Round Two of the WCF Association Croquet World Championships did not disappoint as there was plenty of action at Hurlingham as 16 players took to the courts looking for a chance to advance to the last eight. Here’s a quick summary of the day’s action. World #1 Robert Fletcher (AUS) was the first one through to the Last Eight based on a 3-0 win over #46 Gavin Carter (ENG) with three triples. That kept a streak of 14 straight games with a peeling finish for Fletcherhich means a peeling finish in 14 straight games.
Read MoreThe Main KO semifinals were played at the Wellington Municipal Croquet Club, a hundred year old club with three lawns south of the city center. Weather was calm and overcast with occasional sprinkles, and fog developing throughout the day. The lawns were about the same medium-slowish pace we've seen at most venues throughout the week, with some lusher areas and a few tricky hoop approaches, but overall quite true. The main challenges were the hoops -- based on the number of failed shots these must have been quite solid -- and the pressure of the situation.
Read MorePlate, Bowl, and of course Main KO quarterfinals were played today. The Shield (for players knocked out in the round of 16) has a doubtful level of interest. The widely dispersed venues are probably a factor (participation in the Bowl was also on the low side). Now that the tournament is in its final stages it feels like a unified event again. Those on hand to watch the Main KO quarterfinals were treated to four great matches, each with its own character.
Read MoreWe were treated to four interesting matches at Kelburn today. The sun was out and there was no breeze, so conditions were as benign as they could be. By early afternoon there were a couple of faster patches near hoops on most of the lawns which made breakplay that bit more interesting.
The first match to finish was Chapman v Patel. It looked like a straight games victory for the Kiwi before he failed rover when about to peg Patel out in the third. Patel took that game, but Chapman then won the fourth.
Read MoreThe knockout started with 10 matches at Kelburn and six at Wellington. Regrettably, only three of the five lawns at Kelburn had new hoop holes and this made the matches played vary considerably. On the two lawns with old hoop holes, there were several one-sided games and six triples. On the three lawns with new hoop holes, there were several close games, no triples and some long matches. It is a shame that such failures occur in World Championships.
Read MoreToday was the day that the croquet really started to heat up. We had game after game of excitement and tension. Possibly the most exciting game was played at Kelburn between Jim Nicholls and Sam Murray. Time was called with Sam on rover and peg and Jim on rover alone. Sam had a tough 4 yard rush down the East boundary with his ball for rover to Jim’s ball and opted to play his peg ball, roll partner towards rover and peg out to equalise.
Read MoreI spent today at Kelburn and I’m pleased to say that the lawns have improved in pace over the past couple of days. There was the odd fast patch in front of some hoops, but the main difficulty was caused by the wind which averaged 30 kmph and had gusts up to 60 kmph.
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