Enfield Croquet Club
News 2022
Federation Shield Outcome
Following the postponement of the Final between Enfield and Dowlish Wake eventually took place on Friday 30th September at Swindon Croquet Club. Although the afternoon saw a heavy band of rain over Swindon, the morning session was completed in the dry but cold and windy conditions. Dowlish Wake won all three morning matches (one doubles and two singles). In the afternoon, Dowlish Wake won another match to take an unassailable lead although Enfield pulled one game back. With the weather conditions closing in and worsening, the players in both the remaining matches agreed to ended with the scores at 1 - 1.
We're proud to have reached the Finals and thank the team of David Frost, Kim Taylor, Frances Broadway and Nigel Owen for taking on the challenge .... and as we always saying, 'it's not about the winning, it's about the participation'. Here's to 2023!
2nd Place for Enfield in Beds and Herts AC League
Yesterday Enfield's AC team fought back superbly to win in the Beds and Herts League against Northampton. With Northampton bringing three low handicap players, every
match followed the pattern of the Enfield player building up a league, before trying to finish off as the Northampton player steadily caught up.
In the morning, David Frost (4.5) and John Street (8) got stuck with a few hoops to go, and were eventually caught by Lionel Tibble (-1) and Mike Hills (2), losing 20-26. Thomas Halliday (8) was
outplayed by Nick Evans (1.5), who pegged Thomas's ball out to take full control and win 26-23.
Enfield finish 2nd in the Beds and Herts League behind unbeaten Wrest Park (with whom we drew). It's the second year in a row we've been the runners-up, so all eyes are looking for a win in 2023!
Enfield Wins EACF B Level
Congratulations to the Enfield West B Level squad who won the EACF B Level Tournament against Chelmsford on Sunday, 11th September 2020.
The team of four - pictured on the left (Ian Moore, Nicola Hyde, Peter Brock and Dave Hill) - had a successful start winning the doubles round. The beginning of the singles was perhaps less inspiring but with a team talk from Peter , the spirit came back and the momentum grew with the final score being 12-6.
Other players were involved in enabling Enfield to reach the final so the credit must be shared with David Barnicoat, Kim Taylor, Brian Dawes (who played in the first three matches and scored more hoops than anyone else) and Michael Broadway plus new B Level team members Graham Curtis, Alan Bateman, Frances Broadway and Mary Grove. Hopefully the editor hasn't missed anyone! Well done all
Cara Cup Win For Thomas Halliday
Two days of hard fought games over the 2nd and 3rd September saw Thomas Halliday win 10 of his 11 matches to secure the Cara Cup and qualify for the A Level Final.
Day 1 started with terrible traffic, and he arrived while players were warming up for their first matches. Perhaps it was the adrenaline from nearly being late, but his first match was over in 20 minutes, beating John Gosden 7-3.
He beat Bridget Goodman 7-0 in the middle of a streak of 12 consecutive hoops - a game that will live long in the memory.
When he later lost to Phillip Davies (conceding the 9th hoop by firing blue into red, with red cannoning yellow at a 60 degree angle, sending it through the hoop), he found that John Gosden had not yet lost since the opener. By the final round, they were both on 9 wins and a hoop difference of +27.
Thomas edged Chris Jackson 7-6 in his final game, and settled down to watch John play Finland's Helena Jansson. If he won 7-5 or better, he'd win the trophy, but he didn't know. Thomas watched as they exchanged hoops. At 4-3 down, John made a mistake, and Helena edged ahead 5-3. It took her two more hoops, but she finally scored the critical 6th hoop to give Thomas the win, and followed it up with a 7th to win herself.
A very tense finish to a great weekend, when as a bonus, his handicap went down to 1.
The A Level final is on the 24th/25th of September at Wrest Park.
SECF Hurlingham Doubles
29th August 2022 - Kim Taylor and Nicola Hyde played at their inaugural South East Croquet Federation GC Doubles Tournament at the Hurlingham Club. The six immaculate lawns saw 24 pairs playing their very best to win through to the afternoons finals. Kim and Nicola came 6th and the winners were Jason Carley (Watford) and Louise Taylor (Merton)
A Mixed Monday
Last Monday (22nd August) saw mixed results for Enfield's EACF GC teams. Away in Watford, Enfield West was unable to conquor and subsequently lost the opportunity to win the League. That said, a worthy fight was made by Alan Bateman, David Frost, Graham Curtis and Nicola Hyde but they just could not overcome having lost the initial round of doubles and the final score was 10-8.
On home turf, it was quite the opposite. Enfield East took on Letchworth and won convincingly with an 11-7 scoreline.
Federation Shield Semi Final
We are in final! A long day last Monday (15th August) as David Frost, Kim Taylor, Frances Broadway and Nicola Hyde travelled down to Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club to meet the Ryde team. The lawns were like ice and games slow as we waited for balls to stop – a light tap and they were in danger of going off. However we rose to the occasion and won 6-3.
The Sheila Rudling Cup
Marian Cuckson won the inaugural Sheila Rudling Cup, donated by the family, at the Club's monthly tournament on Thursday, 4th August. This is the second time Marian has succeeded in winning inaugural events - the last being the Chairman's Cup when it was introduced in 2017.
A hot day with the occasional cool breeze saw 15 members with handicaps of 8+ battle it out on the three lawns. Matches were hard fought although all played in good spirit and the final eventually took place at 5 pm. Marian's opponent was Frank Palmer who was a very worthy runner-up. In third place was Nigel Owen followed by Philip Hawes.
A good day was had by all and thanks are extended to Frances Broadway, Alan Bateman and Jenny Ruddle who managed and oversaw the event and to Thomas Halliday who, although away, was instrumental in arranging the format.
The Cup was introduced this year in memory of our Life President, Sheila Rudling who passed away in 2021; we know she would have enjoyed the event!
Croquet Fun Day
The weather held fine on Saturday, 30th July for the Club's annual celebration of croquet! With a series of croquet inspired games such as Crazy Croquet, Croquet Archery, Speedy Hoops and Hit The Peg, members, families and friends united to spend a few hours on the lawns having fun! Refreshments, home bakes, a tombola and Hit The Rat completed the picture and just over £200 was raised.
Enfield Conquers Against Leighton Linslade
Enfield took on Leighton Linslade at home on Thursday, 14th July in the GC 3+ B Level and won through with a 11-9 scoreline. The day started well with Enfield winning the first round of doubles and then had a poor first round of singles leading to 3-3 each. Leighton then took three of the four games in the second round of the singles and it wasn't until the afternoon session - post lunch, that Enfield came into their own. With the score at 10-8 to Enfield, the second doubles round was played with each side winning one game. A most enjoyable day and plans are now afoot for a friendly!
Enfield West In Tight Battle With Meldreth
Enfield West put have a tough fight against Meldreth in the EACF GC League on Thursday 30th June with the scoreline not really reflecting the closeness of the games. After losing the round of doubles with 7-6 scores, the majority of the four single games followed suit - ultimately, Meldreth winning 11-7.
Watford Push Enfield To The Limit
GC 3+ B Level tournament on 24th June with Enfield hosting Watford and beating them 12-8 in the deciding doubles.
It was a good too for the high handicap players again. Two wins for Brian Dawes, two for Ian Moore, two for Thomas Halliday and three for Graham Curtis. Graham and Thomas also won both their doubles games while Brian and Ian won one and lost one.
Watford had staged an excellent comeback by winning all four of the final singles to force the final doubles round.
Also notable was Brian Dawes' win over Rob Hibbs.
Winning Return To Letchworth
The Club returned to Letchworth on Tuesday, 14th June for the EACF B Level competition
Kim Taylor Wins B-Level Tournament
The 8th B-Level tournament featuring twelve players attracted eight from outside clubs and four of our players - ranging from Enfield, High Wycombe, Hunstanton, Moreton, Stony Stratford - and Leighton Linslade.
The twelve competitors were in two blocks of six. At the end of the block play, the first block had one player with four wins - Chris Webbley of High Wycombe, and three players with three wins each, with Bill Ironside of Leighton-Linslade beating Gill Hindshaw of Moreton and Judith Pengelly of Leighton with better hoop difference. Block two had a perfect result of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and zero for the six players - with the winner being Kim Taylor from Enfield followed by Sharon Clark from High Wycombe.
The play offs for the first four places produced two hard fought games from the block winners - with Kim Taylor beating Chris Webbley 7-2. The third and fourth play off was a win for Sharon Clark over Bill Ironside by 7-3.
Winning at Letchworth
Enfield West had a very convincing win over Letchworth in the EACF GC Handicap league on Monday, 4th June 2022 with a final score of 12 games to 4.
Congratulations to David Frost, Alan Bateman, Mary Grove and Nicola Hyde.
A Right Royal Time Was Had
Regal bunting decorated the lawns for our Platinum Jubilee GC Advantage tournament on Thursday, 2nd June - an occasion to celebrate the Queen's 70th year on the throne and a chance to trial the new scoring system for GC.
With glorious sunshine, some selective royal attire and freshly home-made cakes and brownies it was a lovely opportunity to play some great games, enjoy some light banter and generally have fun! The winner went home with a bottle of fizz!
Away Win For B Level GC Team
Report by Brian Dawes. The wind increased in strength the longer we played but the threatening rain held off for an enjoyable day out for all. Our team of Kim Taylor, Peter Brock, Brian Dawes and B Level debutant Mary Grove found the Wrest Park lawns to be fast and unpredictably wavy on occasion. Which perhaps explains the rather erratic nature of the day play-wise with eleven of the eighteen games finishing 7-4 and no player on either side going unbeaten in the singles. Brian and Peter won their doubles, Mary won a critical singles, while both Kim and Peter each won three of their singles and Brian chipped in with two singles victories. All of which resulted with a close run win for Enfield’s B team by 10-8.
Picture shows L-R Brian, Mary and Kim - with Mary's cat standing in for Peter!
The EACF GC Enfield Derby
Monday saw the first match of the season for Enfield West and Enfield East as battle commenced in the EACF GC League. It was a glorious sunny start for Enfield East in terms of weather and the doubles games with wins in all four matches. However, Enfield West came back with a vengeance in the singles matches and the final score was 13-4 to the West. Unfortunately one match had to be abandoned due to injury (nothing serious we're pleased to report).
National Finals Charity One Ball
The weekend of 7th and 8th May saw the Association Croquet Charity One Ball Final at Surbiton. Members may recall that we held an internal competition in April to identify those who would be taking part. Ultimately this was Michael and Frances Broadway along with David Frost – all of whom played valiantly with David beating three players with handicaps of -5! The winner was Nailsea Club’s James Galpin and as importantly, around £8,000 was raised for MIND.
John Street Wins Club's May One Ball Tournament
Report by Thomas Halliday.
Eight competitors gathered for the second of our monthly club competitions, a handicap One Ball tournament. The players drew their places in two groups of four, and played all others within their group. The top two in each group would contest the top four spots, and the bottom two play for 5th to 8th.
As the final ball was struck in Group A, Group B was still midway through their second set of matches - not playing slowly, but simply not matching the high-octane play from the other group. Frances Broadway, winner of last week's Charity One Ball heat, had beaten Kim Taylor 13-11 and was leading David Frost, eventually winning 13-8. David's first match had been an 8-13 loss to Graham Curtis, and he and Kim were neck and neck. Eventually, Frances and Graham both won their second games 13-8, leaving them to play for positions.
Setting up their chairs to watch the final round of games, John, David, Michael, and Nigel sat back and passed judgement and analysis, shot by shot. Graham and Frances contested a very even game, with Graham winning 13-9, while Kim's accuracy deserted him against David, who ran away with a 13-4 victory.
In the semifinals, Kim beat David Barnicoat, and David Frost beat Nigel to set up a rematch in the 5th-6th playoff. Graham was uncatchable despite Michael's best efforts, and went into the final the only unbeaten player at that stage. Frances and John's semifinal was thrilling - Frances was first through rover, but her shots at the peg kept missing and, in the end, with both players taking pot shots at the peg from distance, John's was the first to hit.
In the final, John's experience showed, and Graham finally lost, 13-9, although he finished with the best net hoops of the day. Michael edged Frances to take 3rd place 13-11, while David Barnicoat beat Nigel 13-11 to avenge his previous defeat. For a long time, it seemed like Kim was doing the same, racing into an 8-3 lead over David Frost. Both players kept shooting at one another and missing, to much discussion on the sidelines. Eventually, the game settled into a straightforward chase, and David's scratch GC handicap showed. The final score was 13-11 to David.
Congratulations to John Street for winning the event, and thanks to everyone who took part. I'm always happy to see a tournament where everybody wins at least once, and everybody loses at least once. Next month, we will have a handicap GC tournament, trialling the new Advantage GC rules.
Final positions
1. John Street (4 wins, +7 net hoops)
2. Graham Curtis (4 wins, +13 net hoops)
3. Michael Broadway (3 wins, +6 net hoops)
4. Frances Broadway (2 wins, 0 net hoops)
5. David Frost (3 wins, +6 net hoops)
6. Kim Taylor (1 win, -15 net hoops)
7. David Barnicoat (2 wins, -6 net hoops)
8. Nigel Owen (1 win, -10 net hoops)
AC 3-3 Draw Against Wrest Park
The wind made it exceptionally cold all day, which seemed to affect everybody's accuracy, making every game very interactive.
In the morning doubles, both games went to time. John Bevington (1.5) and Richard Keighley (12) established a small lead over John Street (8) and Michael Broadway (11) early on and maintained it throughout the match, finishing +4 on time. In the other match, David Frost (4.5) and Thomas Halliday (7) finished strongly, but had left too much to do to win, losing to Bryan Harral (-0.5) and Peter Aspinall (10).
Into the singles, with Enfield needing to win all four to win overall. John Street made quick work of beating Peter +13 to give Enfield some hope, but Bryan quickly followed with a +13 win over David.
Over on lawn 2, things were tighter. As time ran out, John Bevington was 22-25 behind, but failed his approach and conceded the game by retreating into the corner. Thomas had a turn left, and made a single shot at the peg from near hoop 4 to finish +4. A few minutes later, time also ran out on Michael and Richard, with Michael running out the winner, and sealing a comeback draw for Enfield.
Next up for the AC team is a visit from Watford in the national Longman Cup, and our next league fixture is a trip to Letchworth, who currently top the table.
Charity One Ball
Today - 28th April - was the Club competition to find who would be playing in the annual Croquet Association Charity One-Ball Competition. In the 15 years that this national event has been running, it has raised over £50,000 for charity. This year, the competition is in aid of MIND, the mental health charity.
A good number of members entered the competition and a great day was had by all with £175 raised for MIND. The two finalists who will be taking part at the national finals on Sunday, 8th May at Surbiton are Frances Broadway and Brian Dawes.
Many thanks to Michael for arranging the day and he will of course be participating too in the finals having won Champion of Champions earlier in the month.
The national finals are on Sunday 8th May at Surbiton.
The Federation Cup
Enfield East (left) who won the EACF GC Tournament last year will be representing the Club in The Federation Cup with their first game against Nottingham on 23rd May. This will be played at Peterborough - details to follow.
Enfield Croquet Club
Bush Hill Park Recreation Ground
Cecil Avenue
Enfield EN1 1PS
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Puzzle - Rats - Rested
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