This is the match that NZ will be hoping can fall their way today.  Chapman & Westerby did a great job for their team mates yesterday shutting the Brits out.  If NZ can get off to a good start the pressure will soon start to build on Dave and Rutger.

Rutger has just been stopped from shooting at hoop 5 from the side boundary in the warm up.

Practice has stopped but only Rutger is at the lawn, I suppose there are still a few minutes to go before it is 10 oclock

No there's not the university clock begins to chime

Rutger (Black) to just out of corner 2.

Skinley (Yellow) to 18" N of corner 4

Maugham shoots from end of B baulk at yellow into corner 4

Misses.  Michael hits yellow from A baulk takes off gets a good rush to 1 rushes 3 yards E of the hoop

Approaches to a yard 20 degrees runs it easily getting a cut towards corner 4. 

Rushes to the end of A baulk does really get any sort or rush on partner gets it to 8 yds up the W boundary N of corner 4

Rolls up to more or less max distance spot on W boundary and leaves a rush to corner 2

Maugham is shooting at the rush

Hits the in lawn ball

Cut it 6 yards N of red, the take off hills into the lawn and instead of a perfect rush to 1 it is pointing E!  Tries to roll up to 1 short and red is very short it is between 5 and the peg.

Red for 2

Everything else for 1

Michael takes red at black missing

Rutger stops the red out getting a rush to yellow gets a good rush to 1, rushes it 2 yards past

Appoaches to 18" 25 degrees, runs it with no rush.  Red is only a third of the way towards hoop 2 from the corner

Rutger plays a series of good take offs and rushes around the balls and has a good break after he runs hoop 2

Apparently Ian Lines's nickname in NZ is Whitebait!

Rutger gets first pop on yellow after 4

Rutger puts his hoop 6 pioneer by 1 back (optimistic peelee is only 4 feet through hoop 1).  Poor rush to hoop 5 and has to appraich from 3 yds straight.  Runs the hoop N of the peg and has 3 yard return - not really a rush

Rutger rushes it and gets a pretty good rush on peelee has a 2 yard 45 degree peel attempt

Hits the near wire probably not rush peelable, reasonable rush to hoop 6 but only gets it 3 yards E of the hoop

Runs a 5' hoop to the N boundary

Rutgert has to approach from the ball on the back of the wire, discussing options with Dave

Theres going to be no more POP and the position is a bit of mess at the moment but probably OK for a defensive leave of some sort

Looks like a defensive NSL with yellow on the E boundary 13 yards S of corner 2

The NZers are looking at shots from A baulk - nobody seems to like the E boundary of lawn 2

Michael lifts red and shoots down the E boundary hitting blue

Rushes black straight to hoop 2 and makes it with a sort of rush to yellow

Doesnt play it well and has a 5 yard take off to get behond the yellow - plays it wellish gettng a rush to hoop 3.  Decides to play a big cut to blue which he executes quite welll.  Has croquet 4 yards N of blue which is peg high between 3 and 4.

Doesnt get a great rush to 3, overcuts it and has to approach from 5 yds SE

Takes off getting a 4' straight hoop runs it - has a break.

Perfect break at hoop 6, doesnt look like there will be anything clever.

Michael is trying to make a spread

I think blue and black are cross pegged in the middle.  Yellow is in corner 4 and red 2 feet N of it

Blue is lifted to shoot at yellow from A baulk.  Misses on the right as has been the norm for this event.

Paul has played the first few strokes very precisely, this is possibly the big turn of the day

Has to approach hoop 2 from 2 yards E - peelee is 6 yards S of hoop 3

Has a 3 yard tonk after hoop 2 which if it goes to corner 4 gives him a standard TP

Decides to rush to partner near hoop 3 instead.  Thinks of using the ball near the corner ast the hoop 4 pioneer but decides against it.  Puts black to hoop 4

Pauls making a bit of a meal of an imprecise precision pick up.  Approaching 4 from 5' SE which he does to 18" 20 degrees

Setting up a peel before 6 peelee is already a foot straight in front of 4back

Doesnt get escape ball far enough north, has a good rush out of hoop 5

Hes setting up for a peel before 1back now

Knocks it out of peeling position so it is an STP if anything now

Spoke too soon the 3back pioneer is being left at 4back

The peg is right in the way of the take off to the 2bakc pioneer

Perfect shot so he has a totally controlled position for the first time in the break - but maybe it has come too late

Skinley has the peel but a 5' rush pointing at corner4

Excellent rush to 2 yards NE approaches well

Dosent get a forward rush so it is a very big roll to a balll only just thorugh 4 bakc a bit like Jenny's shot yesterday

He'll take it he has a 2 and a half yard tonk - Chris's advice is just to hit it and hope you get lucky!

Skinley isnt lucky it goes back into 4back

He tries to approach sending red west so he can get a rush to penult but overhits it and ends on the left hand wire only shot is a 5 yard very hampered shot SW at blue

Hes hit it - straight swings are an advantage!

Good take off back and runs the hoop

Time to talk about the leave

So hes making penult off black and rover off blue

Its a diagonal spread with black at the peg

I think black at the peg is slightly misplaced they have gone miles S they are level with hoop 4 with their rush.  It will definitely be blue at them from A baulk and the wise money would be on a miss on the right

Horrible swing but only just misses on the left.  Wright has to finish this

Rushes a yard in front of penult - all over

Skinley (Black) to just out of corner 2

Rutger (yellow) to 16 yards S of corner 3 on W boundary

Wright misses from corner 3 into corner 4.  Maugham is going to shoot at Michael from A baulk

Sorry he is of course going to shoot at partner and he misses

Wright misses back in to corner 3

Rutgers rush goes off 5 yards S of corner 3

No rush croquets blue to hoop 1 and hits the ball in the corner 2, trying to take off to hoop 1

7' 20 degree hoop

Discussion - Doesnt look like they are going for it

All balls for 1

Blue to 2' north of corner 4

Rutger rushes to 2 yards W of blue doesnt really get a rush on it.  Plays a big rush to 2 yards S of hoop 3 - Discussion

Plays a split putting blue to 1 going to black so its going to be another 30 yard take off to hoop 1

Stops beside the hoops

All balls for 1

Blue misses red.  Dont those Fenwick Elliot's make a dreadful noise!

Poorish rush by David to 4 yards away approaches to 18" and gets a not very useful rush pointing to hoop 3 after running it

Rushes it to 3 and takes off to black surprised he didnt go to blue which is 2 yards S of hoop 4

Take off to two from the N boundary is short

Red for 2 All other balls for 1

Black is shooting at blue

Watched it all the way but it just missed

This game is the focus of the 26 spectators attention

Taps partner and takes off to the oppo

Short 6 yarder at the boundary ball - gets half of it

Good croquet stroke but he has put the black in the way, rush misses black and goes 3 yards straight in front of hoop 2

Clubs the approach so has a 12" hoop which he runs in to the stream

He can see it but its obviously not an easy retrival

Club members are running over with some equipment not sure what it is.  It has a very long handle and at the end it is like a rake but with only 4 spikes 6" long and a couple of inches apart. 

Obviously designed for the job it gets the ball in less than 5 secs

Dave is away

The inconsiderate players arent considering the commenators no sign of a lunch break so I will have to eat on the job.  Play should of course be organised for the benefit of the commentators.

Looks like he is making the leave named after him

He must have made a mess of the ball on hoop 2, it looked OK to me.  He has gone back to it after 2back - maybe he was just making the wrong leave on auto pilot?

So it is an NSL, which is maybe what he was supposed to be making in the first place

Looks like the NZers will take lunch

Shouldnt they really carry on there are 26 people watching!?

Skinley lifts black and is shooting from A baulk

Misses.  Very aggresive choice given the GB balls were close to the maximum distance spot.

I dont think the Brits know that their match has resumed!

Here they come

Gets a 1 yard rush to one that he plays to within a yard of hoop 1.  Should finish.

Looks like the peelee is left somewhere just about rush peelable after hoop 3

Gets reasonable position for the rush peel after 5 but its not easy.  Doesnt get close setting up to peel going to 1back

Gets a rush out of 6 so has a controlled position.

Gets the peel but the 2back pioneer is only 2 yards SW of the peg

Sorry the peel is only jawsed

rush peeled after 1back

Tricky take off with the peg in the way, pretty much perfect

Ragged position at 3 back approaching from 3 yards SW, peelee 7 yards in front of penult escape ball 4 yards E of penult

Peeling penult from 3+ yds before 4back

Peelee bounces off hitting the strikers ball and hampers his backswing (ref called)

Snicks it has a 3-4 yard approach

Plays it well peelee is 2 and half feet E of penult with black 6" SW of it

Irish peel hits the ball he had placed by the peg.  So he has croquet at penult with peelee a yard W and the other ball a yard E of the peg

The black goes out as a good deep ball

The side ball is a bit short has an 18" rush to peeling position puts it 4' straight

Brief chat with Dave

Irish peel stays on by about 4"

Rutger & Dave +26tp

So what sort of a feast can they serve up for the tea time crowd today.  Those who have made the effort to be here really deserve a game like the first day at Bowdon but I dont really think that is going to happen.

Maugham (Blue) to just out of corner 2.

Yellow to 2' N of corner 4

Rutger shoots at yellow from the end of B baulk

Misses.  Michael misses thorugh the middle.

I think the Kiwis might have taken this at the start of the day (well until they missed that last shot).  If they can be 3-3 at the end with Chapman and Westerby looking the business they'll be happy.

Rutger plays a good promotion cannon

As has just been pointed out to meaccording tothe timestamps that was a 50min+ tp  from Rutger I think they call it test match pace.  We are obviously all in that zone as nobody here has particularly noticed it as a slow turn.

No doubt tps will only be taking about 15 mins at the jamboree next week probably with a few one handed shots included for a laugh.

Gets a good rush to corner 2, takes it into the corner - the other ball being 6" south.  Plays a bombard getting yellow a couple of yards in and the other ball 3 yards up the boundary and has a 5' straight rush top one whihc he takes well and makes 1 with a rush to corner 4

Puts a ball to 3 and rushes to the N boundary in front of three.  The ball out of corner 2 doesnt look as good as I thought before it is only 1 yard SE of the corner - will be tricky to get behind.

Take off is a foot short

Take off to the hoop is short - impossible

Black for 2

All other clips for 1

Takes red at blue and hits rushing it near hoop 6

Rolls to black and croquets black towards hoop 1 going to partner

Is cross wired by hoop 2 from partner

As a guy near me in the crowd says this is a no brainer, black at blue hitting it in the middle - lots of applause

Takes off from the E boundary and is 8 yards short of the oppo

Hits again.  The other ball is half way between hoops 3 and 4

Just needs to find a way of making hoop 3

Crowd remains unchanged at 26 but I think a few of the faces have changed

A couple of circling pigeons provide more entertainment than the croquet for a few moments

Tonks his rush to hoop 3 but it hits the hoop so thats a ball round - how long will it take?

Nearly stuck in hoop 3 nobody has looked like sticking in a hoop all day, hampered shot doesnt need a ref

Lines says no more than 20 mins from here, we shall see

Perfect control at hoop 6

Will he remember to make an MSL

He will, red is going to be at hoop 2

Has to position the ball at 4 from nearly 2'  Its a long way from the hoop but he seems happy with it

So its 20 mins + however long they can waste now Dave has wandered out to help with the last two strokes

They are going 14 yds N of corner 4 the turn ends after 21 mins.  It begins to rain.

Red is lifted and shooting from in front of hoop 3 at black

Bottom bevel (they always hit dont they?) this one doesnt its missed and gone off level with hoop 4.  One would like to think this is all over - in fact I do think that

Plays a poor shot to get a rush to 1 and plays it dreadfully cutting it to 3 yds SW of peg, that was hideous - "he took no time of care" says one of the spectators

Takes off to one cross pegging the oppo balls has a 7' 10 degree hoop

Runs it by a yard with a good looking shot

Misses the 8 yard forward roquet - oppo are cross pegged

blue 2 black 4back

red and yellow for 1

Red misses black (Rob thought joining up in the middle was the play - how B class is he?)

Yellow is wired from blue and black

Looks like a long think coming up no clues yet

Red moves to 2' north of corner 1

Rushes to 3 and takes off to corner 1

Plays it well Rob applauds but is a bit embarrassed and stops when nobody else does

Thicks out the red to behind hoop 4 going to yellow

Rolling up to 2 from yellow

1yard 20 degree hoop - run into the stream

Where's that thing?

Just looked at the lawn - this is all over

Here comes the thing - apparently it is a pitch fork with the tines bent

The fishermen continue looking and Dave is given another blue - that really is croquet for the benefit of spectators

What if this blue is a 1/1000th of an inch smaller than the one it replaced - how can this be allowed?  Is it covered in the laws?

The 4back peel is form a yard with a bit of split

The crowd are much more interested in the fishermen.  Cheerleaders are definitely the furture.

Gets the peel and a good rush.

The crowd is still 26 I think they are here for the duration, which should only be another 20 mins

Has a rush out of 5 with everything else looking good up at hoop 6

Glues the rush on the peg and has to take off, gets it into sort of escape ball position 2 yards NE of the peg

Gets the peel going to the ball by the peg

Shocking rush and he is taking croquet 1 yard SW of his 1 back pioneer needing to put out a 2 back pioneer

Puts the 2 back pioneer to the peelee

Hes trying his best to provide a feast

We are up to 5 fishermen now!

The 3 abck pioneer is poor 3 yards E of rover, its going to be a straight rover peel as he opts to make sure he gets a tight rush to 2back

Spanks through 2 back gets a good rush north outside chance of a peel going to 3 back now

The club fishermen have decided it is a CA ball and have told Patricia she will need to organise her own search party!

Giving himself the option of rushing across out of 3 back

Gets something just about playable - gets it 3 yards straight

If he gets it he will be able to have a maugham error at 4back whats the point of having an error named after you if you dont play for it?

Plays it at jawsing weight but it hills to the side.

Hes not gone to black after 4back - he had a rush.  Black is a foot SE of rover - not ideal

Runs penult with red at the hoop yellow at the peg and black as described - no rush

Red goes 2 yards S of rover rushes yellow tight to black

Just about get sthe black up so it should be trivial from here

Thats incredible the peel sticks from less than a foot the strikers ball hits it, peels it and his ball ends tight on the left hand wire - impossible

Black (peg) is 18" south of rover, red is 2 yards S of rover yellow is 1 yard west of yellow.  Not many options for blue

Blue goes to 15 yards S of corner 2

I am genuinely in shock that was all over.  Interesting position the pick up is definitely easier for Paul but if they are going to win in two turns I think it needs to be Michael to play.

I think Skinley has to play

Michael plays rushes black 2 yards N of yellow so it is pick up without a hoop 2 pioneer

Very very poor rush to 1 goes 4 yards past

Poor approach to 5 feet 20 degree runs it well

Ropey hoop 3 pioneer 3 yards NE of the peg and rushes striaght to hoop 2 2 and a bit yards ENE

Poor take off to a yard 20 degree runs its well.  The only shot he seems to have in his bag atthe moment is a hoop stroke - not a bad one to have

Still ignores the blue (good choice Dave and Rutger) gets a ball to 4 and a 3 yard rush to hoop 3 - hits it half ball to 7 yards S of hoop 3

Takes off to 4' 20 degrees - fails it to the middle of the hoop

Black from hoop 4 to the yellow 7 yards S of is about 13 yarder has called an umpire so the ball in the hoop must be in play

Struck it incredibly well - hits centre ball

Rushes it off the N boundary

Is going to peel the red having rolled to it

The blue ball has been found

Red missed yellow by quite a bit

Dave rushes on to the right hand wire of rover - this is all over

Dave & Rutger +23

The custard may be thinning but there are still two pretty solid lumps in it.