Who’d have seen this coming?  Day Five of the test, and the Brits are fighting for survival against the USA.

My fellow pundits in the tent yesterday were remarking on the large number of missed lifts.  It’s been a phenomenon not just here, but at Heaton Park between the Southern Hemisphere teams.  Flat lawns, easyish conditions – so why so few spectacular long hit-ins?  Normally you’d expect a long-shot rate of 50% or more, but the crowds are saving their applause for what’s proving a much rarer feat.  As devotees know, fast lawns and testing hoops are the least of one’s worries when you’re dealing with tricks of the mind.

When I left last night, David Maugham was practising his hitting on Lawn 2.  I’ll say that again: David Maugham was practising.  In many people’s estimation, Maugham is the greatest player never to have been World Champion.  He was the world’s first supershot, and – on a good day – the most awesome of the British six.  The Worlds has eluded him (so far), but the Mac has always been his event.

So what’s going on?  Flashes of brilliance, but more than a few moments of rubbish.  Dave knows this as well as anyone.  If he’s reached that fatal point of dwelling on the errors and ignoring the masterful strokes, then it’s a difficult task to pick himself up and soldier on.

Will we see the genius – and I use that word carefully – of David Maugham of last week before we started, or the subdued David Maugham of the last four days?  It’s a big day ahead, and we’re all expecting to see him charging out of the starting gate, snorting like an angry bull.  One good hit, and a chance to get in among the balls, and we’ll see some of the Maugham fireworks we’ve come to expect.

Hi, everyone.  I'm all of a flutter, on the exciting fifth day.

Rich Lamm pegged out last night, and the USA team formed a huddle beside Lawn 2 – all high fives and air punches.  Right now, the Americans can do no wrong.  They’ve arrived as underdogs, and any match wins are a bonus.  The Brits come with high expectations, and have just one more day to meet those expectations.

I was chatting to Ian Lines a fortnight ago.  He thinks that psychology is overrated – sometimes you play well, and sometimes you lose.  You’re either naturally good under pressure, or you’re not.  The difference today is that all that pressure is lying on the shoulders of the GB team.

With an 8-4 lead just 48 hours ago, the British win wasn’t looking in doubt.  One bad day later, and the match is on a knife edge.  Counting through today’s fixtures, I’m still expecting the home team to advance to the next round with a victory under their belts, but it could come close.

Keith has the lowliest ranking of the six GB players, but – on paper – should still have the advantage.  Whatever happens, I think this lawn is going to be today’s key battleground.

Keith is off and running already.  His Red went as the trad supershot.  Doug's given a corner 4 response with Blue.  Keith missed it, and Doug's hit the not-double on the fourth turn.  He gets the rush into the fourth corner, and that's that for the next 20 minutes.

Aw shucks.  Chris and I are both editing the wrong pages.  Some of the mystery has been lost, as readers now notice that I've pre-written my daily intro over breakfast, and cut-n-pasted it into the commentary.

All my Aitonic postings above belong to another page, so please switch tabs to read further.

Here's where we stand five minutes into the game.

Rothman (Black) does the old supershot; Maugham (Yellow) goes to long point (the maximum distance on the east boundary); Rothman's Blue misses to corner 4; Maugham's Red misses Yellow.

Rothman shoots back up the boundary, leaving the lawn 10 yards north of oppo.  He's unhappy, as Maugham gets the rush to Hoop 1.

Go on, Dave Lad!

A slight angle on Hoop 2, but Maugham blasts it crisply through to the boundary.

A rush back towards the second corner after Hoop 3, and he's picking up the last wayward ball.

No surprises - Maugham has an MSL.  Black's wedged at Hoop 2, and Blue's at Hoop 4.

Ben leans nonchalantly on his mallet, and then starts practising his swing as Maugham plays the last placement.

He lifts the Hoop 2 ball, and misses from B-baulk into Corner 4.  Provided Blue rushes to Hoop 1, that'll be a standard TP for Maugham.

It kinda does, and Maugham has an approach from a couple of yards to the side.  He gets no rush back across towards Yellow, so has a big split sending Blue threewards.

He takes off to Black at Hoop 2, nudging Yellow into play, but overhitting.

A six yard roquet, which he dribbles to get a satisfactory approach from just behind the hoop.

Not ace - he gets an one yard hoop with a bit of angle.  Smashes through anyway, and gets position for the rush across on Black.

Maugham gets the standard triple out, but the first peel fails.  He's set up for another go after Hoop 6.

He grovels through Hoop 6, has no shot at Black, so shoots sideways at Blue, near 1-back.  He misses from seven yards.

A lot of practice swings from Ben, who eventually snicks the left edge of Black with Blue.  Yellow at 4-back is just about rushable to somewhere useful.

Maugham has the unpalatable clippage of 1-back and 4-back.

A leave from Rothman, who sends Yellow to Hoop 1, laying up in the third corner.  Maugham shoots at him and misses.

Rothman gets the first hoop, but no forward rush, a Hoop 2 pioneer (Red) in Corner 2, and a pivot (Yellow) somewhere between Hoop 3 and Corner 3.

He takes off to the Yellow, getting no apparent rush.

He plays the rush anyway, getting Yellow to the middle north boundary.

Ben rolls off Hoop 2 and fails, so joins in Corner 1.

Maugham hits Yellow at Red.

Solid.

Yellow goes to peg.  A tight diagonal spread with Blue on the peg.

Ben's on 1 (Black) and 2 (Blue).  Dave's on 1-back (Red) and peg (Yellow).

Hmm.  Disregard my previous claim of a tight leave.  I think the blind corner which I can't see was less good, as Ben lifted Black and hit the 13-yarder at Maugham's balls.  He's approaching Hoop 2, and has it all there.  Red is two yards out of Corner 4 as he comes to the third hoop.

Maugham's been under the gazebo by Lawn 3, but has just emerged to see what's happening up on Lawn 2, where Rutger's fighting back against a failed TPO.

This is probably for the best - Rothman's declined to have the Yellow off and give contact.  He gives a diagonal spread, with Yellow (for peg) at the peg.

Maugham is taking his time in choosing, and eventually opts for Red at the opponent from the end of A-baulk.  He finds the gap in the middle.

It's 2 and 4-back against 1-back and peg.

Ben's got some sort of delayed peeling set up.  He's for Hoop 5, and Black's waiting for him at 4-back.

Rothman tries the death roll going to 2-back.  No joy, and Black bounces a yard to the side of Penult.

Ben's lucky to worm through 3-back, but at least it guarantees him a forward rush.  Still two peels to do, and he looks to be close to having a three-ball cluster around Penult.  Tap tap tap, and he's all set for the delayed penult peel going to 4-back.

No peel and no cigar.  Ben's having this as a straight double.

No peeling position at Rover.

Ben is setting up a posthumous peel, from some wide angle.  I guess this'll land in the jaws, and there'll be some sort of multiball pegout.

Black lands dead on the outside left wire of Rover.  Ben rushes Red to the east boundary.  Looks like Yellow's coming off the ground.

Two balls are off.

DBM is Red and for 1-back; Ben is for Rover with Black.

Maugham shoots and hits a simultaneous hoop/ball combo.  Black squirts a foot off the hoop.

Red has position at 1-back.  Black gets a poorish Rover position.

Maugham is through as far as Corner 1.

HAVE IT!!!!

He hits Black dead centre, rushing it off the east boundary.

Dave fails to approach 2-back, so hides somewhere in from the east boundary.  Ben shoots and misses.

Maugham hits a five yarder, and has a 20 yard roll to 2-back.

Lunchtime crowds are arriving, and the marquee is filling up.

The roll's short again, but he's toying with the shot anyway.

Ooh, say the crowd.  Red has a good attempt, but spins off to the right.

Ben has a seven yard shot at Red, and he snicks it.

He needs a roll to Rover from in front of 2-back.

An angled hoop, and he's through easily.

Rothman beats Maugham +5

The kitchen staff tell us that the pies are here.  The referees are doing the business with the hoops, and it's looking ominous for GB.

That was a big test of my speed typing skills - a TPO finishing on Lawn 4 at the same time as a one ball game on Lawn 3.

Everyone's on their lunch break now, but it looks like I'll get a second game to commentate on.  Another busy afternoon ahead.

Game Two

Ben and Dave obviously eat faster than I do.  (In Dave's case, that goes without saying).  They've started already.

Maugham has Blue and Black, just to confuse the crowds.  He's put the supershot in place, and Ben's Yellow has gone to Corner 2.  Blue misses it on the right.

Red looks to have a monster monster double at Blue and Yellow from 13 yards.  He hits them simultaneously.

Yellow's a couple of yards into play, and he's got a poor rush to Hoop 1.  Probably good enough.

Ian Lines has been sitting with me this morning, as he wait for his late start.  On current results, he could be shouldering the burden of GB's success or failure.  Lorna, our dinnerlady, has just come out to offer him some food.  Understandably, Ian doesn't fancy eating anything.

Good-oh.  Some proper juggling from Maugham, as he keeps three croquet balls in the air.  Now one-handed with two balls.

I guess the Brits are all a bit nervy right now.

Ben has a proper four ball break going, and he's only on Hoop 3.

Ben's approaching Hoop 3 from partner Yellow which is in the jaws.  He's making sure that Red hasn't started to run before playing the shot.

Someone's playing saxophone in the Assembly Rooms.  It sounds a bit like late Coltrane (i.e. terrible).  I'm glad that I don't have to concentrate on playing this afternoon.

Ben's doing something a bit advanced.  He's just attempted a pop on Black, and got it mid-jaws at Hoop 1.  He proceeds to Hoop 5.

Applause from Lawn 2.  It's 9-8 as Beijderwellen takes the Brits back into the lead.

I'm surprised at myself, as I'm feeling a bit nervous.

Ben brings Blue down to 2-back, and rush peels the Black back up the lawn.

... Mulliner wins to go 10-8.

Dave has the juggling balls out again.

Ben's through 3-back, and is setting up the diagonal spread.

Black, now for Hoop 2, is over near the west boundary.  Blue is VERY tight on the peg.  Yellow and Red have a join near corner 4.  Blue is rushable to Hoop 1, but he'll have to be careful.

Another trick of the angles from my vantage point.  Blue wasn't on the peg, but was open on Black.  Maugham shoots at Black from where it lies, and misses.

Ben's left Red behind, and taken off.

Off.

Red is a foot off the boundary by Hoop 4, and David has a three ball break with Blue.

Now he has a four ball break with Blue.

Now he has no break.  He has a longish, angledish Hoop 4, and he blasts it, getting left wire and ricocheting towards Hoop 5.  Fortunately, he's crosswired from Yellow, which sits tight on the far side.

No - he's not crosswired.  That's just my eyesight.  Ben rushes Blue full ball towards Red and Black down near the fourth corner.

Maugham is 2 (Black) and 4 (Blue) against Rothman's 4-back (Red) and 1 (Yellow).  Yellow is in play.

There's a lot of it about.  Yellow gets full right wire on an angled Hoop 1.  He bounces off away from Black.

Maugham hits, and he's going.  He gets the rush to Hoop 2, and looks deflated after the approach.

False alarm, everyone.  He'd sent the object ball close to, but not over, the boundary.

The balls are placed well enough for a TPO.

Will he?

Won't he?

Ah.  Of course he will.  Red's now for Penult.

Maugham's loosening up.  He comes through 4 and snicks the Blue which he'd planned to rush up the lawn.  He grins to himself, rolls his eyes and mutters as he waves a hand in disbelief.

Through Hoop 5, with a rush beyond the peelee.

Too much vigour goes into the striker's ball, as he gets the wrong side of Red for a rush to Penult.  He rolls it over there anyway.

Red slides across the face of Penult as the peel fails.  The break remains tidy enough.

Maugham plays a death roll through Penult.  A tremendous shot, which drops Red in front of Rover, giving a two foot rush on Blue to 2-back.

Dave looks disappointed that everyone's watching a boring game on the next lawn.  No applause comes from the marquee, so I give a spontaneous ripple myself.  He grins and gives me a thumbs up.

Sorry to American readers if I start to show some bias.

He's moving so fast I can barely keep up.  Red's jawsed in Rover before 3-back and rush-peeled immediately after.

It's easy to be wise after the event.  Had Ben not popped Black through Hoop 1, Dave wouldn't have had the opportunity for this break.

There's a ball at Penult, a ball at Rover and the peelee is loitering around the middle of the lawn.  Reminder: Blue is for 4 and Yellow's for 1.  The position of the other two clips in the next two minutes will be inevitable.

Blue is on the east boundary, level with Hoop 4.  Yellow's been abandoned near the peg.  Black's tight in the second corner.

... and Red is back in the box.

For those who don't follow this sort of thing, that's the standard leave from here.  Blue is placed so it's awkward for Yellow to roll up to the first hoop.  Ben goes for it anyway, and gets a six yard slightly angled hoop.

FIST!

You gotta be happy with a shot like that.

He sails through and nearly runs the second hoop in the same shot.  Yellow hits the Black in Corner 2.  Blue is between Hoops 1 & 2, and level with Hoop 5.

He rolls Black to the third hoop, and gets a rush on Blue.  That's a laid break.

Could this take the score to 10-9 with two matches to finish?

This is all laid out now.  Maugham is up on the Lawn 3 grandstand looking on intently.  The result of this game - and the match - is out of his hands for now.

Rothman's on Penult.

It's curtains for Maugham.

Ben Rothman beats David Maugham +5, +10OTP.

It 10-9, with GB needing at least one of the remaining games.

That's me finished now.  I'm off to the clubhouse to see whether m'colleague, Chris Clarke, wants to reallocate duties to me for one or other or both of the remaining matches.