[<<] [>>] by Andrew Gregory at Cheltenham
26th June 2011 (International)

Championship Final: Jersey v Scotland

Final Game

AC is best-of-3, GC best-of-5

Overnight:

AC1 Tony le Moignan trails James Hopgood 0-1
AC2 Richard Griffiths leads Martin Murray 1-0
GC Matt Burrow leads Campbell Morrison 2-0

10.00

I shall concentrate on lawn 8:

1 James Hopgood plays Blue 8yN of 4th corner
2 Tony le Moignan Red duffer tice 1yE of 6
3 James shoots at Blue from B-baulk, missing to just E of 4th corner
4 Tony misses Red to end of A-baulk.
5 James roquets Blue, rolls Black to 2 going to Red, both balls well short. Hits Red, thick take-off sending Red toward East boundary. Roquets Yellow (5y). Approaches 1, ends up 4', 45°. Retires to 4th corner.
6 Tony plays Yellow, roquets Blue (8y). Picks up break.

On lawn 1, Richard has made a hoop, Martin now has a break.

10.15

On lawn 1, Martin's clip is on 4. Richard now has break.
Lawn 8:
6 Tony is round to 4-back. Diagonal Spread.
7 James lifts ball near W bdry to B-baulk. Misses Red into 4th corner.
On lawn 9 Matt is 6-1 up.

10.25

Matt Burrow beat Campbell Morrison 7-2 7-3 7-1

Lawn 8
8 Tony has just grovelled through 3. Not sure he can hit anything. He's taking his time.
On lawn 1 Richard is round to 4-back.

10.30

Lawn 8, turn 8 comes to an end as Tony misses a severely hampered 4-yarder.
9 James has made hoop 1, should pick up the break.
On lawn 1, Richard has made hoop 2, but there's no hoop 3 pioneer.

10.40

Plenty of interaction on lawn 1. Currently Richard is on 4 and 4-back, Martin on 1 and 4 and the innings.
T9 James has all the balls. Seems to be thinking of a POP.

10.50

Lawn 1: Martin had a break, but failed 4. Three clips on 4, Richard is in with 4-back ball. He chooses to make 4-back. And penult.
Lawn 8 James has just made 2-back. No POP.

10.55

Lawn 1: Richard missed short roquet after penult, handing Martin a break.
T9 James round to 4-back, diagonal spread with Tony's hoop 4 ball (Red) at peg.
T10 Tony lifts Red to B-baulk, hits Black (the in-lawn ball), cutting it further in lawn. Thinks...

11.05

We could be in for some fun on lawn 1. Martin has peeled Richard through rover, and is clearly intending to peg him out. Both backward clips on 4.
On lawn 8 Tony has played some good strokes to pick up a break.

11.10

Lawn 1: Martin completes the SPO. Contact leave: Red (for 4) 10yN of 1st corner, Yellow in 3rd corner.
Richard approaches 4 from 3rd corner. Fails 4 yard hoop.
Lawn 8: Tony is pausing near 1-back to put on sun-block. It is indeed glorious weather.

11.25

Lawn 8: Sun-block may have been a serious error. Tony just ran 1-back, and carelessly missed a hampered shot.
T11 James has all the balls for a standard TP. But some duffness round 3 means the TP is now delayed.
Lawn 1: Martin 6 and peg v Richard 5 and box. This could take a while.

Plate Final: Wales beat Sweden 2-1

Chris Williams beat Simon Carlsson +17TP
Garry McElwain beat Joi Elebo +11
David Walters lost to Ulf Soderberg 5-7 7-0 4-7

11.35

T11 James peels 4-back before 6. Now making 2-back off partner.
One more hoop to Martin.

11.45

T11 James has jawsed the penult peel before 4-back.
On lawn 1 Richard hit in, and was faced with rolling off 5 fom S bdry. Left 8' hoop, failed it, Martin now has 3-ball break.

11.50

T11 James irish peel from the jaws of penult goes well. His rover peel does not go far through, he has no deep ball, he roquets partner in hoop stroke. Partner is croqueted 7' beyond peg.
On lawn 1 Martin misses 4-yard return roquet after rover. Richard hits 9-yarder, but again fails a difficult 5. Martin hits in (not long one), takes off to partner, short, rushes partner to 2nd corner. Surely he should peg one off?

12.00

Lawn 8: James pegs one off
T12 Tony misses 12-yarder.
T13 James hits peg.

Lawn 1:
Martin leaves wired rush out of 2nd corner. This is an error as he's responsible for Richard's ball.
Richard hits in.

Tony Le Moignan Lost to James Hopgood -15TP -10

12.05

Richard makes 5,6. Approaches 1-back from near 2nd corner. Makes it. Now approaching 2-back with other ball 4yNE of peg.

12.10

Richard makes 2-back with rush pointing North. Rushes it into hoop 1. Thick take-off to South of Yellow. Surely he should be taking off to the hoop? No, it's a roll... to good position! Runs hoop, roquets Yellow to end of A-baulk. Red is 7 yards N of 1. Yellow is croqueted between 4-back and penult. Cut rush on Red to 1y N of peg. Roll leaves very difficult hoop. Barely clips outside of hoop, going to 3rd corner.
Martin misses eight-yarder.

12.20

Richard snicks Yellow. A poor approach to 4-back, fails difficult hoop.
Martin hits 4-yarder. Blue is now 4yNE of 4. Leaves Yellow in 2nd corner, Red 2yS of Yellow. Not wired!
Richard plays Blue to 7yE of peg. Another error, Martin should be able to get wired rush.

12.30

Martin does get wired rush.
Richard plays 2yE of peg.
Martin plays good cut to the peg. Finishes.

So for the second ETC running, it all comes down to MM. Last time it was GC v Ivor Brand, this time the Championship depends on one game of Association: Richard Griffiths v Martin Murray. The players have agreed to resume at about 1pm on lawn 8.

Richard Griffiths v Martin Murray Game 3

1.05

Martin won toss and elected to start.
T1 Martin Black antiduffer 5yNE of 4
T2 Richard Yellow 18"S of 2nd corner
T3 Martin shoots at Yellow from end of A-baulk (sic). Misses to 18"E of 2nd corner.
T4 Richard misses Blue from end of B-baulk
T5 Martin gets yardline cannon. Lays up near 1st corner.
T6 Richard hits 23-yarder. Grovels through 1. Turns round and hits 8-yarder at ball near 1st corner. Chance of a break.

1.15

T6 Richard fails a long hoop 2.
T7 Martin hits 8-yarder at partner. Sticks in hoop 1.
T8 Richard's Yellow is paralytic at hoop 2, so he takes on 22-yarder with Red. Not close.
T9 Martin has 3-ball break.

We interrupt our coverage to bring you the results of two consolation games this morning.

Austria beat Belgium 2-1

Martin Guntner beat John Swabey +12
Max Walderdorff beat Allan Morris +8
Klimt Seabright lost to Tony Falcon-Uff 7-5 4-7 5-7

Ireland beat Norway 2-1

Danny Johnston beat Roar Michalsen +16TP
Jack Clingan lost to Steinar Olsen -2(T)
Kieran Murphy beat Birger Stene 7-2 7-4

1.25

T9 Martin has 4 balls, but sticks in angled hoop 5.
T10 Richard picks up break with Yellow

1.40

T10 Richard: Yellow is round to 4-back

Jun 26 13:41

T10 leave: Blue (for 1) 6yNNE of 4; Black (for 5) 8yW of peg; Red (for 1) with rush out of just S of 2nd corner to Black / hoop 1
T11 Martin lifts Black to B-baulk, misses Blue to just W of 4th corner.

Jun 26 13:45

T12 Richard's rush to 1 not close enough, so he uses Blue and Black. Lays up in front of hoop.
T13 Martin: Black hits 25-yarder

Jun 26 13:50

T13 OK so Blue is now 5yW of 4th corner, Yellow near middle of E bdry. Martin has just run hoop 5 to the North boundary, hits 10y return roquet at Red. Fails hoop 6

Jun 26 13:54

T14 Richard: Red joins up, roqueting Yellow. Takes off to Blue, tries to roll off 1 from behind 4. Short: back to mother.

Jun 26 13:58

T15 Martin hits 17-yarder with Blue. Ends up approaching 1 from W bdry, short, back to mother.
T16 Richard joins wide - despite his other ball being a yard or two in lawn.

Jun 26 14:05

Martin's team-mates are with me in the hut, living every moment. Jersey is ensconced under the tree to the S of lawn1 - at least there's shade there.
T17 Martin gets going with his hoop 1 ball.

Jun 26 14:09

The crowd is disappointed by the lack of TPO. James and Campbell are very relieved. Quite a few chaps staying beyond the advertised lunchtime finish. Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Wales still represented.
T17 Murray is using a lot of his eponymous control, but is still going. He has reached 1-back.

Jun 26 14:16

T17 Martin takes Blue to 4-back. Elects for what we might call a reverse NSL, with Yellow (for 4-back) at 2, Red (for 1) 6y NE of 4. Black (for 6) has rush on Blue toward peg, maybe 12y S of 2nd corner. Obviously Yellow has no shot from where it lies.

Jun 26 14:24

T18 Richard lifts Yellow. Shoots at Black from 1st corner. Misses to 1'E of 2nd corner.
T19 Martin: Black rushes Blue to 5yS of 4th corner. Rolls Blue into lawn a little, rushes Red 6y shy of 6. Underapproaches, back to mother.

Jun 26 14:30

T20 Richard: Red misses Yellow (13y)
T21 Martin: Black takes off, roquets Red. Rushes Yellow 8' shy of 6. Underapproaches, back to Blue, which is inches in front of 3-back.
T22 Richard: Red hits Yellow (10y). Somehow gets in front of 1. Runs it, hits 6-yarder. Chance for a break.

Jun 26 14:42

T22 Richard is rolling off 2 off partner from 4 yards. Runs it by nothing, referee on. He's lucky if he can hit Yellow. There's a pioneer waiting at 3. Sweep shot through the hoop, just misses.

Jun 26 14:47

T23 Martin misses 14-yarder.
T24 Richard picks off 4-yarder at Black. Blue is waiting at 4 if he can make 3. He does so, and has all the balls. I'm not anticipating any TP attempt - a solid break to the peg is required here.

Jun 26 14:51

T24 Richard survives a scare when he cross-wires himself from his 1-back pioneer. He's able to roquet it through the hoop - the advantage of a well-placed pioneer! He still has reasonable control.

Jun 26 14:58

T24 Richard misses 4-yard return roquet after 2-back.
T25 Martin lifts Black, hits 4-yarder.

Jun 26 15:01

T25 Martin has Blue 4yW of peg as a hoop 6 pioneer. This is now a good chance. Makes 6, has all the balls.

Jun 26 15:03

Reminder of the clips: Richard: Yellow 4-back, Red 3-back; Martin Blue 4-back, Black on a break.
T25 It's Martin's turn to see if he can hold a 4-ball break together. He's OK so far, having reached 4-back with Blue as the 4-back pioneer. STP attempt?! His team-mates are concerned.

Jun 26 15:11

T25 Martin declined the STP opportunity, attempting a posthumous peel which bounced off. He's forgotten about the infamous hill at penult, but copes.
Leave: Yellow 5yS of 4-back, Red 5' from peg cross-pegged from Yellow, Blue 2y SE of 2nd corner with rush on Black to Red.
Clips: Richard: Red 3-back, Yellow 4-back; Martin Blue 4-back, Black peg.

Jun 26 15:19

T26 Richard must have some sort of target with Red as it lies. Misses into 2nd corner.
T27 Martin has nearer 3- than 2-yarder at Red possibly hampered so he ignores Red. His rush on Yellow to 4-back almost misses entirely. 4-yard roll up required. 4' hoop. Sticks in it.

Jun 26 15:23

T28 Richard has 5-yarder at ball in hoop. Clips hoop, ending 5yE of peg.

T29 Martin runs 4-back, misses Black at penult, going off West bdry.

Jun 26 15:26

T30 Richard lifts Yellow to end of B-baulk. Misses Red (in 2nd corner) just to the South.
T31 Martin: Black hits Red (14y double).

Jun 26 15:29

T31 Something has happened, we're just not sure what. Best guess is that Martin was attempting an open cannon, missed Yellow with the ball and hit it with his mallet. Anyhow, it was a fault and the balls go back.

Jun 26 15:33

T32 Richard leaves Black very near 2nd corner, rushes Yellow 10yN of 3-back. Rolls to S bdry.
T33 Martin shoots Black at Blue (16y)- misses to just E of 1st corner.
T34 Richard: Red makes 3-back. Yellow is now 9yE of peg. Takes off to Black, hits it. Croquets Black 5yNE of end of A-baulk. Roquets Blue. Blue is 4ySW of end of B-baulk. Leaves rush for Yellow to 4-back.

Jun 26 15:41

T35 Martin shoots Blue at Red and Yellow, misses.
T36 Richard: Yellow makes 4-back. Undercuts rush on Red to penult, Red is 3yNW of peg. Take-off to Black, no rush. Rolls over to Blue. Blue is croqueted toward 2nd corner - it's well short, maybe 4'NW of 2. Yellow retires to middle of W bdry.
T37 Martin plays Blue as it lies. Misses.
T38 Richard shoots Red at Yellow (11y). Hits.

Jun 26 15:49

T38 Richard: Red takes off to Blue. Croquets Blue to penult, getting rush on Black to 4-back. Makes 4-back. Makes penult. Makes rover. Is he going to peg out Black? No. Blue is left 5' NW of rover, Black 4y E of peg.
Yellow has rush into lawn from 10yS of 2nd corner.
This is all extremely sweaty. Luckily someone has found a fan for the hut.

Jun 26 15:59

It's penult and peg v penult and peg.
T39 Martin lifts Blue to 2yE of end of B-baulk, shoots at Red and Yellow, misses.
T40 Richard: Yellow rushes Red beyond Black but insufficiently North. Makes penult. Misses return roquet (3y)
T41 Martin: Black hits Red (4y)

Jun 26 16:04

T41 Martin takes off to Blue, finishing in yardline area. Leaves rush for Blue to penult.
T42 Richard: Yellow misses Red (20y)
So we have another "finishing turn". Red is about 5y E of rover.
T43 Martin: good rush to penult. Makes it....

Jun 26 16:09

T43... Martin's rush to rover goes behind hoop, but not directly so. Copes. Has 2 yard peg-out, maybe 7 foot. Misses! Black ends up 2y N of rover. Pegs out Blue.
T44 Richard: Yellow hits Red (15y)

Jun 26 16:14

T44 Richard makes rover, not without some wire. It's all over.

Richard Griffiths Wins the Decider +1. Jersey is European Team Champion