England retained the AC Home internationals

[<<] [>>] by Angharrad Walters
12th June (International)

England retained the Association Croquet Home internationals trophy with a clean sweep of test match wins. Ireland came second, having more match wins than Scotland and Wales came fourth, with just a half point for being 2-1 up in their partially completed match vs Ireland.

Having been very worried that they would be unable to host the event this year following the wet winter & spring,the Southport Lawns team had managed to prepare all five lawns to an acceptable standard. There was sufficient challenge in the lawns to ensure a high level of interactivity without the need for Super Advanced, with only 5 games ending +26TP.

Saturday was fine, with sunshine extending into the early evening. Special thanks to John & Barbara Haslam for agreeing to stay late to allow Gabrielle & Lorna to make the most of the fine weather and finish their game whilst most of the other competitors had departed for a Chinese banquet at Lings on Kings. Overnight, England had beaten Ireland and Scotland had beaten Wales but only two matches had been completed in the second round of Tests.

The manager decided to start the third round of Tests on an overcast Sunday morning, so that everyone would be in play. England beat Wales to be in pole position to retain the trophy, needing to win one of the incomplete Matches v Scotland when their opponents became available. A cold wind & rain showers arrived to add to the challenges. But eventually Aston Wade beat George Plant to secure the winning point. Full results are on Croquet Scores.

At the presentation, Angharrad thanked Esther Jubb & the whole Southport & Birkdale team for their efforts behind the scenes in preparing the lawns & providing excellent catering. Esther then presented the trophy to England's captain David Maugham.