Fylde 5  Llanfairfechan 11

Fylde: Lee Hartley 3P, Betty Bates 2, Alison Broughton 5, Barry Broughton 5.
Llanfairfechan: Dave Harding 3.5, Fred Williams 4, Jane Turner 5, David Cartlidge 7.

We welcomed the Llanfairfechan team to a sunny, if breezy, Blackpool on Saturday. It was Dave Harding's first visit since the changes to our lawns, and he was very complimentary about the improvements. In the first round, David C took his first ball to peg using three bisques. Betty used her 2 bisques well to set up her break but unfortunately clumped a hoop, giving David a free opportunity to continue. With his second ball, David completed the round and finished the game in just 40 minutes.

Alison made steady progress in her opening game. With her second ball, she was well placed to peel through Rover but couldn't quite find the right angle, so instead took one ball through to peg. Dave successfully peeled through Hoop 5 and Rover before attempting to peg out, but narrowly missed and had to remove just one ball. Alison then missed the crucial hit-in, allowing Dave to peg out and claim the win. In the second round, Dave attempted to peg Barry off but missed. Barry immediately capitalised by pegging Dave off instead, although he then found himself with nowhere to hide on the short lawn. Dave hit in successfully and produced a smooth three-ball break to complete the game.

With Barry winning 2 of his games and Betty, Lee and Alison each adding one victory, Llanfairfechan recorded a deserved win on the day. Despite the result, our visitors were as generous off the lawn as they were competitive on it, bringing along a selection of cakes and kindly leaving them for everyone to enjoy at our barbecue the following day. Their thoughtfulness was much appreciated and rounded off an enjoyable weekend of croquet

Posted by Alison, 4th July 2026

Crake 12 Fylde 4

Crake: Chris Williamson 2.5, Paul Galley 4, Louise McElarney 6. Philip Halliwell 9
Fylde: Betty Bates 2, Ian Theakstone 3.5, Philip Bass 8, Catherine Bass 9

Betty versus Chris was a tussle with both players sticking in the hoops a number of times and being unable to hit the reception ball. Despite doing some lovely long hit ins and making a four ball breaks she failed in her attempt to run the hoop twice. In the end Chris won 14-8. Ian versus Philip H was a tightly fought contest with Ian finally being the victor on time 11-10. Catherine versus Paul was also a tightly fought contest with Catherine doing some magnificent hit ins and break setting but not quite enough for the in form Paul. Paul won 14-10. Louise versus Philip B  had both players on and off the lawn, with all bisques used up, eventually Louise became the winner on time 10-5.

Paul versus Philip B there were some nice plays by both players but Paul proved more accurate winning 14-3. Louise versus Catherine was spectacular to watch as both players played with control and accuracy. Unfortunately for Louise she went to peg first and Catherine followed suit and  consequently pegged her off. Catherine did some lovely 3 ball breaks and eventually won 14-9. Philip H versus Betty was a one sided affair with Philip going to peg using only one bisque (including a jump shot through hoop 3). He then took his second ball to peg and finished with two bisques with 6 bisques still in the ground and 45 minutes to go. Chris made light work of his game against Ian winning 14-7.

Louise had a cracking game against Ian, and seemed to be in control all the way, beating him 14-3 . Paul versus Betty was never a real contest as the break for lunch seemed to affect her accuracy, clumping hoops for fun he won 14 -5. Chris versus Catherine was a great display of croquet from both opponents, Chris pegged out one of her balls, but Catherine used her bisques wisely doing 3 ball breaks and beat Chris 14-6. The two Philips played each other in what could have gone either way eventually Philip H won 14-10.

Later Louise versus Betty was a more controlled affair as Betty got her eye in eventually winning 14-5 with 35 minutes to go. Paul beat Ian 14-7 in a relatively short time. Chris beat Philip Bass 14-8. The final game between Philip H and Catherine was a spectator's delight as both players came on and off the lawn and were pretty close, Catherine again pegged off one of Philip's balls, but in the end Philip won 12-10 on time.

Crake provided the sunshine and cake which was very much welcomed. Fylde thanked Crake for their hospitality and merrily went on their way. The traffic on the way home was smooth and trouble free which was a blessing. It made the defeat less miserable.

Posted by Betty, 15th June 2026

Chester 4 fylde 5

Chester: Derek Bell-Jones 2.5, Helen Brophy 3.5, Sarah Clements 5.
Fylde: Alison Broughton 5, Barry Broughton 5, Robert Bentwood 8.

Fylde arrived early at Chester after a very smooth journey - early enough to be there before the home team, some of whom cut it a bit fine ! After helping to set the lawns up we were able to have a knock up and soon discovered how fast the lawns were running… even faster than Bowdon!

Alison really struggled to get to grips with the speed of the lawns and despite some excellent hit ins and roquets couldn’t keep her balls on the lawn with the croquet shots. Barry and Robert both fared better winning their 1st round matches.

Close games in the 2nd round with Robert winning again 8-5 and Alison losing 7-6, both teams finding the lawns hard to handle. Our 3rd and final round, as Chester were only able to muster 3 players, saw another win for Robert and after time a win for Alison at last with a score of 6-4!
Well done Robert - that’s another Mars Bar I owe !

Posted by Alison, 29th May 2026

Fylde 8 Bowdon Weekenders 8

Fylde: Lee Hartley 3P, Betty Bates 1.5, Barry Broughton 5 , Derek Matthews 8.
Weekenders: John Lambie 4, Mike Dale 6, Alison Acton 7, Philip Thompson 7

Fylde hosted the Weekenders in the AC Short Croquet league this weekend. The weather played its part with the rain holding off all day and we even managed some blue sky and intermittent sunshine.
A good start for Fylde winning 3 out of the 4 games in the first round. The tables were turned in the 2nd round with Bowdon winning 3 out of 4 meaning all level at lunchtime.

After lunch Fylde were in top form again, taking 3 games meaning we needed at least 2 wins in round 4 to win overall. However those tables were turned again with Bowdon taking 3 wins to draw level.
Well done to Lee winning all 4 of his matches - I owe him a Mars Bar 🙂

Posted by Alison, 15th May 2026

Bowdon Weekdayers 11 Fylde 5

Bowdon: Nigel Matthews 4P, Ken Cooper 3P, Charles Harding 2P, John Bagnall 3.5.
Fylde: Betty Bates 2.5, Barry Broughton 5, Alison Broughton 6, Robert Bentwood 8.

Playing Bowdon is always a tough draw but especially for the first match of the season. It was a lovely sunny day and as expected the lawns were running fast and true. We were playing with brand new sets of Invictus balls, donated in memory of a former club member, Colin Irwin. Betty struggled to get to grips with these super shiny balls and her inability to rush the balls meant that she got annoyed with herself, losing both morning games. She fared better post lunch and the match against Ken was better although scrappy with both players getting stuck in the hoops. At one point Betty rolled to the left of hoop and she opted for an angled jump shot which paid off.

Robert enjoyed visiting his old stomping ground but like all of us found the lawns tricky to judge. Alison was able to find the pace early on and enjoyed hitting in straight lines ! She was wired by Nigel which helped her final hit in, winning 14-2. She then lost the next 2 games before coming good again against Charles. Playing brown with her green ball for hoop 6, a roquet managed to lodge the green in the hoop so she was able to peel them through and finish off. Barry felt he lost 2 matches because he used his bisque’s irrationally, unused to playing against minus players.

Posted by Alison, 20th April 2026