For a daily update, please click here.

International Croquet Test Match to start on 6 August 2010

The International Croquet Test Match between Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and the USA will start in Manchester on Friday 6 August 2010.

The test match, known as the MacRobertson Shield, takes place on a rotational basis between the four countries every 3-4 years and  this is only the seventh time it has been contested in England since its inception in 1925. Teams of six players from each country play each other country once, over 12 singles and nine doubles matches.

The Shield is considered as the pinnacle of croquet playing, and only the top players are selected.  Great Britain has won the event every time since 1990 and has won it 13 times, more than any other country, reflecting the strength and depth of croquet in the UK.

The Great Britain team consists of:

Keith Aiton, Captain 

Robert Fulford

Chris Clarke

Rutger Beijderwellen

David Maugham

Stephen Mulliner

Ian Lines

Time table of Matches:

Fri 6 – Tue 10 August

GB v USA at Bowdon Croquet Club, Cheshire

Aus v NZ  at Heaton Park, Manchester

Thu 12 – Mon 16 August

GB v NZ at Nottingham Croquet Club, Nottingham

Aus v USA at Roehampton Club, London

Wed 18 – Sun 22 August

GB v Aus at Surbiton Croquet Club, Surbiton, London

NZ v USA at Surbiton Croquet Club, Surbiton, London

Spectators are welcome and will be admitted free of charge to all venues. 

For the first time this year, The MacRobertson Shield is forming the top tier of the World Team Championship for Association Croquet, with tiers two and three being played at the Hurlingham Club, Sussex County Croquet Club and Compton Croquet Club. The tiers are:

Tier 2.1: Ireland, Jersey, South Africa, Wales

Tier 2.2: Canada, Japan, Scotland, Spain

Tier 3: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Sweden.

The Macrobertson Shield was instituted by Sir Macpherson Robertson, an Australia sweet manufacturer as a match between Australia and England in 1925.  New Zealand and the USA have been added to competition since then. 

Ends

Note to Editors:

1.  Full press facilities will be available at each event.

2. Croquet is a sport which is enjoyed by men and women on equal terms from their teens until well into retirement. 

3. The Croquet Association was founded in 1897 and is the oldest croquet governing body in the world. Croquet in England receives no public funding of any kind.

For further information contact:  Elizabeth Larsson, The Croquet Association, 01242 242318, caoffice@croquet.org.uk