to 4-back with a defensive leave, now lunching.

Omied has gone to 4-back with a diagonal spread.
Joel lifts red from the peg to B-baulk, shooting at Black / Blue.
Misses to just W of 4th corner.

A referee is needed. Omied has somehow rushed Yellow into jaws of 2-back. Just checking that he can put Black south of yellow and run the hoop. No problem.

Reg has restarted and should pick up break.

Omied has made 3. His hoop 4 pioneer is peg-high. Yet to dig ball out of 4th corner.

Omied still some way off full control.
He fails hoop 6.

Reg is lining up ambitious 8' peel of 4-back. He plays it straight, forgoing the rush. Peel is thru. Big roll... very good.

Joel Red hits Black out of 6.

Joel fails to get rush to 1. Scoop to the hoop from 11y, finishes just north of the hoop.
Omied corners.

Harding appears to be lining up straight rover peel. Just thru, jump shot clips top of partner. I think, I am 70 yards away.

Joel makes 1, need to approach 2 from the North bdry behind the hoop. 4' hoop, runs it.

Bamford peels penult after 6.

Harding v Cumming are pausing for lunch.

Reg appeared to try a long rover peel before 2-back, sails 8' past hoop. Poor rush to 2-back but copes.

Joel is contemplating a delayed TP.

Joel is having his 2-back pioneer at 4-back. He did the same in game 1. Makes the 4-back peel before 1-back.

Reg is in good shape for a straight rover peel,

Joel copes with 2-back.

Reg is rushing to the peg.

Reg wins 2-0, 26tp in the second.

Joel misses 3y rush on his 3-back pioneer.

Clips: Joel Red 3-back, Yellow penult; Omied Blue 4-back, Black 6.

Beard halfway thru TP to win 2-0

Clarke on second break, Myers' clips on 1 and 6.

Omied is in with Blue. Now approaching 4-back from 4 yards. 4' hoop, run to boundary.
Yellow is 2y W of the end of B-baulk.

Warhurst and Wade currently on court 7.

Omied has made penult. Yet to move yellow.

Omied Blue makes rover off Black. Rushes Black 3y E of 2nd corner. Croquets Black 11y S of 2nd corner. Red is 5y NNE of 3-back.
Where is Yellow going?

Kevin Beard has won.

Yellow is an inch or so east of 6. Lags back 4 or5y shy of partner.

6 + peg plays 3-back + penult.

Joel lifts Yellow to B-baulk, hits Blue..

I am now going to play a Plate game on lawn 2.
So cheers for now, maybe more later.