This match has just started on lawn 5.  Anyone else commentating?  Apparently not.

Aah, Chris Clarke is hastening back.  I leave you in his capable hands.

T1 R 9Y N of C4

T2 K Just S of C2

T3 Y hits R from A-Baulk - leaves rush to C2

T4 U shoots at RY from B-Baulk.........hits inlawn ball

Fails to approach hoop 1 and returns to partner in C2 leaving a double

T5 Y hits double

Wright has made hoop 1, but still has lots of work to do

Opts to make a leave with U still near C2, K 4Y N of hoop 3 and has laid up near C4

K shoots at R...................hits

K has made hoop 1, but once again, there is a lot of work to do for a break

Has to roll up to hoop 2 from the W boundary...........slightly angled...............good hoop and he's away

A nice turn so far from Bast

Bast is round to 4-b and has made a diagonal spread with R at the peg

Y lifts to B-Baulk and takes the long lift at U...................misses

Another good approach from the W to hoop 1 gives Bast his second break. Y is still in C4 though

Needs to roll up to hoop 2 from 5 yards...........has angled hoop..........

Makes it look easy. Bast had fetched Y out of C4 with a big roll going to his hoop 2 pioneer, but still hasn't got a standard TP

Has to approach hoop 5 from the side, so no forward rush

Jawses 4-b before hoop 6

Hampered after hoop 6, but it looks easy

No, he's making it look much more difficult now..............

.........and then hits it easily

The peelee is now the 2-b pioneer

Rushes back after 2-b - good shot - he has a chance of the penult peel...............jawses it, well played.

No forward rush out of 3-b

The cap goes back to front for the big roll which he's played well.

The peelee sits 4 feet in front of rover as Bast makes penult

Just an irish peel from 1 foot straight now

Bast's rush only just missed the peg. Game 1 Bast +25TP

Now GB v AUS is over for the day, I shall be bringing you the second game of this match.  Thanks to Chris for commentating on Game 1.

G2T1 Bast (Black) to 4yN of 4th corner

G2T2 Wright (Red) shoots at Black from A-baulk.  Hits.  Croquets Black maybe 3y NW peg.  Red 1y N of 4th corner.

G2T3  Bast (Blue) shoots at Red from A-baulk.  Hits.  Sorry, Black is NE of peg.  Bast rolls Red 2y SE peg.  Short of rush to 1, so rushes Black off West bdry (11yS of II).  Taking off to hoop 1.  Goes 5y S of hoop.  Looks at retiring to partner,then runs hoop, and hits Black (10y).

G2T3ctd  Bast taking off thickly from Black to Red.  Rushes Red to 4y W of hoop 2.  Stops Red to 6, runs hoop, hits Black (4y).  Croquets Black to 4, overcuts Red to 4y W of hoop 3.  Runs 1y hoop cleanly.  Referee next to me is grumbling that players are making hoops look 4" wide.  They are in fact ball + 1/32".  Bast hits 5y return roquet and has 3 ball break.

G2T3ctd  Bast has reached 2-back with control.

G2T3ctd  Blue is round to 4-back.  The Black ball is 1y SE peg, Blue is 5y N of 4th corner, with rush on Red to Black.  Yes, he's left the Blue and Black balls the wrong way round!

G2T4  Wright plays Yellow from A-baulk, misses Blue (14y)

G2T5  Bast gives himself a tap on the head and a big thumbs up as he realizes his mistake.  Looks briefly at playing Black, but sense prevails.

G2T5  Bast playing 4-back ball (Blue).  Yellow is croqueted 1y ESE of 4, Red 5y NNE of 3.  Black is 5y W of hoop 2, with 4' rush on Blue pointing East.

G2T6  Wright shoots Yellow at Red.  Hits (22y).

G2T6 ctd  Wright (Yellow) takes off to Blue, rushes Black to 1.  3y SE hoop.  Copes.  The Blue Ball is at 2.  Has rush after 1.  Will we see a TPO?

G2T6 ctd  Wright (Yellow) is sending Blue to 4, so no TPO.

I've just been reminded of my drunken promise last night to include a certain word in my commentary today.  I was going to wax lyrical about the surroundings here at Surbiton - a tennis club on one side, and over the brook beyond the North boundaries, an area of common land where I think I can see heffalumps grazing.

However, I now propose that Bast's 3rd turn leave is called a heffalump leave.  Or maybe 3 heffalumps.

Wright has reached hoop 6.  No peels, no POPs.

G2T6 ctd  Wright (Yellow) to 4-back.  NSL with Blue at 4.  Red and Yellow 11y N of 4th corner

G2T7  Bast lifts Black to make a target from end of B-baulk.  Goes through middle.

G2T8  Wright's rush to hoop 1 is cut into hoop 4.  Stops Blue to 1.  Black is 2y E of hoop 2.  Red has 3y rush on Yellow pointing to boundary in front of 1.

G2T9  Bast is playing Black.  Shoots at Yellow, missing to just W of 4th corner.

G2T10  Wright: Red misses Yellow (3 or 4y)

G2T11  Bast: Blue hits Red (6y).  Croquets Red 4y SSE of hoop 3.  Roquets Yellow.  Croquets Yellow 2y W of hoop 2.  Plays Blue off S bdry giving Black rush.

G2T12  Wright shooting Yellow at Red (18y).  Hits.  Yellow is the 4-back ball.

G2T12ctd  Wright is taking off from Red, which is 7y S of 3rd corner.  Takes off short.  Misses 7-yarder at Black.

oops lost my connection there.  We're back live.

G2T13  Bast has made 1.  The Blue ball is 4y SSE of hoop 4.  He's now trying to scoop to hoop 2 from N bdry in front of 3.  Angled hoop.  Fails.  The Yellow ball is 4y ESE of hoop 3.  The crowd would not have attempted the hoop.

G2T14  Wright: Red rushes Black to 11y N of 4th corner.  Taking off to Blue.  Gets rush to Yellow.  Rushes Blue near 3rd corner.  Blue is going toward hoop 2 - 6y E of hoop.  Not good position for rush on Yellow.  Rushes Yellow 15y N of 1st corner.  Thick take-off approach yields 2 yard hoop.  Runs it by 1 yard.  Misses Yellow (9y, possibly hampered backswing).

G2T15  Bast shoots Blue at Yellow (13y) misses.

G2T16  Wright: Yellow is 4y from Blue, but prefers to take 7-yarder at Red.  Hits.

G2T16ctd  Wright takes off to Blue, roquets it.  Black is ignored: it's 11y N of 4th corner.  Blue is stopped 4y NNE of hoop 3.  Yellow is played 2y SE of Red.

G2T17 Bast shoots Black at Blue, missing (20y).

Clips:  Wright:  Red 2 and Yellow 4-back;  Bast Black 2 and Blue 4-back

I think we're pausing for tea.

Or maybe just a natural break.

G2T18  Wright: Red rolls Yellow 2y SE of hoop 6, going to Black.  Now rushing Blue to hoop 2.  Should be good enough.  Angled hoop, copes.  Should get position for standard TP.

G2T18ctd  Wright: Red croquets Blue into jaws of hoop 4.  Red sticks in 3 from nowhere.

G2T19  Bast:  Black wants to roquet Red.  I don't think Yellow's in the way.  Calls on umpire.  Trivial.  Takes off to rush Yellow to hoop 2.  Good rush.  He's come for a look at the state of Blue.  Makes hoop 2.  Eastward rush, I don't think he'll be going to Blue now.  He's thinking.  Is he contemplating the standard TPO??   

Ignore standard TPO comment.  It dates from the days when chaps didn't fancy delayed TPs.  About 20 years ago?

G2T19ctd Bast: (Black) calling on umpire again for trivial roquet on Blue.  Doesn't get rush after 4.  After 5 rushes to middle East bdry.  Christs off Black.

(Christs off: making unintentional roquet in croquet stroke.  Applauded by undergraduates at Christ's college Cambridge, who knew no better.)

The Australian team are all in the gazebo by lawn 7.  No doubt discussing pegged-out endgames.

G2T19ctd Bast: (Black) trying for 4-back peel before 1-back (1-back pioneer is 8' ESE of hoop).  Peel bounces off to side. No rush after 1-back.  3-back pioneer is nearer hoop 5.

G2T19ctd Bast: (Black) making 3-back off Red.  Yellow well-placed 5y S of 4-back, Blue still just to side of hoop.  No rush after 3-back.  Will we see STP attempt?

G2T19ctd Bast: (Black)  Red is croqueted onto E wire of penult.  Does he not like that!  Bast now thinking.

Bast still thinking.  Possibly contemplating the futility of life.

G2T19ctd Bast: (Black) roquets Yellow.  He's abandoned STP, but still playing for straight 4-back peel.  18" peel.  Boy do you look foolish if this goes wrong.  Ugly looking Irish roll thing... yields rush on Blue cuttable to penult!  Asking referee to confirm it's not hoop and roquet, even though the balls collided after going through hoop.  Declines to try to finish.  Blue is going to peg, Yellow to rover.

Crowd losing interest, wondering what's happening in cricket...

G2T19ctd Bast: (Black) .  Red (for 3) has been croqueted 5y E of hoop 4 before rover.  Makes rover off Yellow, plays it 4' NW of peg.  Blue rushed 5y W of hoop 2.  Blue has 4' horizontal rush to penult from 7y S of 2nd corner.

NZ Red 3 Yellow 4-back  v  USA Blue penult Black peg.

Wright has been watching from 3rd corner of lawn 4.  Here he comes.

G2T20  Wright lifts Yellow to end of B-baulk.  Misses Blue (14y).

G2T21  Blue hits Yellow, croquets it into lawn, OK rush of Black to penult, makes hoop with rush to Yellow, good rush of Yellow to rover.  Black has pessimistically been left 4y NNW of hoop 2.  Rushes Yellow 10y N of Red, takes off to 5' rush.  Good rush unluckily ends in jaws of hoop 2.  Must have some sort of take-off...

G2T21ctd Bast (Blue) takes off from Red in hoop 2.  Bit short, should be cuttable to near enough.  Very good cut to unmissable range.

USA win match 2-0 +25tp+15