Robbie Dodds won the Tompkinson Shield

[<<] [>>] by Andrew Gregory at Edgbaston
22nd August (AC)

Conditions at Edgbaston were unusually tricky, with mottled lawns of variable speed. Also the freshly set hoops were less forgiving than I remember.

I'm sure top players would have coped, but they are not allowed in this event. (The minimum handicap is -1.)

Games were thus longer than normal, as breaks were challenging, and so there were fewer one-sided games. (Over half the games had a single-figure margin.)

Next year one fewer entry will be accepted (13 rather than 14). This will halve average waiting time.

There was a clear winner as only Robbie Dodds won all his games. He won the Shield for the first time, having twice been runner-up.

The runner-up was Ged Smolskas.

Thanks to Tony for hoop-setting and assiduous watering, and to Esther and team for hosting and providing lunches and teas.