Letchworth Croquet Club
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Match Reports 2019
EACF Level-Play B-League    Enfield v Letchworth Falcons September 6th
 
It was the last league match of the season, and might well have been considered a ‘dead’, unnecessary one.   Enfield’s all-conquering team was undefeated in two years, had beaten Letchworth Kites, and was in an unassailable position at the top of the Level-Play B-league.   But today’s Letchworth Falcons team – Sheila and Stuart Haggett, Colin Davies and Colin Gregory – set off for North London undaunted.

They found the courts at Enfield Croquet Club challenging, and somewhat rougher and more unpredictable than those at home.   The four doubles were shared two-all.  All square.   The first round of the singles, however, was a disaster: a clean sweep for Enfield.   2 – 6 down!

The Letchworth players clawed their way back, winning three out of four in the next round.   5 – 7 down.   Finding their way on the hosts’ lawns, Letchworth made a clean sweep of the third singles round.   9 – 7 up. It was all to play for in the final round; when it was shared two all, Letchworth emerged as winners 11 – 9, scoring 107 hoops against Enfield’s 106.   At the end of a mixed season, this was a sweet victory, in which the area champions were pegged back.   Well done the Haggetts and the Colins, and to our Team Captain Trish, who was not playing today.

As always, our hosts were welcoming and hospitable.  Thank you to Brian Dawe, David Barnicoat, David G Hill and Kim Taylor.  No doubt they will seek revenge next year.

C R G   06.09.2019  
.
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Falcons v Northampton August 13th Won 11 - 7
I am glad to report that Falcons won the day – hurrah!!
Northampton fielded a strong team including a lady of 81! She won 3 of her 4 singles and was indefatigable.
Falcons had a good start winning 3 of the 4 doubles. However, a bit of a lapse in the first round of singles allowed Northampton to catch up.  The next 2 rounds were 2 games to each side, leaving everything to play for in the final round. Luckily Falcons won 3 singles – including a nail biting game where John Hall managed to beat his opponent at the golden hoop, which gave us the victory.
Well done to all the Falcons!

Blues v Meldreth August 9th
Report by Ray Scroggins
In the final league game of the season Letchworth Blues beat Meldreth by 11 games to 7 games.
 
The team consisted of Hugo Jeune, Lynn Wood, Sheila & Stuart Haggett.
 
The Blues started as they meant to go on by winning both the doubles matches and followed this up by winning 3 of the 4 games in the first round of singles.
 
The remaining three rounds were shared with Meldreth with each team winning two games each.
 
The man of the match was Stuart Haggett who won all his matches closely followed by Hugo Jeune who won four out of his five matches.
 
The weather was fairly kind to us with just one shower but a great deal of gusty winds.


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Reds v Newport Oaks
2nd August
Lost 6 - 12

Report Trish Noble
As you can see it does not make very happy reading. The team obviously lacked inspiration from the acting captain (me). We lost both doubles games – which seems to be a weak point for both Reds and Falcons this year. Our star player was David Clancey who won 3 of the 4 singles and therefore saved us from total humiliation. The rest of the team did less well, winning 1 each. Special mention for Graham and Sue who beat their Newport’s best player (a 3 handicap), so well done to them.  We had a good day out though against a very friendly team on their 3 (very fast) lawns.
Team: Trish Noble, David Clancey, Graham Styles
, Sue Bathmaker

EACF AC match v Meldreth - July 31st Drew 3 - 3
The points were shared in our final league match against Meldreth,
The morning two double games ended with a win each after close on three hours play,
Terry Mahoney and Colin Davies won +19 with George Woolhouse and John Noble losing -14,
In the afternoon with four single match’s to be played, Terry Mahoney game was first to finish losing -17,
John Noble evened the match up with a +25 win, next to finish Colin Davies with a +13 win putting Letchworth in front, so all on the last match to finish with George Woolhouse looking well beaten at one stage fought back but eventually losing -7 leaving the match drawn 3-3.

 
EACF Handicap League  -  Reds v Enfield  -  16th July 2019
Reds: David Clancey (4), Trisha Noble (6), Tracy Martin (6), Graham Styles (7)
Enfield: Andrew Fall(4), Thomas Halliday(5), Marian Cuckson(9), Mary Grove(14/12)
 
Another match, another disaster, another disappointment :-(

I think we can quite simply say that Enfield thrashed us, helped considerably by their Mary Grove (handicap 14 playing as a 12) who could do no wrong on the day and, even without her handful (and more) of extra turns, would have been hard to beat.
We started off by losing both the doubles and didn't really pick up much after that although there were many very close results and golden hoops. There were valiant efforts by Trish (won 2 games) and David and Graham (won 1 game each) but Enfield played well and it just wasn’t our day.  The final score was 4-14 (89 hoops to 113) and the cakes were plentiful and yummy!!
Report: Tracy Martin

Kites GC B-level match v Newport Hawks July 23rd Won 14 - 6
.For once we won clearly. 
On a hot and sunny day Letchworth Kites had an excellent day winning all 4 doubles matches and then 10 of the 16 singles matches to run out clear winners

Falcons GC B-level match v Wrest Park Letchworth lost 9 - 11
July 12th

Report by Tricia Noble
On the plus side it was an ideal day for croquet and we all enjoyed our day. Unfortunately it was another loss for Falcons despite our valiant efforts. Having said that I was very pleased to win 3 of my singles – hurrah!
Many thanks to Colin Gregory who did the scoring and timekeeping – he organised us efficiently and ensured the day ran smoothly.

 

Letchworth Blues v Newport Oaks - 9th July 2019
Letchworth Blues welcomed the Oaks team from Newport Croquet Club near Saffron Walden for a league game last Tuesday.
The match commenced with two double games both of which were won by the visitors.
The following first round of four singles games were all won by  Letchworth but then Newport won all the third round games.
After lunch there were two further rounds which were shared equally between the two teams so giving overall victory to Newport Oaks.
The afternoon concluded with tea and cakes provided by the home team who congratulated Newport Oaks on their victory by a margin of 10 games to 8 games.   
 

 2019 East Anglia GC Open League – Letchworth steal win away to Watford
Watford made full use of their home advantage and strength in depth to take an early lead winning three of the four opening doubles games.  As the Letchworth players began to grow accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of Watford’s courts they were able to halve the first two rounds of singles.  By midday the 4th of July was baking hot and the hard, dry and fast conditions, though draining in which to play, seemed increasingly to favour Letchworth and all four team members seemed to find their ‘A’ game.  Letchworth were tying the match 8-8 at the conclusion of the penultimate round and, as the final round of games drew towards a conclusion the score was 10-9.  It all rested on Ian Mantle in the last remaining game to determine whether it would be a tie or a win for Letchworth.  Mantle kept his teammates in suspense, and his nerve, to settle the result on the final hoop.  Result: an outstanding 11-9 win for Letchworth playing away to last year’s winners.  The hoop count 113 to 111 shows just was a close hard fought match it had been.  Letchworth: John Noble (-2), John Skingsley (1), Ian Mantle (4) and Colin Davies (4).  Watford: Simon Hathrell (-1), Jason Carley (0), Geoff Johnson (0), Steve Dennis (2). 
John Noble

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Blues win 10 - 8 against Newport Elms.
June  18th.  EACF GC Away match
Team Peter Aspinall, Hugo Jeune, Colin Gregory and Andy Kennedy


.EACF Handicap League - Meldreth v Letchworth Reds - Friday 7th June.

Team: David Clancey (4), Robert Staddon (5), Tracy Martin (6)

Oh dear - The Reds did not have a good day at Meldreth. We started with mixed results - on the single lawn Tracy played Lin Wallbridge (won 7-5), while the Doubles pair (David and Robert) played against Meldreth's Robert Skeen and Roger Wallbridge - unfortunately losing 7-2. The day didn't get any better as the rain came down without let-up and dampened all spirits . Red's man of the match was undoubtedly David who saved us from total humiliation by winning all of his 3 singles games (7-6, 7-2, 7-5). The match was lost 4-6 but the post-match tea and cakes provided by the ever-friendly Meldreth team almost made up for it.

EACF AC match v Wrest Park May 30th away. Draw 3 - 3
Report by Bryan Harral

We managed to overcome the complications today of 3 players versus 4 players. It’s a long story which I’m sure your team will tell you but you may get the gist of it from the results below. We had George’s clone playing in the doubles in the morning and Peter, as a member at Letchworth, changing allegiance in the afternoon. I joined the team in Peter’s place in the afternoon. I don’t know what the rules say but my view is that we are here to play croquet and I wanted to include everyone who turned up to play. The result was a draw, 3-3, which everyone felt was a fair outcome. I have reported the results to Simon Hathrell.
 
John Tew (5) and Richard Keighley (12) lost to George Woolhouse (3) and George Woolhouse (3) -8T
 
David Woolley (7) and Peter Aspinall (11) lost to Jeremy Scott (3.5) and Martin King (14) -6T
 
Bryan Harral (-0.5) beat George Woolhouse (3) +18
 
John Tew (5) beat Jeremy Scott (3.5) +11
 
David Woolley (7) lost to Peter Aspinall (11) -5
 
Richard Keighley (12) beat Martin King (14) +6T


2019 East Anglia GC Open League – Letchworth Lose Away at Northampton
In their first away match of the season Letchworth struggled to come to terms with the home advantage given by Northampton’s indifferent courts, which was further compounded by some atrocious weather.  Nonetheless, Letchworth made a good start, but this wasn’t maintained through the afternoon session and though many of the individual games were close, Northampton were the clear winners 13-7 (Hoops +11).  Letchworth stay top of the table on hoop difference, though Watford have a game in hand.  Revenge against Northampton will have to wait as Letchworth play them again at home in their last and potentially deciding match of the season.  Letchworth: John Noble (-2), David Tutt (-1), John Skingsley (1), Jeremy Scott (2).  Northampton: Jayne Stevens (-1), Mike Hills (-1), Les Heard (0), Peter Stansfield (2). 
EACF GC B-level Kites v Wrest Park Drew 10 - 10
June 10th 2019

On a wet and dreary day the Letchworth Kites travelled to Wrest park for a B level play match.
The rain set in before the match started and continued throughout the day.
The initial doubles matches went to Wrest Park with the second round of doubles going to the Kites.
So scores were level as we went into the singles matches.
The singles matches in each round were evenly split between the hosts and the visitors.
And at the end of a very soggy day the score was even at 10 games each. 
The Kites, however, claimed a moral victory scoring 115 hoops against Wrest parks 109.
Andy



2019 East Anglia GC Open League – Second home win for Letchworth
In a carbon copy of the first league game of the season against Watford, Letchworth beat Enfield 13-7 (Hoops 120-108) on Tue 28 May to keep their slot at the top of the table.  Letchworth looked the stronger side on paper and took an early lead winning all four of the opening doubles games.  The 16 all-play-all singles games were hard fought, but Letchworth always looked the likely winners going into lunch at 9-3 up.  Letchworth’s John Skingsley was again the man of the match winning all of his games for the second time running.  The victory was already secure before the final round of games and perhaps understandably Enfield fought the harder to give a final score of 13-7.  Letchworth: John Noble (-2), Brian Havill (1), John Skingsley (1), Peter Ross (2).  Enfield: David Frost (-2), Henry Hobbs (3), Brian Dawes (3), David Hill (3).  Our next three matches are all away: first at Northampton, who have a very strong squad this season; and, with their marked home advantage on difficult courts maintaining our winning run will be a real challenge.
John Noble

EACF GC B-level match Letchworth Kites v Leighton Linslade May 10th
Report by Andy Kennedy
Kites lost 8 - 12
Playing were Hugo Jeune, Peter Aspinall,  Andy Kennedy, and Lynn Wood.
The day started well with with some crisp sunshine and a 3-1 lead after the doubles.
The next round of singles levelled the score and we remained neck and neck until the final round of singles
Then the storm clouds rolled in and the home advantage told as we lost the final round.
Must tell the team to have more Weetabix for breakfast.


EACF GC HANDICAP LEAGUE 2019: Letchworth Reds v Newport Elms May 10th
Report by Tracy Martin

Reds lost 7 - 11
The Letchworth Red team played their second match of the season at home to Newport Elms on Friday 10 May. Despite persistent rain for the two days beforehand, we were extremely lucky that, apart from a very light shower or two, we were able to complete our match in fairly sunny and pleasant conditions against a very amiable Newport team.
Red Team:  David Clancey (4), Robert Staddon (5), Tracy Martin (6), Sue Bathmaker (8)
Newport Elms: Fran Lambert (6), Tim Ham (7), John Tapscott (7), John Sibson (7)
The Reds did not get off to a good start losing both the opening Doubles games. Worse was to come in the first round of singles when the very experienced  Elms side, making good use of their extra turns, won 3 of the 4 games. Round 2 improved matters slightly with a score of 2 games each. After a pleasant lunch break the theme continued with another 2 games each in round 3, followed by yet another 2 games each in round 4.  This left us with a losing score of 7-11,  although we did actually score one more hoop than the Elms at 99-98 – scant consolation for a disappointing result.  Red’s man of the match was Tracy Martin who won 3 of her singles games losing the fourth only at the golden hoop to a very on-form John Sibson.
Despite the losing score-line a good day was had by all and a tasty array of cakes were provided by the Reds  for our post-match tea.  Our thanks to Paul Martin who stepped in at the last moment to cover the score and time keeping.

EACF AC match v Watford
8th May Watford won 4 - 2

AM - Terry Mahoney and Colin Davies lost to Nick Archer and John Smallbone -12, and George Woolhouse and I lost to Geoff Johnson and Adam Huby -4.

PM - Terry lost to Geoff -6 (T), George beat NIck +10, Colin beat John +1(T), and I lost to Adam -4.


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EACF GC B-level match Falcons v Newport Harriers 7th May
Report by Trish Noble

Falcons battled bravely but Newport Harriers won by 13 games to 7. Despite the difference in number of games won by Newport, it was a close match; Newport scoring 112 hoops to Falcons 99.  Considering that Newport fielded a team with  considerably lower handicaps then Falcons, it was a very good effort.
Team:
David Clancey
Colin Davies
Sue Bathmaker
Paul Martin

EACF GC HANDICAP LEAGUE 2019
The Letchworth Blue and Red teams started their League fixtures playing each other on Tuesday 23rd April.
Red Team: Colin Davies (4), Peter Brock (4), Tracy Martin (6), Susan Griffiths (8)
Blue Team: Colin Gregory (4), Hugo Jeune (4), Andy Kennedy (6), Stuart Haggett (8)
The Reds made a determined start to the day, winning both of the Doubles games, but the first round of singles was a win of two each. The Blues pulled back in the second round, winning 3 of the 4 games; the Reds fought back in round 3 reversing the situation with 3 wins themselves. Round 4 was a nail-biter for the Reds as the Blues came out fighting and the match was so nearly a draw, dependant on the very last game which was eventually won by Peter Brock (v Andy Kennedy) 6-2 when timed-out. 
Reds won 10 - 8
Joint men of the match were  Reds -  Peter Brock and Tracy Martin each winning their doubles game and three of the 4 singles but also Blues -  Stuart Haggett  who won all four of his singles .
Non-playing manager of the Blues, Ray Scroggins ably assisted by Jan, did a fine job of organising the day (even the weather was glorious) and acting as time-keeper through-out. Cakes provided by Tracy and Andy Kennedy went  well with the cups of tea afterwards and a splendid day was had by all.

2019 East Anglia GC Open League - Letchworth off to a flying start
April 19th
Report by John Noble

First match of the season, home to Watford, last season’s winner.  A strong team effort against a side stronger on paper meant Letchworth were 3-1 up after the opening rounds of doubles.  But with sixteen singles still to go, it was all very much to play for.  After the first round, however, Letchworth had taken a commanding lead, winning all four of the opening singles, to make the match to 7-1.  With the Letchworth player each dominating their opponent, a home win seemed the likely outcome.  As expected, Watford fought back after lunch.  As the pace of the lawns, deceptively slow in the morning, increased in the blaze of the hot sun and Letchworth relaxed, each of the remaining three rounds were halved 2-2.  But it was too little too late from Watford and Letchworth secured a excellent victory 13 games to 7 (Hoops 127-110).  John Skingsley was the man of the match winning all bar one of his games.  We play Watford away on 4 July when we can expect them to go all out for revenge.  Our next match is at home to Enfield on 28 May.   Thanks to Peter Ross for refereeing: there were only a few tricky issues to keep him occupied.  Letchworth: John Noble (-1), Brian Havill (1), John Skingsley (1), Jeremy Scott (2).  Watford: Simon Hathrell (-1), Jason Carley (-1), Alan Clark (1), Steve Dennis (1). 

EACF B-level GC match Kites v Falcons April 16th
Report by Andy Kennedy

First match of the season was played under sunny skies at Letchworth.  The Falcons got off to a flying start winning all 4 of the doubles games.  The Kites fought back levelling the scores in the first round of singles and then went ahead  in the next round,  The Falcons then raised their game and won the last 4 games winning the match by 11 games to 9.  Congratulations Falcons , better luck in the next match Kites.