LONGMAN CUP

final - Fylde 5 Dyffryn 2


See all the results here

Semi-final Fylde 5 Woking 2


Veni, Vidi, Vici (Julius Caesar)
The weekend had arrived, the Fylde team drove south on Friday and rolled into Wrest Park ready for the Longman Cup finals. The cup accompanied us, as Pendle (the current holders) had asked us to return it. We had opted to stay at the Cranfield University conference centre with the hopes of graduating to better success for the club. Like all good students, we retired to the pub to plan tactics for the next day and enjoy the excellent food and beer. We tried to ignore the ill-omens when the cream sank like a stone in the Irish Coffee. Saturday dawned, a heavy dew on the lawns but dry and bright. The setting was magnificent between the mansion house and the ornamental lake surrounded by a tree and statue lined avenue. The opponents were Woking and Fylde kept to the winning formula of the quarter finals, Leonard and Betty playing the doubles, Terry and Martin playing the singles. Martin was again looking to inspire us with his team talk (“Go and win”) and his now infamous knee-length white socks. The games started and Fylde made good progress in the singles, and after a balanced morning’s play, Martin and Terry secured wins. The doubles match was evenly balanced to the end but Woking secured their first win of the day to leave the score 2 – 1 to Fylde at lunch. A pleasant lunch was taken in the sunshine with the members of the Dyffryn team who were 3 – 0 down to Norwich in the other semi –final and were hoping for a serious upturn in their fortunes for the afternoon. The afternoon session started on a new set of lawns. Martin and Terry were warned by the locals of the infamous slope on the lawn. One look and they both thought “ If you think that is a slope, you need to play on northern lawns, where slopes are real slopes!” Both Martin and Terry quickly found their rhythm and dominated their games.


Terry organises a straight rover peel in the singles.


Terry finished with a flourish, scoring a rover peel and using his last bisque to set up the peg out. Martin scored an equally convincing win over his opponent. 4 – 2 to Fylde and the match was won. On the other lawn, Betty was playing well and won her game to make the score 5 – 2, Leonard being unable to match his opponent at the end of his game. We retired to our rooms and found the perfect way to prepare for the following day’s final, a champagne dinner to help Liz and Peter celebrate Pendle’s victory in the Mary Rose competition (Well done to them). An early night and a hearty breakfast saw us back for the final. Dyffryn had reversed their fortunes and beaten Norwich 4- 3 and were our opponents in the final. Conditions were similar to Saturday but players on both sides struggled to get fluency in their play. Martin suddenly sparked and went on to win his game + 20, a true captain’s performance. Terry’s game was close but eventually was won by his opponent. In the doubles, Betty and Leonard were battling to get in to a winning position but eventually succumbed. Lunch and we were 2 – 1 down. In the afternoon, Martin put on a superb demonstration of controlled croquet. He won his match very quickly, his opponent only have a handful of shots and an absolute minimum amount of time on the lawn. His opponent was a native of Wigan, prompting thoughts that Martin should be given a new nickname of “Martin Onfire”. Terry took inspiration, found his form again and dispatched his opponent well within time. The score was now 3 – 2 to Fylde and we needed Betty or Leonard to win. With 40 minutes to go they were both in the lead but only by a handful of hoops. Then, sudden drama in Leonard’s game. There was suspicion that his opponent had not recognised that he had made an error and continued, running further hoops. A spectator referee interfered, the tournament director was called, he consulted the chairman of the CA and there was commotion for 10 minutes before a ruling was given and play continued. Betty was still in play on the same lawn and managed to ignore the discussion and was able to hold on to her lead. 30 minutes left and the tension was mounting.


Martin (c), Leonard, Terry and Betty in singles play.


Then the timer went, Betty had won and the Longman Cup was Fylde’s. Five minutes later Leonard completed a magnificent afternoon by winning his game. A proud moment for all the Fylde members privileged to be playing and spectating. A long drive home followed but time passed quickly, knowing that it had been an historic day for Fylde and that the Longman Cup was returning to the Northwest and the Fylde coast with us. So, with slight apologies to Julius Caesar...

We came,
we saw,
we conquered,

And we were proud.

Posted By Terry, 7th October

Quarter Final - Fylde 4 Ashby 3

The bonus ball of the National Lottery draw on 25/7 was an even number so deciding the match took place at home.

Well played !
Terry Vernazza (18), Betty Bates (24), Leonard Ainsworth (18) & Martin Bradshaw (12)

Ashby’s team arrived in good time and comprised Tim King (4 ½ ), Derek Buxton (10), Mick Haytack (10) and Jeremy Staley (10). The bisques were definitely to Fylde’s advantage! In the morning Leonard and Betty paired up for the doubles match against Derek and Jeremy. This they won +2. Terry ran out of bisques too early against Tim who played an excellent game on our difficult lawns and won +6. Martin had a comparatively easy win against Mick +11. At lunch Fylde were 2 – 1 up and needed two of the afternoon games to win. The afternoon games were played in handicap order. Terry won +10 against Derek taking quite a few attempts to run the final hoop. Betty could not find form and lost to Jeremy – 13. Leonard lost to Mick – 7. The final game between the two captains Martin and Tim was a tight affair which ran to time. Tim had trouble hitting in on our undulating lawns and Martin managed to keep him out of the game to win +4 on time.

Posted by Liz, 9th September

Third Round - Fylde 4 Beverley 3

Liz's 'tails' strategy won the toss done by Bruce Ranie to decide the home side. After difficult negotiations the date was set for 9th July but our lawns did not recover from the flooding of the preceding week so, after more haggling, a second date of 22nd July was set. Even this was altered. Now for both sides it is play on 23rd or forfeit the match.

But by 22nd more rain had left the lawns still too soggy for play. The match went ahead as scheduled hosted by Pendle & Craven CC.

In the morning session Lee Hartley (4) and Betty Bates (24 – playing off 20) were beaten +14 by John Kennedy (6) and Tom Judge (15). Martin Bradshaw (12) beat Malcolm Lawrenson (18) + 7 and Terry Vernazza (20) achieved his Bronze Merit Award on the way to beating Mike Evans +20. All the afternoon matches were heavily contested. Lee Hartley who had been playing uncharacteristically badly eventually found form and managed to beat John Kennedy +3. Mike Evans was next to finish beating Martin Bradshaw +13. The other two matches went to time. Terry Vernazza held on to his lead to beat Tom Judge +7 winning the match for Fylde. Malcolm Lawrenson beat Betty Bates +9 to pull one back

Fylde would like to thank Pendle for the use of their lawns which stood up to the recent bad weather far better than the other local clubs.

Posted by Liz, 23rd July 2007

Second Round - Fylde 5 Tyneside 2

The morning was bright and sunny and the lawns had been mowed early on the same day. Our team was Lee, new member Abdul Ahmad, Betty and Ken. The morning session comprised of one doubles (Abdul and Ken – played David Turner and Nora Burbridge) and two singles matches. The morning singles finished quickly with Lee beating Sheila Watts +26 in one hour and Betty loosing to Jacob Carr a short time later. The doubles went to time with Abdul nursing Ken round to finish +9 giving Fylde a 2 -1 lead at lunch. The Fylde lawns were proving difficult for the two Gordie ladies who struggled to hit the length of the lawn. During lunch the rain set in and made conditions difficult, particularly for the visiting team’s ladies. After lunch Lee beat David Turner +13 in a game that could have gone either way and soon after Jacob came home a + 13 winner against Ken Harper. The last two games became quite exciting as they were both very close and could go either way. Betty dug deep and produced a fine +7 win over a weary and despondent Nora. The final game was finally won by Abdul +8.

Posted by Liz, 28th June

First Round - Bye

Posted by Peter, 28th June

Handicap


Final Handicap Croquet
League Table 2007
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Chester
8
5
2
1
30
18
12
Bury Caesars
8
4
3
1
28
20
11
Bury Peelers
8
4
1
3
25
23
9
Pendle & Craven
8
3
3
2
23
25
9
Fylde
8
3
2
3
27
21
8
Bowdon St Marys
8
4
0
4
23
25
8
Bowdon Firs
8
1
4
3
21
27
6
Southport
8
1
4
3
21
27
6
Crake Valley
8
1
1
6
18
30
3

Table courtesay croquetnw.co.uk


Fylde 3 Bury Caesar 3

On a gloriously sunny day Bury Caesar were the visitors for our first handicap match of the 2007 season. With the lawns having missed their pre-match mowing the relatively long grass made for unfamiliar conditions for Bury and the morning's doubles matches reflected this with relatively comfortable wins for the pairings of Lee and Terry and Martin and Leonard. In the afternoon it appeared that Bury had learnt quickly from the morning's experience as things in the singles were a lot closer. Despite Lee winning +23 the remainder of the team could not muster the win that would have meant overall victory and the match ended in a disappointing 3-3 draw. Terry put up a valiant fight in a nip and tuck game but eventually succumbed 26-25.

Posted by Lee, 2nd June

Bowdon St Marys 4 Fylde 2

The team of Martin, Andrew, Leonard and Ken travelled to Bowdon to play John Lucas, John Larmouth, Mike Steer and Ross Pimlott. Martin and Leonard had a very close and interesting doubles match against the two Johns who use two bisques to peel Martin’s rover ball through Rover and peg it out. Leonard hit in repeatedly but failed to capitalise by running any hoops and they finally lost +1 on time. Andrew and Ken had a poor game with Ken failing to score any hoops at all. In the afternoon Martin lost by double figures against the rapidly improving John Lucas and Leonard beat John Larmouth. Andrew managed to come good in his usual style making 8 hoops in the time turn to beat Mike Steer and Ken narrowly lost to Ross Pimlott -1 on time. The final score did not reflect the closeness of the match.

Posted by Liz, 12th August

Southport 3 Fylde 3

Fylde: Martin (c), Lee, Leonard, Alan
Southport: Diana Williamson, Margaret Dally, Alan Farrell, Eileen Gallagher
We set off on a nice sunny morning to play only our third, but Southport's final, handicap game of the season. In the morning doubles after Lee went round early he and Alan were always in charge of their game again Diana and Eileen, eventually running out +6 winners on time. It was the opposite story in the other game with Alan Farrell setting the early pace and eventually he and Margaret pegged out beating Martin and Leonard +14 with about 15 minutes left. In the afternoon singles Lee scored the first point by comfortably beating Diana +10 in a 3 ball ending after peeling her through rover and pegging one ball out. Leonard fared better than in the morning against Alan but despite his vain attempts to catch up near the end Alan pegged out to level the match score. The other two games were very closely fought and both went to time. Martin managed to squander a big lead against Margaret but eventually prevailed by the classic +1 on time after hitting in on his time turn. Alan and Eileen were nip and tuck the whole game but when time went Eileen was 2 hoops in front and so the match ended all square.

Posted by Lee, 1st September

Fylde 6 Pendle 0

The home team of Liz The Boss Wilson, Martin The Commodore Bradshaw, Leonard MC² Ainsworth and Betty Bombshell Bates arrived in plenty of time to set up the lawns and enjoy the good weather. In the morning Boss & Bombshell soon had the better of John Filsak & David Pollit – Bombshell only using 4 bisques to get round leaving The Boss 1½ to run the last two hoops and peg out +10. The commodore and mc² took the full 3 ¼ hours to beat Robin Delves & newcomer Tony Stephens +9. After an alfresco lunch at which the players were joined by Alan red cards Moreton and Kath Morton, the singles games began. The Boss beat John Filsak +10 in 2 hours, quickly followed by Bombshell who beat Tony +19. The other two games went to time The Commodore coming out the eventual winner against David Pollit +13 and MC² beating Robin Delves +6. Home advantage and nicknames definitely helped.

Posted by Liz, 3rd September

Fylde 4 Bowdon Firs 2

Fylde: Lee Hartley (c), Andrew Webb, Alan Morton, Betty Bates
Bowdon: David Cotton, Barry Keen, Sheila & John Saxby
The match started off in overcast conditions but the sun broke through late morning and it was glorious for the rest of the day. In the morning doubles it looked bleak for Lee and Betty when Barry pegged Lee out with Betty only halfway round. However Betty did a superb three ball break to run 4 hoops and get round to rover, eventually getting through and pegging out to secure a +10 win over Barry and John. In the other game Andrew and Alan made a slow start and were always trailing, finally going down by +11 to David and Sheila to leave things all square at lunch. In the afternoon Lee was the first to finish beating David comfortably +11 after he was too cautious with his bisques. Betty gained a good early lead against John and withstood a strong comeback to prevail +5. The other 2 games both went to time. Despite being none too happy with his play Alan was never in real danger and won +4 against Sheila who really struggled to get going. The final game to finish was nip and tuck most of the way but Barry finally gained a consolation victory +5 against Andrew.

Posted by Lee, 8th September

Chester 4 Fylde 2

Fylde: Lee (c), Terry, Alan & Betty
Chester: Mark Lloyd, Elmyr Hughes, David Guyton & Helen Pickford

The team struggled with the lawns and a cold wind through the morning doubles. The points were shared at lunch with Terry and Betty prevailing for Fylde while Mark Lloyd took a bold decision investing his partner's bisques to peel Lee through Rover and put him in the box, leaving Alan in somewhat uncharted territory stranded on hoop 2 without a partner ball to return to. After a fine lunch the rain came in and the afternoon was, in truth, quite miserable for us as Chester took no chances and squeezed the life out of us. Only Betty scored for us in the afternoon.

Posted by Peter, Sunday 16th September

Fylde 2 Bury Peelers 4

After the incessant rain of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the Fylde lawns were flooded again and so Martin, Andrew, Terry and Leonard travelled to Bury to play Fylde’s “home match” Bury Peelers. The weather was kind with just a touch of drizzle towards the end of the day. The morning doubles went to Bury with Martin and Leonard loosing heavily to Justin and Paul Kenworthy. Andrew and Terry had a closer game but still lost to Barbara and Jean. In the afternoon Martin lost to Paul and Leonard lost to Jean in a very difficult and grinding game. Terry played out of his skin to beat Justin and Andrew did his usual trick of coming from behind and giving himself the task of jumping over oppos ball in rover to run the final hoop and peg out!

Posted by Liz, 23rd September

Crake Valley 1 Fylde 5

In a most beautiful autumnal setting and despite continuous rain in the afternoon, the doubles were shared in the morning with Andrew and Leonard winning +8. Leonard was the star of the show by keeping back 3 out of 4 bisques till the last 45 minutes and then proceeded to get 9 hoops and more importantly use up all the time. This left the opposition one second of normal time so they were left with 2 bisques still in the ground. A tactical triumph by MCsquared, who confided in me at the end “I really had my dander up!” I did not enquire further but I think his defeat by Peter Wilson earlier in the week was a real spur for him! Martin and Ken had a real “dogged” battle against Joan Clinch and John Shakespeare. Martin went to rover quite early on and then followed a war of attrition which ended up a tie. The golden hoop was nail biting with Martin having to hit across the lawn to secure possible victory, but it was not to be.

Fylde were heroic in the afternoon with the rain coming across the Cumbrian hills making playing conditions very difficult. Leonard continued his masterful performance by beating Joan +14 in a game in which he was always in control. Ken, in the battle of the high bisquers with David Porrity, played very well to win in approximately 2 hours 15 minutes. David ran out of bisques too early which enabled Ken to maintain control of the lawn. Martin’s game against John was on paper promising to be a battle with handicaps of 11 and 12 respectively. After a slow start in the game Martin took a ball to rover and was always ahead from then, winning +8. Andrew against Mark Miller (2) did not disappoint with his usual up and down performance from the very good to the awful including going through the same hoop twice! Mark was well ahead and had his chances to finish the game until Andrew focused again and in two consecutive breaks went round and pegged out to win by +4. Perhaps he needs a sport’s psychologist and him a counsellor!

Two abiding memories of the match. The Crake Valley hospitality, and especially the food, was fantastic. Joan brought a whole new dimension to lemon meringue which was to die for. Her rock cakes were also truly memorable! The sight of Martin’s knee length white socks was a sight to behold and I saw how Joan found it difficult to focus on the doubles! An erotic delight to cap all! Finally Mark Miller’s comment about croquet being “a load of old B…..” will remain in my memory for a long time. After all it’s only a game! No certainly not, it’s life and death isn’t it? This win will surely increase the self confidence of Ken and Leonard and is a good send of re the Longman Cup on 6th October. Best of luck to everyone.

Posted by Andrew, 3rd October

MID-WEEK LEAGUE


Final Midweek League Table 2007
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Bury
8
6
1
1
32
16
13
Chester
8
5
1
2
30
18
11
Pendle & Craven
8
2
2
4
20
28
6
Fylde
8
2
1
5
21
27
5
Bowdon Griffins
8
2
1
5
17
31
5

Table courtesay croquetnw.co.uk


PENDLE AND CRAVEN 3 FYLDE 3

Pendle and Craven: Robin Delves (Capt), John Filsak, Andrew Webb, John Snowden

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (Capt), Leonard Ainsworth, Alan Morton, Ken Harper

We visited Pendle and Craven for our first ever Midweek Handicap League match. Ken Harper and Alan Morton were making their debuts for Fylde in a Full Lawn match. The morning doubles were (Game 1) Delves and Webb v Bradshaw and Harper and (Game 2) Filsak and Snowden v Ainsworth and Morton. Both matches started in dry, sunny conditions. Game 1 was closely contested with both teams level at the end of timed play. In the tie break, the first opportunity fell to Pendle and Robin Delves scored the winning hoop for Pendle to take a 1-0 lead. In Game 2, we made a promising start with Leonard Ainsworth peeling red and yellow balls through hoop 1. Alan Morton took his ball to hoop 6 but could not maintain the break. The Pendle players started to control play and took the lead with superior break play. We had difficulty in gaining the innings and so Pendle cruised to a 26-6 win to put them 2-0 in the lead at lunch. The afternoon singles saw us use our bisques to secure vital game wins. Martin Bradshaw had an outstanding win over John Filsak 26-0. This was followed by Leonard Ainsworth beating Andrew Webb by 5 hoops to take the match score to 2-2. Ken Harper gave a creditable performance but was beaten by John Snowden by 16 hoops. Alan Morton managed to use his extra turns to keep ahead of Robin Delves throughout the match. At the end of timed play, Morton was 2 hoops ahead with Delves to complete his time turn, Delves ran the hoop at 3 back and got into position to tie the game at 4 back but failed to run the hoop leaving Morton a 1 hoop win and to take the final match score to a 3-3 draw.

Posted by Alan, 2nd May

BOWDON Griffins 4 FYLDE 2

FYLDE: Liz Wilson (Capt), Peter Wilson, Leonard Ainsworth, Alan Morton

BOWDON: Rupert Webb (Capt), Jenny Dennis, John Saxby, Sue Cooper

Liz puts partner through five

The morning doubles were (Game 1) Webb and Cooper v P Wilson and Ainsworth and (Game 2) Dennis and Saxby v L Wilson and Morton. Both doubles matches started in dry conditions on good lawns. Game 1 was closely contested with P Wilson and L Ainsworth holding off a strong challenge by their opponents to win the game by 2 hoops. In Game 2, attacking tactical play by Fylde surprised the Bowdon pair and Fylde led in the early part of the game. However, unforced errors and the failure to run hoops allowed Dennis and Saxby to ease ahead and win the game by 7 hoops. At lunch, the match was tied at 1-1. The afternoon singles saw Rupert Webb in top form as he beat L Wilson by 25 hoops. P Wilson played well against Dennis winning by 10 hoops. With Fylde still in contention for match points, they were unable to gain any more wins with Ainsworth losing by 11 hoops to Saxby and Morton losing by 14 hoops to Cooper. The final outcome was that Bowdon deserved their 4-2 win.

Posted by Alan, 14th May

Chester 4 Fylde 2

The doubles pairing of Lee and Ken winning brought Fylde in to lunch level. The other pairing of Martin and Betty did not warm to playing in freezing conditions. In the afternoon the rain set in and only Betty scored for us. Although we now have only one point from six, our losses have been marginal and on the positive side the matches are very good practice for our newer association players who are gaining experience through this competition.

Posted by Martin, 30th May

Fylde 2 Bury 4

Liz (C), Martin, Leonard & Alan

After prolonged rain which flooded the area the lawns recovered just enough for the match to go ahead. Conditions were very difficult as there had been no opportunity to cut the grass.

Although close, both the morning doubles went to Bury. In the afternoon Liz was defeated by Geoff Young's skilful use of bisques in the difficult conditions and Alan also lost a tight game. Our points came from Leonard who controlled his break well to peg out and Martin's late rally also to the peg.

Posted by Liz, 27th June

Fylde 4 Pendle 2

Fylde’s team of Liz, Martin, Leonard and Betty travelled to Pendle for the home tie as the Fylde lawns were still flooded. Martin and Leonard won the morning doubles against Andrew Webb and Robin Delves +7 and Liz and Betty were narrowly beaten by John Filsak and Dave Pollitt -2 having just failed the peg out to see Dave Pollitt play a spectacular turn from hoop 4 to peg. In the afternoon Betty armed with 16 bisques quickly despatched Robin Delves +21 with two bisques standing. Liz came from behind to beat John Filsak +6 and all eyes then turned to the two needle match games on lawn 1. Dave Pollitt caught up and passed Leonard and failed to peg out his croquet ball. Left with 6 hoops still to run Leonard fought on doggedly and slowly pulled the game round as David missed the peg shot between Leonard’s turns. Leonard eventually won +1T. Martin was well ahead of Andrew but in his final time turn Andrew pulled back to one hoop ahead leaving Martin one final shot across the lawn to level. Martin missed and so the final game went to Pendle +1T

Posted by Liz, 25th July

Fylde 5 Bowdon 1

Liz, Martin, Terry and Betty entertained the Bowdon team of Alan Mayne, Rupert Webb, Jenny Denis and John Saxby. The lawns had just about dried out but were quite slow and difficult. Martin and Terry beat Rupert and Jenny +25 in just over an hour and a half and started their singles matches before lunch. Liz and Betty eventually triumphed over Alan and John +16 again before time. After an early lunch Martin continued his game over Rupert, Terry continued his battle with Jenny and Liz and Betty started their matches against Alan Mayne and John Saxby respectively. Liz was first to finish beating Alan +14 with her ½ bisque still standing. Martin beat Rupert +3 on time and Terry beat Jenny +15. Betty was the last to finish eventually losing to John -12. The weather was kind and all the matches played in good spirit. All credit to Bowdon for trying on our lawns which are somewhat different from theirs!

Posted by Liz, 6th August

Fylde 1 Chester 5

Liz, Martin, Leonard and Ken had to travel to Chester as the Fylde lawns were flooded again. It was clear from the start that Fylde were up against it with the Chester team having a high number of bisques. Liz and Ken nearly pulled a win out of the bag in the doubles against a very slow pairing of David Guyton and Brian Payne by using all their 3 ½ bisques in the last 15 minutes. Unfortunately the Chester team were not quite timed out and managed to use 2 bisques (from their 5 still remaining) to pull one ahead before time was called. Liz failed to hit in on the last turn. Martin and Leonard lost to Janet Davies and Keith Long – 8. In the afternoon games Liz had to give 7 ½ bisques to David who eventually finished with 4 bisques still standing Liz having failed to hit on the sloping Chester lawns. Martin pulled well ahead of Janet but her bisques pulled her back and she won +11. Leonard had a close game against Keith but lost -6. The only winner and notching up his first ever league win was Ken who beat fellow beginner Brian Payne +13 by saving many of his bisques for the last 15 minutes, a tactic which worked second time around.

Posted by Liz, 15th August

Bury 4 Fylde 2

Liz (c), Martin, Alan and Ken found glorious weather in Coronation Park for the last match of the season. Mart and Alan won their doubles and Mart picked up a singles win. Liz lost to the experience of G Young armed with 9 bisques but the other games from our improving players were close and we could have nicked a point.

Posted by Peter, 22nd August

Short


Final Short League Table 2007
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Bury
6
4
1
1
55
41
9
Bowdon
6
4
1
1
54
42
9
Pendle & Craven
6
3
0
3
51
45
6
Chester
6
2
2
2
46
50
6
Fylde
6
2
1
3
49
47
5
Southport
6
2
0
4
41
55
4
Llanfairfechan
6
1
1
4
40
56
3

Table courtesay croquetnw.co.uk


Bowdon 10 Fylde 6

Fylde: Terry Vernazza (c), Lee Hartley, George Warcup and Leonard Ainsworth.

George in play

Bowden; Steve Reynolds, Dave Holland, John Lucas and Sue Cooper.

This was our first Short-Lawn fixture of the season, away to last year’s league winners. The conditions were good, being very warm and dry. In the first round of games, we struggled to cope with the very fast lawns, only Lee managing to win his game. Leonard came close to a win but his opponent, Steve Reynolds, made good use of a wired position to take a lift and then ran several hoops to win the game 9-8. The pattern was similar in the second round of games with only Lee winning. Leonard managed a 15 yard peel but was unable to turn this into a winning advantage, eventually losing 7-5 to Sue Cooper After lunch, the lawns had dried even more and conditions were very humid. George registered his first win of the day, pegging out well within time against Steve Reynolds. Lee staged a remarkable comeback. Taking the lawn as time was called, he took one of his balls through all six hoops and then peeled his second ball through the final hoop to register an 11-10 win. We now needed to win all the four games in the final round to force a draw . Terry led the way, pegging out well within time to register his first win of the day. Lee continued his winning ways but Bowden secured wins in the other two games, leaving them the 10-6 winners of the overall match.

Posted by Terry, 10th June

Fylde 7 Southport 9

Fylde: Terry Vernazza (c ), Leonard Ainsworth, Geoff Lipshaw, Ken Harper

Conditions were good, a bright day and the lawns drying from the rain on previous days. We got off to a good start winning three of the four games in the first round. The highlight was a good win for Geoff who beat Tony Thomas, Southport’s best player, by a comfortable 10 -5 margin. In the second round, Southport began to find their form and achieved two wins, Tony Thomas pegging out well within time.

Tony & Leonard involved in a three pint ending ?

Terry and Leonard both recorded their second wins of the day, leaving Fylde 5-3 in front at lunch. Southport started the afternoon with a very good round, Tony Thomas pegging out again and Eileen Gallagher and Eileen Rossiter both securing wins for the away side. Geoff Lipshaw and Margaret Taylor had a very close game, eventually won by Geoff Lipshaw who scored a golden hoop after time. The final round also went to Southport who won three of the four games. Ken Harper salvaged some pride for Fylde, pegging out well within time.

Posted by Terry, 23rd June

Fylde 8 Chester 8

Chester: Sarah Andrews, David Guyton, John Dawson & Molly McBride

Fylde: Terry Vernazza (c), George Warcup, Alan Morton & Ken Harper

The short team arrived at Chester lacking practice due to the flooding of our lawns in recent weeks. The Chester lawns were very wet but in good condition and coped well with the constant rain throughout the day. The lack of match practice showed and we struggled in the opening round, losing three of the four games. Alan Morton battled to stay in touch and finally won his game by one hoop after time. This was one of a number of games which had a dramatic conclusion, the result swinging in the last turn. In the second round, we began to find form and won three of the four games, Alan Morton again winning after time and Terry Vernazza scoring a Golden Hoop to win. After lunch, we had another good round, winning three of the games to give them a two game lead going into the last round. Chester rallied and won three games on time. Ken Harper held his nerve to force a tied position and then scored a golden hoop to win his game. This win was enough to give the team a draw in the overall match.

Posted by Terry, 15th July

Fylde 10 Pendle 6

Fylde: Lee Hartley (c), Leonard Ainsworth, Betty Bates, Geoffrey Lipshaw
Pendle: Robin Delves, Catherine Parnell, Kathryn Schofield, Peter Dewhurst

Following an early morning pitch inspection the scheduled home short lawn match against Pendle was hastily switched to the away venue due to waterlogging. In the first round of matches the unexpected travelling took its toll as we made a slow start with only Betty winning her first game. The "home" side faired better in the second round and lunch was taken with Fylde trailing narrowly 5-3. Perhaps it was the early breakfast which caused the slow start as lunch appeared to revitalise us as we took the next round 3-1 to leave the scores level at 6-6. And a fine comeback was completed as Fylde celebrated the captain's birthday with a final round whitewash to run out convincing 10-6 winners.

Posted by Lee, 21st July

Fylde 12 Llanfairfechan 4

The weather was kind, only raining briefly at the end of the match. Fylde’s team was George (c), Leonard, Geoffrey and Ian (playing in his first match). The first round ended 3 -1 to Fylde with Ian the only looser. He did score a first however by going for the wrong hoop! Haven’t we all done it!. The second round again ended 3 -1 to Fylde. In the afternoon Ian came out with a look of real determination and managed his first ever win – the score in this round a clean sweep for Fylde 4 – 0. The final round saw another win for Ian and a 4th win for Geoffrey, with George and Leonard conceding closely fought games. Man of the match Geoffrey with 4 out of 4 and congratulations to Ian on his first ever croquet match.

Thank you very much for your hospitality yesterday, we enjoyed out visit. Attached is picture - Carolyn

Posted by Liz, 20th September

Bury 10 Fylde 6

Fylde: Lee (c), Leonard, Betty, Ian
Bury: Barbara Young, Paul Kenworthy, Richard Harvey, Colleen Forkin
The very last game in the Short Lawn league this season with Bury needing to win 10-6 or better to take the title. The bright sunshine we had when we set off had disappeared by the time we got there and it was in overcast conditions that the first round was shared with wins for Lee and Betty. Lunch was taken with Bury edging ahead 5-3 as only the skipper managed to win in the second round, beating Colleen 14-11 in a 3 ball ending after she had had the audacity to peel him through rover and peg one ball out. In the afternoon the sun came out but Fylde fell further behind with only Betty winning in round three. This left Bury needing only 2 games in the final round to take the title and despite further wins for both Lee and Betty, earning them handicap cuts to zero and 9 respectively, So Bury take the title from Bowdon by 1 game.

Posted by Lee, 22nd September

Golf


Final Golf Croquet League Table 2007
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Pendle & Craven
7
6
0
1
95
59
12
Chester
7
5
0
2
88
60
10
Llanfairfechan
7
4
1
2
83
71
9
Bury Souths
7
4
0
3
83
70
8
Southport
7
3
1
3
68
86
7
Bury Norths
7
2
0
5
69
79
4
Culcheth
7
2
0
5
52
86
4
Fylde
7
1
0
6
60
88
2

Table courtesay croquetnw.co.uk


FYLDE 18 SOUTHPORT 4

FYLDE: Alan Morton (capt), Betty Bates, Norman Smith , Geoffrey Lipshaw

SOUTHPORT: Alice Dawson (capt), Les Leatherbarrow, Sandra Disley, Bob Flemington

The conditions were good and we got off to a good start in the doubles with Morton and Bates comfortably beating Dawson and Leatherbarrow 7- 1. In the third doubles Alan Morton ran hoop 6 from a position adjacent to Hoop 5 which contributed to a 7-3 winning game for Fylde. In the fourth doubles Bob Flemington ran hoop 4 from a distance of 10 yards with Fylde in a hoop scoring position however it wasn't enough to prevent Fylde winning the game 5-4 and in the final doubles of the morning session, Norman Smith ran hoop 3 from 12 yards to contribute to a tie break hoop win for Fylde at 7-6. At lunch ,Fylde had totally dominated the morning play and were leading by 5 games to 1. The afternoon singles produced no spectacular shooting at hoops but Fylde continued in top form as they won 13 of the 16 singles matches to finish as comfortable winners and gaining their first points of the season.

Posted by Alan, 28th April

FYLDE 9 BURY NORTHS 13

FYLDE: Isabelle Seel (Capt), Betty Bates, Cath Morton, Geoffrey Lipshaw

BURY: Susan Hardman (Capt), Jean Oldfield, Marie Robinson, Bob Whittle

Conditions were dry and cool for the six morning doubles matches. We lost the first four doubles and only Betty and Geoffrey prevented a whitewash with a 7-2 win over Hardman and Whittle. At lunch we were 5-1 behind and needed to win 11 of the 16 afternoon singles to win the match. We started well with Betty and Cath winning the first two singles. However, Bury were not going to give up their lead easily and fought back with Bob Whittle winning the fourth match in Round 1 of the singles. In his match with Geoffrey he ran hoop 7 from 12 yards when his ball ran over the back of Geoffrey’s ball which was in a position to score. Rounds 1,2 and 3 were all halved leaving us at 9-13 with the task of winning the final four singles to earn a draw. Betty and Cath won their games to close the gap to a 2 game difference. The Bates v Whittle game produced the best shooting of the day with Bob Whittle scoring hoops from distance. He ran hoop 4 from 23 yards, Hoop 6 from 12 yards and hit a 23 yard shot to place the ball in the jaws of hoop 8 but the ball had not run the hoop in that turn. Lesser players might have wilted but Betty Bates fought back to take the game to a tie break hoop which she won to win the game 7-6 . However, Geoffrey Lipshaw lost in a tie break to Susan Hardman 6-7 and Isabelle Seel lost 3-7 to Marie Robinson to complete a win for Bury. Fylde had played well in the singles but the lost doubles matches were the deciding factor in Bury’s win.

Posted by Alan, 12th May

Llanfairfechan 14 Fylde 8

Liz, Pedr, Betty a Alan (capten) went Mach 1 at ladd 'r Ddreigiau namyn ddibenedig i fyny yn bod 'n rhost. Atfydd Walt Disney ( ai Francis Ford Coppola) ewyllysia gwna bilen chan 'n anturiaethau. Fel 'r bwa'r arch heula chyflea ar Elmsmere Port fel adbelydrasom ar 'r ddiwrnod? 'n deithiol 'n ddedwydd 'n bob blwyddyn caem a iawn feddadwy amsera. 'n ond motivation am 'n gyfnesaf blwyddyn' s bash ydy ddylu ansawdd underline 'n bob ergyd?

At daro 'n bob felyna b 'n gyfarwydd at 'r 'n ddichlyn gofynedig brychau chylch yn agor would angen unprecedented ymarfer.

Came redegydd i fyny. Ddylu chan had rhyw chylchau acha amsera.

Got digon chan LLanfairfechan's 'n syth a 'n aruthr 'n goeth ddyhea ergydion. HA! 'm audire nopossum.

Our (free) translation service produces:

Liz, Peter, Betty and Alan (I am the Captain) went Mach 1 to slay the Dragons but ended up being roasted. Perhaps Walt Disney (or Michael Winner) will make a film of our adventures. As the rainbow sun set over Elmsmere Port how did we reflect upon the day?

Travelling happily every year had a very enjoyable time. Our only motivation about next year's bash is should quality underline every shot?

To hit every yellow ball expertly towards the exactly required spots hoop opening wants unprecedented practice.

Came runner up. Should of had some hoops on time.

Got plenty of LLanfairfechan's straight and wonderfully exquisite long shots. HA! Me audire no possum.

Posted by Peter, 2nd June

Culcheth 10 Fylde 6

FYLDE: Alan Morton (Capt), Betty Bates, Norman Smith, Isabelle Seel
CULCHETH: Ann Connop (Capt), Bob Connop, Alan Wright, Norman Groom

Conditions were showery and cool, the lawn was dry but corner 4 had bare patches and was rutted which would affect approach shots to hoop 9. We won only one of the first round of games with Alan Morton beating Ann Connop 7-6 in a tie break. In the second round we had convincing wins from Betty Bates who hammered Ann Connop 7-1 and Isabelle Seel beat Norman Groom 7-4. In this game Seel hit a 23 yard shot to almost run hoop 4 but the ball was an inch away from scoring. At lunch we were in contention at 5-3 behind. There was some welcome sunshine at the start of Round 3 which saw Culcheth take further control of the match but they had to win two tie break games to keep their lead. We still had a chance to draw the match in Round 4 .They started well with Betty Bates beating Norman Groom 7-2 and Norman Smith winning 7-6 against Ann Connop. Both Alan Morton and Isabelle Seel put up battling performances. Morton was trailing 6-2 to Alan Wright but then he ran three consecutive hoops to take the game to 6-5. However, Wright ran hoop 12 to take the game. Isabelle Seel took Bob Connop to a tie break hoop and in so doing, ran Hoop 10 from 21yards. However, again the Fylde player could not clinch the final hoop. The team competed well and gave the 2006 champions a hard fought match with 5 tie break finishes. Betty Bates was Fylde’s player of the match winning 3 games and losing 1.

Posted by Alan, 7th July

Bury South 16 Fylde 6

FYLDE: Alan Morton (Capt), Betty Bates, Catherine Bass, Philip Bass

BURY SOUTHS: Margaret Yates (Capt), David Dean, Judith Gaskell, Pamela Hunter

Catherine and Philip Bass made their debuts for Fylde on the tricky crown green lawns at Coronation Park. Playing conditions were excellent with sunshine throughout the match. The lawns quickly dried out and were running medium to quick pace. Fylde won only one of the morning doubles with Betty Bates and Catherine Bass beating David Dean and Margaret Yates 7-3. The opening game saw Alan Morton and Betty Bates lose 6-4 to David Dean and Judith Gaskell in the added time turns. At hoop 5 in this game Morton ran the hoop from the boundary having previously made an error in moving his partner ball from a hoop running position whilst hitting his opponent’s ball away. At lunch Fylde were 5-1 behind. The afternoon singles saw Fylde continue to struggle with only Alan Morton winning a first round game 6-4. Philip Bass secured his first win for Fylde by beating Margaret Yates 3-2 in Round 2. At the start of Round 3, Fylde needed to win the eight remaining games to force a draw. They made a promising start with Alan Morton beating Pamela Hunter 7-4 and Betty Bates beating Margaret Yates 7-1. At Hoop 5 in this game M Yates was in position to run Hoop 5 but Betty Bates hit a 15 yard shot which hit her opponent’s ball and deflected her own ball through the hoop. This was a short lived success as Bury won the remaining 6 games to finish worthy winners 16-6

Alan (centre) gave tournament debuts to Philip and Catherine

Posted by Alan, 11th August

Chester 14 Fylde 8

FYLDE: Alan Morton (Capt), Isabelle Seel, Catherine Bass, Philip Bass
CHESTER: Molly McBride (Capt), Pat Clare, Diana Stebbing, Rosemary Williams

The playing conditions were dry and sunny as the morning doubles got under way. Four of the games were very close, decided by a single hoop. Chester won the opening 2 games with the remaining doubles games level at 2-2. Therefore at lunch Chester led by 4-2.

Isabelle in play

The afternoon singles started badly for Fylde as they failed to win any of the first round singles. However, they fought back in round 2 to reverse the situation by winning all the games to be 8-6 down with 8 games to play. Round 3 was the turning point as Chester won 3 games with only Catherine Bass winning her game. Isabelle Steel lost her match to Rosemary Williams in a tie break 7-6. Chester sealed victory by winning round 4 by 3 games to 1 with Catherine Bass again the only Fylde success. Catherine had the shot of the day by hitting a 15 yard shot to promote her partner ball to run hoop 8. Catherine Bass was Fylde’s player of the match by winning 3 of her 4 singles.

Posted by Alan, 12th September

Fylde 5 Pendle 17

FYLDE: Betty Bates, Norman Smith, Geoffrey Lipshaw, Isabelle Seel (Capt)
PENDLE: Abdul Ahmad, Walter Flattery, Geoff Whittaker (Capt), Maureen Whittaker

The playing conditions were overcast with a soft lawn surface as the morning doubles got under way. Pendle won the opening game 7-5 despite Betty Bates ‘in off’ shot to win Hoop 10 and then hoop 11was gifted to Fylde after Abdul Ahmad had committed a fault however, Pendle won the final hoop. Fylde hit back when Geoff Lipshaw and Isabelle Seel won their opening doubles by 6-4. Fylde then lost the four remaining doubles to be 5-1 behind at lunch. The afternoon singles started badly for Fylde as Pendle won10 consecutive matches to have a 15-1 lead. Isabelle Seel stopped the rot with a fine 7-3 win over Walter Flattery. This was followed by Norman Smith winning 7-5 against Maureen Whittaker. The final round of matches was drawn 2-2 with Isabelle Seel notably beating Abdul Ahmad 7-5. Pendle are now in with a chance of taking the Championship. Fylde can only reflect that they lost 10 games either at the final hoop or in a tie break game. Isabelle Seel had the best Fylde performance of the day with 2 singles and a doubles win.

Posted by Alan, 29th September

NW federation club championship

We gained big four status as we entered teams in all four events.

The heavy rain of the past week eventually flooded the lawns and no play was possible on the second day.

Overall
Golf Pts
Short Pts
Hcap Pts
Total Pts
Position
Bowdon
5
5
2
12
1
Southport
4
2
3
9
2
Bury
3
4
1
8
3
Fylde
1
3
4
8
4
Culcheth
2
0
0
2
5
Chester
0
1
0
1
6

Bury were placed third as they placed higher in more events than us.

Handicap

We won it! 3/3 : Lee captained the side and his handicap continued to fall. Andrew played very well in the very wet conditions and Terry found his winning form in each game.

Short

George, Betty and Alan achieved 2/4 and third place in a very tight competition.

Golf

Debut tournament practice for Philip and Catherine captained by our newest recruit Abdul got us into fifth position.

Advanced doubles

Liz and Peter played two games winning one but the tournament did not produce any results because there were too few games played.

Posted by Peter, 1st July