Nottingham B lost to Peterborough 0-11

[<<] [>>] by Debbie Lines at Nottingham
9 Jun (AC - Short Croquet Inter-Club)

Peterborough's Short Croquet Inter-Club Debut

Peterborough entered the Short Croquet Inter-Club for the first time this year, and we were delighted to be drawn against last year's champions - the somewhat questionably named Nottingham 'B' team. Surely the champions should be the A team?

Despite winning the toss, we happily accepted their offer to play at Nottingham and enjoy their superb lawns. As well as playing on some of the flattest and nicest lawns in the country, we were treated to excellent hospitality: a fabulous lunch featuring Eton Mess, followed by homemade banana cake for afternoon tea.

I'm afraid we rather abused that hospitality by beating them 11-0. It felt a touch unsporting, and certainly came as a surprise - especially as some of our team had never played a competitive game of Short Croquet before.

Thoughts on Short Croquet from an AC handicap -2

This was my first proper venture into competitive Short Croquet, and the prospect of four mandatory peels in a 14-point game was a little daunting. I've only played the indoor speed-croquet version before so was looking forward to seeing how the more measured pace of outdoor Short Croquet compared.

I was genuinely impressed by how competitive the games were, and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of having to complete four mandatory peels - all in unfamiliar places, rather than the routine of a standard TP. The mandatory-peel format also means that even when your opponent runs out of bisques, the game is far from over.

As an example, in my final game against Sarah Butler, she reached hoop 6 using only 1.5 of her 3.5 bisques. I went round, peeling her through 6 on my way to hoop 2, and then pegged her out. She reached hoop 3 with her remaining bisques, but I still had four mandatory peels to complete with my peg ball - not easy with Sarah hovering, ready to pounce on any loose leave. She hit in at least once, despite me setting quite a few nicely wired leaves. When time was called, she was for hoop 5 while I was for 6 and peg. We were tied, but I still had one peel to go. Because SC is handicap, I couldn't simply peg out for the winning point; I had to peel partner through 6. After some manoeuvring and another hit-in from Sarah, she took good position at hoop 5. Fortunately, I hit the 12-yarder I'd been left, moved her from in front of 5 to near corner 4, and set up in front of 6 with a dolly rush. She missed, and I finished with the required peel. It was extremely close - and genuinely exciting.

A thoroughly enjoyable day of croquet, with everyone - winners and losers - getting plenty of lawn time. What more could you want on a lovely summer's day. I recommend Short Croquet to everyone; it's a wonderfully interactive and engaging game for players of all levels.