Enfield Croquet Club
Enfield Croquet Club

News 2025

Enfield Through to Quarter Finals of Murphy Shield

Friday 13 June - report by Thomas Halliday

 

Thomas Halliday, David Frost, Colin Carver and Graham Curtis played at home in the final match of the week, and it's another win!

 

Leighton-Linslade opened quickly and led 2-1 at lunch. But the singles matches largely went with handicap, and I for one was very relieved not to have to play a decider after taking three hours to beat John Watson 7-6 7-6.
 
We're in the quarterfinals of the Murphy Shield, which will be a home tie against local rivals Watford.

Enfield East Break Deadlock to Defeat Newport in GC Handicap League

Thursday 12 June - report by Thomas Halliday

 

Match 2 of the week saw Enfield East travel to table-toppers and defending champions Newport. The team was Thomas Halliday, Ian Moore, Chris Twomey, and Patrick Beecham, sporting a handicap range of 1 to 18. It was scorching weather throughout, and the play was excellent from everyone.

 

Going into the final round, we had shared every round evenly, and the score was 7-7. Newport's Brenda Baker beat all of our players despite this being her competitive debut. In that final round, she played a perfect approach to the final hoop, leaving Ian unable to prevent the score.

 

But in a late surge, Thomas scored all 10 hoops in his game to level things 8-8, Patrick finished off a confident 7-2 win over Newport's #1 Anne Taylor, and (aided by a decisive wrong ball from his opponent) Chris brought home an Enfield win, 10-8.

 

East move into 3rd in the division, and open the door for West to overtake Newport. Over to you, West. 

Enfield See Off Newport in GC Open League

Monday 9 June - report by Thomas Halliday

 

Our Enfield team saw off Newport 13-5 at home in the Open League to keep alive our title hopes after Northampton humbled us last time out. Those playing: Kim Taylor, Thomas Halliday, David Frost and Colin Carver.

Enfield Beat Leighton Linslade After Final Doubles Thriller in GC 3+ League

Friday 6 June - report by Peter Brock

 

It was a close match at home with both sides being equal after 18 matches. This meant that we had to play a further two doubles which I’m pleased to say, we won both relatively easy. Colin Carver played very well as usual, winning all four of his matches.
 
Leighton Linslade won the B Level League last year which means the way we’re playing, we have a very good chance of winning the league this year. Result 11-9 to Enfield. The team: Peter Brock, Graham Curtis, Nigel Owen and Colin Carver.

Kim Taylor Wins Kwik Croquet Monthly Tournament

Thursday 5 June - report by Thomas Halliday

 

After three rounds in the Kwik Croquet Tournament (a new version of Croquet which incorporates some aspects of AC and GC) the six intrepid players were defeated by the rain and decided to call it a day. Of the players, Kim Taylor was unbeaten, Nigel Owen the runner up, with Graham Curtis in third place.

Enfield Draw Against Watford in AC Beds and Herts League

Wednesday 4 June - report by Thomas Halliday

Final Moments of Colin's Singles
Our visit to Watford resulting in a second draw (3 all) means that we're still unbeaten this year, but also winless depending on how full your glass is.
 
Colin Carver won his singles match. The other points came from Nigel Owen in the singles and the pairing of John Street and Nigel in the doubles, who won 26-0. Nigel won his singles game so quickly he played a first-to-14 point game and won that too. Apparently we can't count that as a bonus point.
 
I've done some digging and the last time our AC team played and lost a match in the Beds & Herts League was away to Letchworth on the 1st of June 2022. Not a bad streak.

Enfield West Victorious Versus Finchley Victoria in GC Handicap League

Tuesday 3 June - report by Nigel Owen

Nigel's Jump Saves the Hoop
Enfield West secured a strong 13–5 win away at Finchley Victoria, who are in their first season competing in the league. Although new to the competition, Finchley Victoria are no strangers to us, with past encounters in North London Derby friendlies over the last two years.
 
Representing Enfield were Nigel Owen, Graham Curtis, Frances Broadway and Andrew Yianni. The team got off to a great start, winning both doubles matches.
 
Singles matches were competitive throughout. A brief 10-minute pause due to an afternoon shower did little to disrupt the rhythm of play. While no Enfield player won all their singles, it was a balanced performance across the board. Likewise, every Finchley Victoria player managed to pick up at least one singles win, showing promising depth in their debut season.

Northampton Beat Enfield in GC Open League
Thursday 22 May - report by Thomas Halliday

 

We started brightly, but the visitors built a head of steam, and we ended up losing 15-3, with points only coming from Kim Taylor against Lionel Tibble, Colin Carver against Glynis Davies, and Kim & Colin against Lionel & Glynis. The other Enfield team members were Thomas Halliday and Peter Brock.

Enfield Win at Letchworth in GC 3+ League

Saturday 17 May

 

Enfield recorded a 15–3 victory away at Letchworth. The team featured Nicola Hyde, Colin Caver, Nigel Owen, and Graham Curtis. Both Colin and Graham remained unbeaten throughout the day, winning all their games—a performance that saw both players earn handicap reductions.

Kim Taylor Wins Eastbourne GC A-Level Tournament

Friday 16 - Saturday 17 May

Silverware Secured from Sunny Eastbourne. Fiona and Andrew Fall, Kim (c).

Kim Taylor emerged victorious at the Eastbourne GC A-Level (0+) Tournament, winning five out of seven games in his block. One of his two losses came against former Enfield member Andrew Fall. With two other players also finishing with five wins, Kim’s superior net hoops score of +11 secured him first place in the block.

 

The knockout stage featured best-of-three matches. Kim continued his strong form, winning each round in straight games—no deciders needed. In the final, he defeated Richard Brooks in two closely fought games, 7-6, 7-6, to claim the title and a place in the series national final.

Enfield East Beat Barnet Roundheads in GC Handicap League
Tuesday 13 May 

 

The Enfield team — Ian Moore, Patrick Beecham, and Colin Carver — got off to a flying start at Barnet, taking a commanding 4-0 lead by lunchtime.

 

However, Barnet mounted an impressive comeback, narrowing the gap and putting pressure on the visitors. Despite the momentum shift, Enfield held their nerve and pulled ahead once again to secure a well-earned 6-4 victory.

 

Well done to the team for a strong performance and great resilience!

John Street Wins Charity One Ball Qualifier

Tuesday 6 May - report by Thomas Halliday


With £131 raised for The Alzheimer's Society two players qualify.

An incredibly close result at the Charity One Ball Qualifier today. With eight entrants, it was an all-play-all format. New member Malcolm Perkin played admirably for his first time seeing a bisque, and although he finished with only one win against Michael Broadway, it was in one way crucial. Michael finished seventh with three wins, and everybody else finished on four wins out of seven. Had Michael beaten Malcolm, it would have been a seven-way tie instead of a six-way tie. 

So, on to net hoops. With the top two qualifying for the National Final, One Ball debutant Andrew Yianni and John Street were top with a +12 hoop difference, with John the overall winner on who beat whom. Andrew is unable to attend the final, so we're still working out which is the next available player. 

1st John Street
2nd Andrew Yianni
3rd Nigel Owen
4th David Frost
5th Frances Broadway
6th Thomas Halliday
7th Michael Broadway
8th Malcolm Perkin

Rare Win for Enfield at Wrest Park in GC Open League
Friday 2 May - report by Thomas Halliday

 

Wrest Park 7-11 Enfield

 

An unbeaten day for Kim Taylor as Enfield beat Wrest Park for only the second time in the GC Open League. We won both doubles matches before trading singles matches. We edged ahead 9-5 after the third singles round, and consolidated the win in the sunshine. Biggest drama of the day, though, was an attempted jump shot from me in which the glue failed in my nice new mallet, and the head shot off 15 metres into the air, flying from the short boundary halfway down the lawn. A replacement handle is already on its way...

Colin Carver and Gillian Porter win GC Handicap (Advantage) Doubles
Thursday 1st May - Monthly Tournament

 

Colin & Gillian were the clear winners with 4 wins from 5 games. Followed by three pairs on 3 wins each.

 

Well done, too, to Mary Grove and Phillip Hawes for the biggest individual scalp of the day, beating Kim Taylor and Brian Dawes 7-2 in handicap terms (which translates to a 7-6 win even if it had been level play!).

 

Full results:

Doubles Team Win Hoop%
Colin Carver & Gillian Porter 4 91.18%
John Street & Michael Broadway 3 90.70%
Mary Grove & Phillip Hawes 3 88.24%
Ian Moore & Frances Broadway 3 76.47%
Nicola Hyde & Jagruti Gandhi 1 81.25%
Brian Dawes & Kim Taylor / Thomas Halliday 1 73.91%

Enfield Tie with St Albans in AC Beds & Herts League
Monday 28 April - report by Thomas Halliday

 

Enfield 3-3 St Albans.

 

Our MVP was debutant Colin Carver, winning in both the doubles with me as partner and in the singles. Peter Brock got our crucial third point with a convincing but stylistically unconventional 21-6 singles win on time. 

 

Heather Bennett led the St Albans charge, narrowly holding off Peter and David Frost in the doubles and putting together two great breaks for a comeback win over David. I was forced into a three-ball endgame in the singles and despite the advantage of having both my balls, couldn't bridge the gap in time.

Enfield Win 4-3 Versus Newport in Murphy Shield

Thursday 24 April - report by Kim Taylor

Newport

Alex Lake (1)

Colin Carr (3)

Colin Taylor (3)

John Bishop (4)

 

Enfield

Kim Taylor (1)

David Frost (2)

Peter Brock (3)

Colin Carver (5)

 

Kim Taylor & David Frost beat Alex Lake & Colin Carr 7-5, 3-7, 7-4

Colin Taylor beat Colin Carver 7-6, 7-5

John Bishop beat Peter Brock 7-2, 4-7, 7-5

Kim Taylor beat Alex Lake 7-5, 5-7, 7-4

David Frost beat Colin Carr 7-4, 7-3

Colin Taylor beat Peter Brock 2-7, 7-6, 7-5

Colin Carver beat John Bishop 7-4, 7-3

A grizzled Enfield squad headed up the M11 to sunny Newport to face a very strong home team. A tight battle ensued.

 

Kim Taylor and David Frost were a potent combination in the doubles, Taylor clearing effectively and Frost sniping hoops from anywhere, though they made an absolute pig’s ear of their jumpshots. Their good form carried over to their singles matches.

 

Debutant Colin “The Kid” Carver wasn’t hanging around, losing in straight games in the morning but repaying his captain’s faith with a vital 2-0 victory in the afternoon, thus securing first dibs on the delicious homemade cakes.

 

In a conclave of Colins, Colin-of-the-Day went to Colin Taylor, who won 4 out of 5 of his games.

 

Thanks to Alex, Colin, Colin, and John for some closely fought games played in good spirit.

 

Thanks also to everyone at Newport for a typically warm welcome and excellent lawns.

Enfield Beat Barnet in Round 1 of GC 3+ League

Tuesday 22 April - report by Nicola Hyde

 

On Tuesday Enfield welcomed Barnet in the first GC3+ Level Play tournament. Enfield’s team comprised Nicola Hyde, Colin Carver, Nigel Owen and Andrew Yianni and it’s fair to say that our handicap level was superior to that of Barnet. 

 

There were some enthusiastic performances from Ian Davidson, Nicola Mack, Diana Joannides and ex Enfield member, David Warren. However, we had the upper hand throughout with a final score of 16-2.
 
Ian for Barnet did manage to confound the handicap difference and win a game but not to be outdone Andrew did the same for Enfield.
 
The weather was great - not too hot and not too cold - and it was a most enjoyable day.
Enfield West Win Close Match in Round 1 of GC Handicap League
Monday 14 April - report by Nicola Hyde

 

There was an air of anticipation and excitement as Enfield East and Enfield West came together for the first EACF GC Handicap league game of the season. Taking stage for Team East was Phillip Hawes, Mary Grove, Patrick Beecham and making her debut, Jagruti Gandhi. 
Team West comprised Nicola Hyde, Graham Curtis, Andrew Yianni and Frank Palmer.
 
The day started comfortably for Team West as they won the doubles and the first round of singles with three wins. However, Team East got into their stride after lunch taking control in the second round of singles. Two wins apiece in the final two rounds indicated what a close session it had been. How close? Ultimately a 10-8 win for Team West but with only one additional hoop being scored (East 100 - West 101). It promises to be a good season!

Phillip Hawes Wins 1st Club Tournament of 2025

Thursday 3 April - 10-10 Golf Croquet Doubles

Report by Thomas Halliday

 

Well done Phillip, and indeed everyone. Nobody was winless! 

 

The tightest match was certainly Kim Taylor & Sue Gillett vs Peter Brock & Frances Broadway. Kim levelled the game at 6-6, and time was then called straight after. Peter & Frances had two minutes on the clock to score the final winning point, but Kim & Sue defended valiantly for all that time. The clock went dead, leaving a final score of 6-6.

 

The results are as follows:

 

1st - Phillip Hawes, 5 wins 

2nd - Kim Taylor, 4 wins and 1 draw

3rd - Colin Carver, 4 wins, +4 hoop difference

4th - Thomas Halliday, 4 wins, +3 hoop difference

On 3 wins - Graham Curtis and Mary Grove 

On 2 wins - Nicola Hyde, John Street, Andrew Yianni, David Barnicoat, Jagruti Gandhi

On 1 win and a draw - Sue Gillett, Peter Brock, Frances Broadway

On 1 win - David Frost, Michael Broadway

Birthday Party

On Saturday 22nd of March the club was hired for the afternoon to help celebrate a birthday.

 

Two half lawns were set up: 2.1 and 2.2 and a full size lawn on lawn 3. The party were the first to use our new lawns which were marked out on Wednesday 12th. (Club members are still using the winter lawn until Saturday 29th.) 

 

The birthday boy and friends enjoyed some beers, pizza and social croquet. It looked like everyone had a good time (we certainly hope so) and we enjoyed hosting them.

Enfield Croquet Club

Bush Hill Park Recreation Ground

Cecil Avenue

Enfield EN1 1PS

 

3-word location

Puzzle - Rats - Rested