Croquet England Logo
Croquet England Logo

Bowdon beat Oxford University to win the Secretary's Shield 5-2

[<<] [>>] by Dr Ian Vincent at Nottingham
12th October 2014 (AC - Secretary's Shield)

Bowdon played Oxford University in the final of the Secretary's Shield on a bright sunny day at Nottingham. Bowdon conceeded bisques, having two -1s in their side, but started 2-0 up, as one of the Oxford players had fallen ill the previous day and was unable to travel.

Oxford won the doubles in 50 minutes, so the top singles started before lunch. Jordan beat Alan +14 to level the match, but Graham beat Mark to give Bowdon a 3-2 lead at lunch.

Shortly after the repast, Ken beat Ian to decide the match, leaving Adam and Mark still in play, in a game that provided plenty of spectator interest. Adam took his first ball, Black, to peg, potentially earning a CA Silver Award, but Mark then got Red round and pegged Black out, leaving Yellow for 5 and Blue for 2. Mark made more progress in the end-game, getting to
4-Back before taking a rather adventurous line of play which let Adam in. Adam played a 3-ball break with the pioneers well inside the rectangle formed by the corner hoops, but eventually missed the return roquet after 4-Back. Mark ran 4-Back himself, but left Adam too many shots while attempting to get position for penult. Adam hit and finished, to claim his award and give Bowdon the satisfaction of wining the majority of the games played.

The results, with Bowdon names first, were:

Alan Mayne & Ken Cooper lost to Ian Plummer & Jordan Waters -26
Graham Good beat Mark van Loon +15

Ken Cooper beat Ian Plummer +13
Alan Mayne lost to Jordan Waters -14
Adam Swinton beat Mark van Loon +4



 

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this news web page are those of the Editor and contributors. Croquet England is not responsible for statements other than those clearly identified as being made on its behalf. The full editorial policy is available online. The Web News Editor is the Croquet England Office.