David Kaner joined eleven other high-bisque AC players from across the country in a tournament at Cheltenham on Monday and Tuesday. The lawns were fast. The hoops were tight. The scene was set for some great sport.
On day one, the twelve players were separated into three blocks of four. Everyone played three two and a half hour 18 point games with block winners and one ‘most improving’ player going forward to the semi-finals on day two.
David, in his first full season playing AC, started the day with a handicap of 14 and was on a nine game winning streak. In his first block match he had just 4.5 bisques against 10 for Colin Carver (handicap 22). David set little traps and waited patiently as Colin used his bisques to build a slim lead but then he broke through from two hoops behind to win the game 18-10 with nearly an hour to spare.
The second game after lunch was a monumental tussle between two 14 handicappers. David and Gill Wheeler stalked one another around the one-yard line and after a whole hour each had scored just one hoop. In an evenly-matched contest, both were cautious about leaving a four-ball break for the other. In what became a “war of attrition”, David eventually sneaked more one-off hoops than Gill to win 12-8 on time.
Refreshed by tea and cakes, David and Elaine Smith (18) squared up for a very different contest. The lawns at Cheltenham look as flat as ice rinks but, as David discovered, appearances can be deceptive. On his third go an over-ambitious croquet shot slid gently off the side of the lawn, sending him back to the bench and leaving a carefully crafted 4-ball break for his opponent.
Elaine burned through several bisques building a useful lead and keeping David off the lawn. When he finally got back on nothing seemed to go right for over half an hour. Then, after a long cold drink of squash, David powered back into the game, built two useful breaks and took the match 18-9, having duly noted the risks of dehydration on a glorious sunny afternoon.
On Tuesday morning David’s “block buddies” turned out to wish him luck in the semi-final before they took part in a coaching session offered by the club coaches at Cheltenham. David met Karen Newbold (16) for a full three and a quarter hour 26 point game.
David jammed in the jaws of several early hoops and had to use bisques to avoid leaving a ready-made four ball break for his rather capable opponent. Karen played an awesome game missing almost no roquet shots under 10 yards and hooping with confidence. David fought back with two useful breaks but Karen’s early lead proved too much and she won 20-12 on time. Karen went on to win the final in the afternoon and was awarded the trophy by Cheltenham President James Death.
The two losing semi-finalists were offered a choice of a play-off game or a coached session on AC skills on Tuesday afternoon. They both pushed for the latter and went home at the end of the afternoon with lots of useful ideas on how to improve their game – that elusive hunt for the perfect four-ball break. A great couple of days sport and many new friends on the AC circuit.
The final victim of the day was David’s handicap. Three wins out of four took his handicap down from 14 to 12 and his winning streak finally came to an end with a string of 12 victories on the card.
Well done David!