[<<] [>>] by Rodger Lane
3rd January 2007 (International)

The Open Singles finished today. The final was won by Chris Clarke in a 4-game match beating Ian Lines 26tp-0 , 1 -26tp, 26tp-0 , 26tpo.
Jenny Williams provides the following description of this match...

Game 1

Ian won the toss and went first. Chris elected to play red/yellow.
1. Ian to east boundary 18 yards north of corner 4
2. Chris laid 16 yard tice
3. Ian hit the tice, made a spread
4. Chris hit from B baulk, went to 4back with an MSL
5. Ian missed long lift with hoop4 ball
6. Chris finished. +26TP

Game 2

Chris elected to go first.
1. Chris to 16 yards north of corner 4
2. Ian shot at Chris's ball from A baulk, missing.
3. Chris hit the double. Made hoop1 and ended up approaching hoop2 from 6 yards in front and over-approached. Went to corner 4
4. Ian hit 5 yarder, went around. Diagonal spread leave.
5. Chris lifted the ball at the peg and missed the long lift.
6. Ian finished with a delayed TP.

Game 3

Ian elected to go first.
1. Ian went 18 yards up east boundary from corner 4.
2. Chris missed into corner 4.
3. Ian hit down the boundary hitting the front ball of the double. Split croqueted ball between hoops 1 and 2 and missed a 4 yarder at Chris's ball in corner 4.
4. Chris shot from A baulk missing to 3 yards east of corner 2 off north boundary.
5. Ian took off from corner 4 to in-lawn partner ball, rushed this 2 yards south of Chris's north-boundary ball. Croqueted Chris's ball to level with hoop1 and dribbled back to near partner (which was directly north of hoop 2).
6. Chris hit the ball which didn't rush well to hoop1, went to 4back with an MSL.
7. Ian missed long lift with hoop 4 ball.
8. Chris finished.

Game 4

Chris elected to go first.
1. Chris laid standard supershot ball - about 2.5 yards north-west of hoop 5
2. Ian to about 2 feet south of corner 2
3. Chris hit, over-rolled to supershot ball leaving a horizontal rush (aimed partner at hoop 2, but missed that). Rushed to 1.5 yards closer to hoop 1, backward take-off hilled a bit and ended up on the back of 2-back. Went to corner 4.
4. Ian hit 12 yarder at supershot ball. Went to 4back with a spread where the ball at the peg had a slightly hampered ball-and-a-half target.
5. Chris hit from peg. TPOed and had a standard leave.
6. Ian took croquet from ball in corner 2, rolled it 3 yards north of hoop1, leaving himself a 7 yarder at Chris's hoop1 ball, which he hit. Rolled croqueted ball to 2, ending up north of hoop1. Played a good shot to take 5-foot wired position.
7. Chris retired ball at hoop 1 to corner 4.
8. Ian ran hoop1 up to hoop2, rushed ball at hoop2 behind hoop2, made 2, didn't get a rush to 3. Got a rush to south boundary. Declined this, tapped ball, over-rolled to hoop3. Took 5 foot position at hoop3 leaving Chris an 8 yarder. Chris declined this and went to corner 2 (hoop1 in the way of going to corner 1).
9. Ian ran hoop3 to 3 yards from corner 4. Rolled off hoop 4 badly, ran a long angled hoop to the boundary. Approached hoop 5 from 8 yards in front, ran it up to the ball at hoop6. Approached and made hoop6, rushed into corner 2. Played a bad cannon, but established break. Failed 4-back from 2 feet straight of Chris's peg ball.
10. Chris hit 5 yarder at ball in 4-back, rolled it to hoop3. Rushed partner towards hoop1, croqueted it 3yards in front of hoop1 and propped the peg ball on the left-hand wire of hoop1.
11. Ian to 1 yard west of corner 4.
12. Chris made 1. Rushed to corner 4. Rushed to hoop2. Got decent rush out of hoop 2 back to ball near corner 4. Rushed to a yard off the end of A baulk. Played a bad take-off getting rush pointing to middle of west boundary. Rushed it 9 yards west of hoop3. Over-rolled approach. Guarded the shot.
13. Ian missed.
14. Chris finished.

In the best of 5 final in the Y section AJ Reid beat Ian Vincent 26 -5 , 26tp-0 , 11-26 , 26-20
This was a match between youth hitting hard and straight and age being careful. The last game ended with a 2-ball contest. AJ was for 6 and Ian for Hoop 1. Both made errors but AJ with the hoop advantage and better shooting made it too difficult for Ian to catch up.

The Z was run as a flexible Swiss event with 9 players in the final contest (although others also played games). Paddy Chapman won with 80% wins. (Won 4 out of 5 of his games.)

The Men's championship begins tomorrow.