[<<] [>>] by Dave Kibble at Cheltenham
11th June 2000 (AC - Championships)

Reg Bamford retained the Men's Championship, beating Toby Garrison in a quality final.

Louise Bradforth took the Women's Championship for the first time.

Dave Kibble and Louise Bradforth retained their Mixed Doubles Championship title.

Relative newcomer Patrick Hort took the Du Pre with a quick triple against Pete Trimmer.

Du Pre

Qualifiers for knockout: Hort, Trimmer, Goacher, Harrison-Wood. Smith and Kibble were ineligible due to doubles commitments.

Trimmer had needed just one more win on the penultimate day to qualify, so from all the players waiting to play he chose Reg Bamford, and won!

A 7th turn +17TP completed the final for Hort against Trimmer.

Mixed Doubles Championship

Round 1

Draw

Vincent & McGlen beat Gibbon & Symonds +6
Garrison & Constable beat The Maggees +14
Goacher & Gugan beat Guest & Healy +16t
The Ransoms beat Harrison-Wood & Crowe +1t

Process

Harrison-Wood & Crowe beat White & Whittall +3t
Vincent & McGlen beat Jackman & Thursfield +3t
Kibble & Bradforth beat The Ransoms +15
Smith & Prichard beat Gibbon & Symonds +14

Round 2

Draw

Kibble & Bradforth beat White & Whittall +13
Garrison & Constable beat Vincent & McGlen +17TP
The Ransoms beat Goacher & Gugan +1t
Smith & Prichard beat Jackman & Thursfield +2t

Process

Garrison & Constable beat Harrison-Wood & Crowe +7t
Guest & Healy beat Vincent & McGlen +1t
The Magees beat Kibble & Bradforth +4t
Smith & Prichard beat Goacher & Gugan +14

Round 3

Draw

Kibble & Bradforth beat Garrison & Constable +17TP
The Ransoms beat Smith & Prichard +1t

Process

Guest & Healy beat Garrison & Constable +3t
Smith & Prichard beat The Magees +4t

Semi-Finals

Smith & Prichard beat Guest & Healy +8t
Kibble & Bradforth beat The Ransoms +12

Louise missed a long peg-out and Ray hit the lift digging out a break with some excellent croquet. He was distracted by the Men's final on the adjacent lawn and stuck in 5, giving an easy roquet and peg-out to end the Ransoms' succession of +1t victories.

Final

Kibble & Bradforth beat Smith and Pritchard +10

Men's Championship

Round 1

Hort beat Dymock +26 +25
Tibble beat Magee -26 +3 +5TP
Gaunt beat White +6 +18
Openshaw beat Harrison-Wood +24 +26
Gibbons beat Cowing +8 +18
Foulser beat Jenkins -5 +2 +22

Round 2

Bamford beat Hort +26TP -24TP +26TP
Kibble beat Tibble +3 +14
Gaunt beat Gale -16 +5 +4
Brown beat Trimmer +7 +4
Openshaw beat P.Smith -10 +14 +5TP
A classic openshavian stopping bisque:
Paul Smith, going round strongly, suddenly realises he is about to play a wrong ball and it dawns on him he must have switched a few strokes ago. Balls are replaced. DKO starts his turn.

After further reflection Paul eventually works out what really happened - he had picked up the wrong ball but had not played it. Unfortunately he has quit the lawn in the belief that his turn had ended so there was nothing he could do.

Clearly DKO is now so good at the mind game he no longer needs to influence opponents to actually make an error, only to believe they have made an error.

Cordingley beat Gibbons +17 +26TP
Goacher beat Foulser +23 -17 +26TP
Garrison beat Neal -3 +26TP +18

Quarter-Finals

Bamford beat Kibble +25TP +26TP
Brown beat Gaunt -23 +17 +25TP
Cordingley beat Openshaw -17TP +17 +17TP
Garrison beat Goacher +22TP +17TP

Semi-Finals

Bamford beat Brown +22TP +26TP -26 +26TP

Once again Reg demonstrated his 'perfect triple' - all peels finished before running hoop 6: 4-back is peeled as standard, Penult with a roll on the way to 5, run 5 past (or to) peelee, rush and peel rover using hoop 5 pioneer as escape - simple!

Garrison beat Cordingly -26TP -17 +17 +26TP +17

Phil was looking really strong until Toby took charge. In the final game Toby failed the triple ending up for peg and Rover. Phil hit and went to 4-back leaving the peg ball on the back of hoop 1. Toby bravely shot with the Rover ball from A-baulk through hoop 1 to finish!

Final

Bamford beat Garrison +26TP +1 -26TP +26TP

A routine and quality match contrasted by Reg failing a sextuple in the second game. This was followed by Toby going to 4-back and Reg missing the lift. Unfortunately, Toby hit his rover peelee on the way through Rover and failed the peg-out but took one ball out. Reg hit and went to peg, leaving a maximum length shot at the peg which was missed but almost hit Reg's ball on the far boundary (which was 'wired' by the peg).

Women's Championship

Round 1

Bradforth beat Ransom -11 +10t +11t
Healy beat Constable +12 -12 +14
Gugan beat Magee +3 +4
McGlen beat Symonds -21 +6 +10

Semi-Finals

Bradforth beat Healy +7 +15
McGlen beat Gugan -8 +5 +9

Final

Bradforth beat McGlen +8 +12

As the scores suggest, it was a close match. Beatrice was particularly unlucky not to take the second game after Louse failed a 3-yard peg-out; she hit and made 3 with the other balls in the lawn but missed a 4-yard roquet at one of Louise's peg balls on the yard line.