Alain Giraud won the July Wrest Park Advanced Tournament

[<<] [>>] by John Bevington at Wrest Park Croquet Club
7 Jul 2013 (AC)

Alain Giraud won the first Wrest Park tournament on their new lawns, with five wins out of five.

This first AC tournament on the new lawns was played on the hottest weekend of the year thus far (the decision to make it a two-day tournament was indeed a wise one) and with a select entry of eight players, the visitors being Nick Evans and James Skelton from Northampton, George Woolhouse from Letchworth, and from Ealing the heavy hitters Nigel Polhill and Alain Giraud, the undefeated winner.
The bumpiness of the lawns could make it difficult to hit in, especially if the ball hit a ridge or furrow early on and immediately altered course. That said, it was perfectly possible to play breaks once you had gained some control, as Nigel demonstrated when he went straight round to 4-back in the fifth turn of his first game. The hoops were on the tight side, but perfectly runnable.
Late in the afternoon after two games Nick, James and George declined a third, so John Bevington and Eric Audsley did their bit by playing Alain and Nigel, who had finished the game between them much earlier. John very nearly got the better of Alain after pegging him out and giving contact when for 1-back versus rover, but took off long when trying to get behind partner for a rush to the peg and just missed the roquet.
Terry Mahoney had kindly donated two gazebos which were both in use on Sunday, when Alain completed his unbeaten run with wins over Rod Ashwell (+2 on time, a limit having been imposed by manager Eric Audsley) and Nick Evans.
All in all it went as well if not better than could have been expected, and our thanks to Geoff Strutt and John Wheeler for the catering.

Alain Giraud (-1) 5/5
Nigel Polhill (-1) 4/5
John Bevington (1) 3/5
Rod Ashwell (0) 2/4
Eric Audsley (1) 2/5
Nick Evans (2.5) 1/4
George Woolhouse (2) 1/4
James Skelton (2) 0/4

Alain Giraud beat James Skelton +9
Nigel Polhill beat John Bevington +10
Nick Evans beat Eric Audsley +10
Rod Ashwell beat George Woolhouse +18
Alain Giraud beat Nigel Polhill +12
Eric Audsley beat George Woolhouse +6
John Bevington beat James Skelton +5
Rod Ashwell beat Nick Evans +18
Nigel Polhill beat Eric Audsley +16
Alain Giraud beat John Bevington +2
Nigel Polhill beat Nick Evans +8
George Woolhouse beat James Skelton +4T
John Bevington beat Eric Audsley +16
Alain Giraud beat Rod Ashwell +2T
Eric Audsley beat James Skelton +18
John Bevington beat George Woolhouse +14
Nigel Polhill beat Rod Ashwell +8
Alain Giraud beat Nick Evans +12