Inter-County GC division 2 Championship 2020

[<<] [>>] by Sue Thomas [CA Admin]
28 Jun 2020 (GC)

Inter county GC division 2 Championship 2020 Well it truly was a remarkable leap of faith that this event eventually was given the seal of approval. Covid 19 had tried its best to upset normal life, but fortunately the powers at the CA with the help of the Cheltenham croquet club were able to put on this ever growing event. The expansion from six to eight teams meant that a large club like Cheltenham was an ideal location especially in terms of geography. The Saturday morning saw the 'lush' green lawns occupied to its capacity by players eager to get back to normal play despite the social distancing. The format had changed from previous years to incorporate the extra teams. It was still an all play all block, but this time each county first played a doubles and two singles, before playing another four singles in handicap order. The result therefore was best of seven and worked well albeit, with lunch etc being often on the move. After three rounds only Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire were unbeaten and someone was going to go home happy after day one. This was bound to be a close contest with each county having two -2 players to call upon, which resulted in five of the games going to the 12th or 13th hoop! Hertfordshire led by John Noble continued their winning ways into Sunday and fully deserve the championship title after being undefeated, despite being run close by an Oxfordshire team led by Roger Goldring who were close on their heels with only one loss to the afore mentioned team. It is a shame that neither county will get their promotion this year due to the impact of Covid 19. Finally, the new county of Devon will clearly be one to watch for next year as they finished in a commendable third. The table below shows the final positions, courtesy of Croquet scores. All-Play-All Block B B CS D G H L O Wins Net games Berkshire 4 3 5 4 1 3 1 3 -7 Buckinghamshire 3 4 2 1 3 5 1 2 -11 CA Select 4 3 3 3 2 3 2 1 -9 Devon 2 5 4 5 3 5 2 4 3 Gloucestershire 3 6 4 2 2 3 2 2 -5 Hertfordshire 6 4 5 4 5 6 5 7 21 Leicestershire 4 2 4 2 4 1 2 3 -11 Oxfordshire 6 6 5 5 5 2 5 6 19 I believe that despite Covid 19 this event was a great success and that all counties had a positive and enjoyable experience despite the social distancing. My lasting memory this year has to be seeing the Oxfordshire team often led by Chris Roberts consistently 'sitting down' enjoying the leisurely pace of life as it should be? I look forward to seeing you all again next year. Ivor Brand