Category: News

Next week, members of Broadwas Croquet Club (BCC), who are additionally members of the Broadwas Sports Association (BSA), are being asked to consider an important step in the future organisation of our sport at Stoney Ley. 

At a special general meeting of the croquet club and the BSA, members will be asked to vote on a proposal to merge the two bodies, thus streamlining the management and finances of the club. The attendance of members at this meeting is critical in order to develop the club over the next few years. 

The Special General Meeting will be held at the clubhouse on Friday 24^th July, at 12.00pm. Your attendance would be very much appreciated. 

As some members may know, Stoney Ley was formerly home to football and cricket teams which were overseen by the BSA. In 1998, on the creation of the croquet club by founder John Barber, the club became an associated section of the Broadwas Sports Association.  As interest in football and cricket waned in the village over the years, the croquet club went from strength to strength, growing to around 70 members whilst developing five lawns. 

Despite croquet being the only sport played regularly in recent times (bowls was also played on the Stony Ley lawns at one time), the finances of the croquet club are to this day still controlled by the BSA. The BSA also holds the title to the lawns (through three trustees), buildings and equipment. This means that any proposed improvements to facilities or repairs to buildings or equipment have to be approved by the BSA before money is released to the BCC, despite the fact that most of the BSA’s income comes directly from BCC member fees. 

Consequently, the current management structure, consisting of two separate committees, has become unwieldy over the past few years.  Earlier this year, a steering group consisting of members from both management committees was formed to consider a proposal by current BSA Chair Malcolm Armstrong, to merge the BCC and BSA in order to simplify and streamline management processes. 

The proposed new entity will be renamed Broadwas Croquet Club and Sports Association and the club will be empowered to develop a strategic plan to not only maintain, but to develop the lawns, buildings and equipment stock in order to facilitate the growth of the club over the next few years. 

Since the spring, there have been many meetings of the BSA, BCC and Task Group and one such meeting took place on Tuesday, at the clubhouse. Chaired by Malcolm Armstrong, this meeting of the BSA, attended by committee members Stuart Smith, Chris Croft, Peter Hill, Jim Dryden, Jonathan Gadd, secretary Paula Armstrong and co-opted club captain John Guy, considered many important topics that members may not be aware of. John Steele sent his apologies. By invitation, I sat in on the BSA meeting. What follows is just a flavour of the important work that our management committees have to consider over the year. 

Currently, both the BCC and BSA are having to deal with problems associated with lawn damage caused by rabbits and the extraordinarily dry weather as well as consider the replacement of old mowing equipment and the management of waste from the toilet blocks. 

Fencing 

Malcolm Armstrong reported that the perimeter fencing around the lawns had been inspected and damaged sections where rabbits appeared to have entered the grounds had been identified. Heavy-duty galvanised wire netting and fittings had been purchased at approximately £350–£400, plus contractor costs. Malcolm announced that repairs to the fence were scheduled to begin at 6.00 am on Wednesday15 July and were expected to be completed within the day, if possible.

Planning Application and Grant

In a written report, John Steele said that legal grant documents were expected shortly, followed by  grant monies from Malvern Hills District Council. The committee approved delegated authority for Stuart Smith to sign the grant documents, with Malcolm as second signatory if required. Subject to the grant agreement being acceptable, Stuart was also authorised to order two electric mowers and associated equipment after consulting Malcolm. The mower funding is expected before the replacement shed funding, which remains subject to planning permission. Members are to receive a clear update on the grant, proposed purchases and club contribution. 

Lawns, Irrigation and Fixtures

Concerns have been expressed regarding the state of the club lawns following the extended dry period and relentless  sun. The Broadwas heat of the national B-Level and C-Level GC competition was considered to be at risk but prior to the committee meeting, tournament manager Jeff Faulkner advised that in his opinion, the state of the  lawns were acceptable. Jim Dryden confirmed that damaged rain-train hoses had been repaired, though testing was still required. It had been discovered in recent days that rabbits had chewed through important sections of the hoses. The committee agreed to revert from three irrigation lines to two, as this was more manageable and known to work. A volunteer training session was arranged for 4.00 pm on Friday after roll-up. Volunteers to help share the work involved in setting up the rain-train, would be welcome. Stuart Smith agreed to mow the long grass around the perimeter and show others how to use the new John Deere mower.

Gazebo

The committee discussed purchasing a gazebo for events and match days. A larger, higher-quality option was preferred. Paula Armstrong agreed to research suitable models and circulate recommendations for approval. It is hoped that a gazebo might be accessed before the summer lunch, in August.

Croquet England 

Club captain John Guy, co-opted on to the committee, reported that Croquet England is changing the All England GC tournament format next year and asked whether Broadwas would host an open qualifying event. The change introduced by CE would mean that members of other clubs could enter the tournament at Stoney Ley. Usually, the heat is for Broadwas members only. The committee agreed. 

Financial Report

BSA treasurer Stuart Smith reported a bank balance of approximately £18,400, including £18,000 on deposit, compared with £16,600 at the start of the year. All bills were paid up to the point of the meeting. Membership stood at 76, including eight social members.

Waste System

The committee discussed whether the whether a professional survey should be commissioned to look at the waste disposal unit. A representative from the company the croquet club uses to empty the septic tank had advised that a proper survey may cost around £500. Chris agreed to contact Aqua Cleansing for further advice and costs. Malcolm agreed to speak to Bob Oliver about the possibility of fitting a flotation pump. Peter Hill was thanked for continuing to monitor and manage the system.

Task Group and Constitution

The task group’s work on the new constitution was discussed. Points raised by members about land use, future sporting activities, dissolution and membership availability were noted. The Special General Meeting was confirmed for Friday 24 July 2026 at 12.00 noon. Members are to be reminded of the lane closure between 22 and 24 July at the bottom of Stoney Ley and are to advised on access. The SGM will focus on approving the new constitution, subject to HMRC approval; committee appointments and co-options will be dealt with afterwards.

At the end of the meeting, I was exhausted just listening to all the work that had been done by committee members. Both the BSA and BCC currently hold monthly meetings and some of the work is necessarily replicated by the two committees due to the current management structure. Fusion of the two management committees will enable quicker decision-making and clear the path for plans to develop the croquet club.

Paul Felton

By John Guy

The BBQ (Bonkers Broadwas Quartet – also known as the AC team) decided they would play their match at Church Stretton on 9th July despite that fact that there was an Amber Heat warning in place.

The BBQers team of Stuart Smith (handicap 4.5), Ian Dampney (6), Ian Lambert (9) and captain John Guy (5) refused to be grilled about their desire to play except to say they were up for it and ‘cooking on gas’.  They faced a Church Stretton team of George James (5), captain Brian Christmas (7), Shelley Hennell (9) and Claire Nicholas (18) in the West Midlands AC League.

The Church Stretton lawns are surrounded by trees, so at least there was shade while you were sitting out but most of the playing surface was straw coloured making it extremely difficult to position balls exactly. This meant none of the matches ‘pegged out’ and all went to full time.

In the morning doubles Ian Lambert and John gave 6.5 bisques to Brian and Claire but managed to win 15 – 8 in a game where getting a 2 hoop break was impressive.

In the 2 morning singles, Stuart played Shelley and had to give her 4.5 bisques. Shelley seemed to be one player who could control the balls and triumphed 15 – 10. Ian Dampney had to play George and managed the biggest break of the day (8 hoops) and carried on his good form to win 23 – 11.

Lunch was taken with Broadwas leading 2 – 1.

The 4 afternoon singles started in the hottest part of the day, and no-one was able to build big breaks, many breaking down as the ball just would not stop in front of some of the hoops. This meant all the games were very close affairs. Ian Lambert was playing Claire and because of the difference in their handicaps and some strange rules, he was able to reduce the game to an 18 pointer, hoping to finish more quickly. The best laid plans etc. After 3 hours Ian won 9 – 7.

On the same lawn John played Brian and both players appeared to be missing in order to get back into the shade quickly. The most exciting thing was the trains thundering past within 15 yards of the edge of the pitch. Somehow, after 3 hours, John was ahead and won 16 – 15.

On the other lawn the stories were similar, with no really good breaks. Ian Dampney had a defensive battle with Shelley eventually going down 8 – 12 while Stuart managed to get his nose ahead of George to sneak it  19 – 18.

In total, in the 4 afternoon games, each team managed exactly the same overall score of 52 hoops. This is probably about half of what you would normally expect.

But, overall, a win for Broadwas by 5 – 2. So, well done Broadwas and, to return to the cooking theme, all the players were also ‘well done’ by this point.

I hope you will forgive me a small ego trip. In May 2022 my AC handicap became 5. Over 4 years and many, many matches (win one, lose one, win one, lose one etc. etc) it stayed at 5 until the afternoon’s win in the match took it to 4.5 (yes you can have a half in AC). The moral is never, ever give up or stop believing. And well done me!!

The team were also pleased as they got free ice creams and cold drinks.

Now let us hope we can get our lawns at Broadwas in shape for meetings with Kenilworth and Shrewsbury in late August.

John Guy      11/7/26

Report by John Guy

On 3rd July the Broadwas AC team of Stuart Smith (handicap 4.5), Ian Lambert (9), David Kaner (10) and captain John Guy (5) assembled in the countryside at Eardisley to play the home team of Tony Johnston (7), John Bottomley (14), John Richardson (14) and John Lee (20) in the West Midlands AC League. Broadwas knew they had a hard match to come against an awful lot of bisques, as well as a surfeit of Johns.

In the morning doubles, Ian and John Guy had to give 11 bisques to John R and John L and played their usual ‘Alternate Strokes’. This was a dour, defensive game and there were just too many bisques and John and Ian went down 10 -12.

In the 2 morning singles, Stuart played John B and had to give him 9.5 bisques but Stuart drew all the bisques, made a good break and then romped away to win 26 – 17. This was the only match that ‘pegged out’ all day. David played Tony and in a very close game scores were tied when time was called. As draws are not allowed, play continued until Tony scored the ‘golden hoop’ to win 15 – 14. Bad luck David.

Lunch was taken with Eardisley leading 2 – 1.

In the 4 afternoon singles, David (with 4 bisques) played John L (with 14) and Stuart had to give 2.5 bisques to Tony. These matches were both tight games and there was little between the teams for most of the afternoon.

On the other lawn, things were more dramatic. Ian had 3 bisques against John B with 8, and Ian decided to use them all straight away to run 12 hoops and build a 12 – 0 lead. John G had to give John R 9 bisques and, unfortunately, had one of those afternoons where he ‘couldn’t hit a cow’s **** with a banjo’ and after 90 minutes was 14 – 2 down. As often happens, things then reversed. John B came back at Ian until they were level and John G got going to get within 2 hoops of John R.

As always happens with double banked games, starts had been staggered so all the clocks were showing different times left. With 20 – 30 minutes remaining, Ian L was level with John B but all the other 3 Broadwas players were a couple of hoops down, so things did not look too rosy. But all the bisques had been used up and Broadwas are always good at fighting back.

Ian was first to finish, running a couple of late hoops to win 19 – 17. John G then had a couple of little breaks to come through 22 – 18. Stuart kept his cool to triumph 20 – 17 and David rounded things off by running several hoops to win 19 – 13.

So a ‘whitewash’ in the afternoon and Broadwas winning   5 – 2.

In all the excitement I forgot to take a photograph but you probably would not want to see us all gloating anyway.

And so, to Church Stretton next week.

John Guy      4/7/26

The Broadwas High Handicap GC team visited pastures new on Thursday, when they travelled to Wiltshire to face Bradford-on-Avon.

Bradford-on-Avon are new to the South West Federation’s High Handicap (North) league and it was the first time a Broadwas team had visited their Pound Lane lawn.

And what a lawn!  Bradford-on-Avon share their ground with the bowls club and our team of four was confronted with a gloriously lush, smooth flat lawn. It was the best away lawn any of the Broadwas team of four had ever played on.

Having very much enjoyed the visit by the friendly Bradford-on-Avon squad in May, we were very much looking forward to the return game. In May, we were beaten 10-6 by a fearless Bradford-on-Avon team which was undaunted by Stoney Ley undulations.

On Thursday the Broadwas team comprised Gill Brooks 11, Derry Bancroft 20, Debbie Kaner 12 and captain Paul Felton 12.

Bradford-on-Avon comprised captain Carol Gorvett 9, Geraldine Edmunds 18, Steve Williams 12, John De-Ath 12, Roger Edmunds 12 and Moira Alabaster 10.

Because there was only one lawn, we played 12 games instead of the standard South West Federation 20 games and double-banked all day. The games were all played under the newly introduced advantage handicap target score rules.

After a warm welcome and refreshments, it was down to business.

Broadwas enjoyed early success in the doubles, with Debbie Kaner and Paul Felton convincingly beating Moira Alabaster and Roger Edmunds 7-2 in the early-morning sunshine.

In the second round of singles, Debbie Kaner 12 triumphed again, in a 13-hooper clash with John De-Ath 12, beating John 7-6, while Paul Felton just missed out when he was beaten 7/7 to 5/6 by on-form Carol Gorvett.

Broadwas drew level (4-4) with the home side in the next round when the seemingly unstoppable Debbie Kaner beat ten-handicap Moira Alabaster, 7-3.  Debbie triumphed in three of her four games during the day.

Meanwhile, Paul Felton beat fellow 12-handicap John De-Ath 7-6 after luck went his way. With John’s black in the jaws and only a jump shot could win the hoop, John’s long-distance attempt to clear Paul’s red with his blue, inadvertently removed the black from the jaws to leave Broadwas to take the hoop with red. You could probably hear the sigh of relief echo in the Broadwas  clubhouse.

Broadwas just failed to keep up the momentum in the last few games of the day, but in the last game of the match, watched by all gathered outside the lovely Bradford-on-Avon clubhouse, Gill Brooks enjoyed a great win, beating the tricky John De’Ath, 7-5.

The final score was Bradford on Avon 7 Broadwas 5.

This was an impressive result for the intrepid four, improving markedly on the result from our home encounter with  Bradford-on-Avon earlier in the season.

Many thanks to Bradford-on-Avon for their hospitality and warm welcome. On both occasions we have met, all members of the squad have been exceptionally friendly.

Thanks, in particular, go to captain Carol Gorvett for her pre-match help in organising the playing order and to the Broadwas players who endured a two-hour journey to Bradford-on-Avon and an even longer detoured journey back to Worcestershire due to incidents on the M5.

Next stop, Cheltenham.

Paul Felton

Report by John Guy

On 17th June the AC season got under way with the first league match at Stoney Ley. The Cheltenham AC team of Richard Marriage (handicap 1), Ken Wallman (9), John Gilden (12) and captain Peter Petrie (4) arrived at Broadwas to take on the home team of captain Stuart Smith (handicap 4.5), John Guy (5), Ian Dampney (6) and Ian Lambert (9) in the South West Federation AC League.

In the morning singles, Ian Dampney had the difficult task of playing Richard who, despite only having played for 3 years, had reduced his handicap to 1. In a tight , cagey game, Richard got in front and managed to hang on to win 19 -14 on time. Stuart had to give 7.5 bisques away to John Gilden but made John use all his bisques and then stormed away to win 26 – 8.

In the doubles, Ian Lambert and John Guy took on Peter Petrie and Ken Wallman. Ian and John played their usual ‘Alternate Stroke’ game against Ken and Peter’s standard game of one ball each. Ian and John got in front ‘early doors’ and never gave up on the lead to triumph 26 – 11.

So 2 – 1 to Broadwas at lunch.

The afternoon was, as usual, 4 single games. Ian Lambert was unfortunate to come up against John Gilden who appeared to be in the form of his life, hitting in from everywhere and never missing a hoop to triumph 26 – 8. John Guy played Peter Petrie who could not come to terms with the slopes (what slopes???), John winning comfortably 26 – 14.

So now 3 – 2 to Broadwas.

Stuart had an epic battle with Richard, the scores being very close all the way through the 3 hour match. Stuart just got his nose in front and held on to win 20 – 18 on time. Ian Dampney was playing Ken and, with 20 or so minutes left was a few hoops behind. Ian battled back to inch into the lead and, as time approached, scattered the balls to all 4 corners to edge home 23 – 22.

The Broadwas team did very well against strong opponents to win the match 5 – 2.

Looking forward, early July will be a busy time with 3 matches in 10 days. Let us hope we can get a winning run going.

John Guy      1/7/26

By Jeff Faulkner

The Famous Five who by now need no introduction,  had their second adventure of the week, at Swindon on Friday.

As Swindon have only 3 “lawns” it was agreed to play a 16 game match over 4 untimed rounds. This meant that The Third Man was not needed on this occasion and so we could play The Invisible Man instead, more of whom later.

The Five arrived at Swindon in good spirits after a comfortable early morning drive down to be greeted by the aroma of the local amenity dump and the sight of the “lawns” being mowed around the standing hoops.

We had been warned about the state of the “lawns” by the Cheltenham team earlier in the season. Unfortunately, since the development of the very large Moredon Sporting Hub adjacent to the lawns, the croquet club has suffered a massive reduction to their water pressure and is very hampered in their ability to water. The result is that there are huge bare areas which have been filled with sand and any discernible grass is irregular with long tufts. The surface is very uneven and in places unstable.

Intentional jumping out of the sand was virtually impossible, whilst unintentional jumping when undertaking strong clearances only too possible. The areas around the hoops were particularly bad and if was difficult to find any grass in the starting corner to place the ball on before the opening shots. As a result of all of this, Swindon have had to cancel their national C and D level tournaments which were scheduled this summer.

It is a salutary lesson in how easy it is to lose lawns if they are not irrigated.

Swindon also fielded a team of five players, shrewdly all men, as considerable strength was required to hit the balls a distance. Their regular lady player, Fiona, has opted to play for Kington Langley this season, due to the lawns.

We will not dwell on the croquet, the result sheet is attached. We were pleased to finish by 14.30 and although losing 11 – 5 we took heart from faring better than Cheltenham did – they lost 13 – 3!!

On being asked what she thought of the lawns, Alison’s pithy comment was just two words, the second of which was awful. The Invisible Man said he had played a blinder, it was just a shame nobody could see it, so we included him in the team photo where he is standing between David and myself.

As the journey home took twice as long as the journey there, we decided to retitle one of our books, so  “The Famous Five Have An Enjoyable Day”  became “ The Famous Five Have An Unenjoyable Day”

Jeff Faulkner

Report by Jeff Faulkner

On Sunday, The Famous Five – Alison Disley, Jean Faulkner, Jackie Guy, David Harington and captain Jeff Faulkner, together with Howard Freeman who was starring as The Third Man, entertained Cheltenham at their Stoney Ley redoubt for a Handicap League Match.

Unfortunately, many of the normal  advantages that The Mountain of Adventure confers on us as the home team were either missing or somewhat diminished.

As it was a Sunday match, the grass was quite long  and the effect of this on reducing lawn speed and the ferocity of the slopes was further compounded by clumps of low growing weed, multitudinous rabbit droppings and more than a few rabbit scrapes. In addition, the Broadwas Breeze had gone on holiday, the temperature was unusually pleasant – being neither too hot nor too cold and there was no rain, so nothing climatically to upset the opposition. It all augured for a close match and this indeed was the case.

At the end of round 1 the score was 2 apiece. After round 2 it was 4 apiece. After round 3 it was 6 apiece. After round 4 it was 8 apiece and so the result depended on the final round of 4 singles.

Alison and Jean, having played in all four previous rounds, had retired to the clubhouse to set up the Disley Patisserie and fire up the kettles, so it was left to the three men and Jackie to bring home the bacon.

The round didn’t start well with Cheltenham’s Andy Brister reaching his target score of 7 in just 30 minutes to beat Jeff who had only got 5 of his 9 hoops at that stage. A special word for Andy here – a stunning performance to win all 5 of his games during the day.

So, 9-8 down, with wins required in all 3 games in play to take the match or two wins to draw.

Victories for Howard and David achieved the draw so it was all down to Jackie on far away lawn 1 with the worst rabbit droppings of all to navigate and up against Richard Pinder who had won all of his previous games.

Of course, it all came down to the last hoop, hoop 12, with whoever scored it winning and……… did you ever have any doubt?  WELL DONE JACKIE!!!!

Although Jackie took the glory this was a terrific team performance with everybody contributing very equally. All six players played 4 games, all won two or more with David and The Third Man chalking up three and in the end the rabbits played their part.

Many thanks to The Other Bloke for taking some photos and of course to Alison for her splendid patisserie which was greatly enjoyed by all. 

Jeff Faulkner
.

Dave Holt was the winner of the  Broadwas High Bisque GC competition held at the club on Thursday.

In the final, Dave beat 2025 winner Alison Disley 5-7 in a thoroughly enjoyable, hotly contested tournament held under this season’s newly introduced target score advantage handicap rules.

Eight players entered this season’s competition, organised and run by Eileen Holt.  The start of the competition was delayed until 1.00pm in order to avoid the heavy rain that had swept in from the Atlantic overnight. Eileen’s meteorological decision paid dividends. Although playing conditions were very breezy, there were no interruptions in the playing schedule due to rain.

Split into two blocks, competitors played three games each, timed at 50 minutes per game.

In the Blue Block were Debbie Kaner 12, Vivien Ellis 20, Dave Holt 9 and Derry Bancroft 20, while the Red Block comprised David Harington 11, Howard Freeman 8, Alison Disley 9 and Paul Felton 12.

As the afternoon’s blocks’ play concluded, Alison Disley topped the Red Block, while Dave Holt pipped Debbie Kaner for top spot in the Blue Block. Howard Freeman was the runner-up in the Red Block.

The final games of the afternoon were between Howard Freeman and Debbie Kaner on lawn 1, to decide third and fourth spots, while the final between Dave and Alison was held on lawn 2.

Eventually, Debbie Kaner won third place in the competition by winning her game against  Howard by securing a higher percentage of her target hoops – 6/7 to Howard’s 7/9.

Many thanks to Eileen Holt for organising the competition and also to Jackie Guy for her assistance with the administration of the tournament during the day. Special thanks also to club coach David Kaner, who served as the day’s tournament referee.

Paul Felton

The Broadwas GC Level Play 5+ Team travelled away to Somerset on Friday for their second game of the 2026 season, against a very much in-form Bath Croquet Club.

The game was a follow-up to the Broadwas team’s fine home win thriller against Camerton and Peasedown in May.   

Travelling to Bath’s Recreation Ground lawns were captain Malcolm Armstrong 8, David Kaner 6, Eileen Holt 6, Peter Hill 5, Howard Freeman 8 and Alison Disley 8.

Led by non-playing captain Mary-Jane Middlehurst, the Bath team were Sue Duncan 7, Feona Bickley 5, Stephen Barrett 9, Brian Owens 5, Anwen Owens 6 and Adrian Raybould 7.

After having left Worcestershire under clear blue skies, the Broadwas players were met with overcast and drizzly skies on their arrival at the Bath lawns, a stone’s throw from the Bath Rugby Club Recreation Ground, where preparations were being made for the final round of the Gallagher Premiership.

After greeting and a warmup, the drizzle ceased and the players took to the lawns in intermittently overcast and slightly chilly conditions.

The first round of one doubles and two singles games brought a win for the Broadwas side when Eileen Holt beat Sue Duncan in a game in which she scored a hoop with a tremendous angled jump shot. Eileen won the game 7-3 – the first of three victories she was involved in.

In the second round there were victories for Broadwas in both the doubles and singles.

Peter Hill and Howard Freeman enjoyed an emphatic win over Brian Owens and Anwen Owens, 7-2, whilst David Kaner had a tremendous battle with the spectacularly accurate Feona Bickley. David took the 13^th  after a magnificent approach shot which put him just in front of the hoop.  Almost wired, even Feona was unable to clear David’s winning ball.

In the third round, Alison Disley narrowly lost out to Sue Duncan 6-5 in a timed-out game against Sue Duncan, while Eileen Holt was involved in her second victory of the day with a 6-3 timed-out win in the doubles, partnering Malcolm Armstrong, against Adrian Raybould and Feona Bickley.

The fifth and final round brought victory for Eileen again, when she beat Anwen Owens 7-5.

Final Score – Bath 11 – Broadwas 5

On the day, Bath players were extremely accurate in front of the hoop and their clearing skills were exceptional, but the Broadwas players battled hard, with most games being close.

In his address to the hosts at the end of the afternoon, Malcolm praised his players for their performances in some close games, but offered his sincere congratulations to the Bath team.

Paul Felton

Members of the Broadwas High Handicap GC squad played their first away game of the season at Moreton-in-Marsh on Tuesday, against Moreton A.

After enduring a lengthy journey, circumnavigating early morning Worcester traffic and roadworks, the team arrived at the delightful Moreton lawns facing ominous weather warnings of heavy rain and thunderstorms.

For two new members of the team – Debbie Kaner 12 and Peter Dobson 11, it was their first match away. They were joined by David Harington 11, David Creed-Newton 11 and captain Paul Felton 12.  Paula Armstrong 14 and Hazel Felton 20, who have both been carrying injuries, shared playing duties, playing two games each.

Led by captain Veronica Courtney 16, the Moreton A team comprised Adrian Grimes 12, Peta Kuck 12, Clint Parker 14, Glenys Seal 14, Nicky Middleton 14, Jean Terry 18 and Ron McAlpine 14.

The Moreton lawns looked glorious in the under the early-morning sunny spells.  The club, under the newly appointed chair Marilyn Talbot-Smith, has put a lot of work into the lawns over the winter and they looked silky smooth as the players took to the courts.

Despite starting the day with sunny spells, the first round (played under the newly-introduced advantage handicap target score rules) – comprising  two doubles and two singles, only brought gloom to the Broadwas team, with all-round losses, making it 4-0 to the home side.

The second round brought little comfort. Debbie Kaner came close to victory during her 13-hoop battle with Nicky Middleton, but she was defeated after Nicky put her green just in front of the 13^th after a terrific approach shot which went through the back of the hoop from the 12^th.

The only victory in the second (singles) round was from Paul Felton, who beat old adversary Glenys Seal. Glenys beat him in the same competition last season, but even after he put his red in the jaws of the 6^th hoop and Glenys scored a terrific jump shot to take the hoop, she was unable to repeat her victory, with the Broadwas captain winning 7-4.

After round two, the score appeared to be running away in favour of the on-fire home side, standing at 7-1 to Moreton A.

Games had to be interrupted due to the strength of the rainfall and the distant rolls of thunder, but Broadwas must have found the torrential intermittent showers refreshing  during the third (singles) round, because we won three of the four games played.

Making his debut for the team, Peter Dobson beat Adrian Grimes 3-2 in a timed-out game, while 20-handicap Hazel Felton beat Glenys Seal 4/6 to 1/7 in a timed-out game.  Meanwhile, David Creed-Newton enjoyed his first singles win of the day when he beat Ron McAlpine 6/9 to 4/7.

The score now looked a little more respectable for Broadwas although it stood at 8-4 to Moreton at lunchtime.

Round four (two singles and two doubles, double-banked) brought three wins for Broadwas.  Playing in her first away match, Debbie Kaner grabbed her first singles win of the day by beating Peta Kuck, 7-3.

In the doubles, High Handicap stalwart David Harington partnered newcomer Peter Dobson to beat Veronica Courtney and Glenys Seal 6/8 to 5/7 – 75% to 71% under the new target score rules.  Meanwhile, Paula Armstrong and Paul Felton recaptured their form from last year (as a partnership they were undefeated all season), by beating Clint Parker and Adrian Grimes 7-5.

The score now stood at 9-7 to Moreton A.

It was all to play for in the final singles round.  Moreton’s Clint Parker took first blood when he narrowly defeated Paula in a 13-hooper in front of the clubhouse.

Debbie Kaner took her well-deserved second singles win of the day with an 8/8 to 4/7 win over Veronica Courtney, while Paul Felton beat Ron McAlpine 7-6 just as the clouds began to break again.

With the score standing at 10-9 to Moreton A as the last game played out, it was down to David Creed-Newton to snatch the draw and he did, magnificently, with a 7-4 win over Adrian Grimes.

Final Score – Moreton-in-Marsh A 10 – Broadwas 10

Many thanks to Moreton-in-Marsh A for their usual conviviality and hospitality. It was a great day, played in good spirit. Thanks to Veronica Courtney for making the onerous match day paperwork much easier by working out the playing schedule well in advance and thanks to Gill Hindshaw for refereeing. Thanks also to Christine McCormick for looking after us in the clubhouse.  

Thank you also, to my vice-captain Malcolm Armstrong, for his help and encouragement as well as to David Kaner for his coaching of the squad pre-season. My biggest thanks go to members of the Broadwas team, who kept battling despite looking like we were heading for defeat for much of the day. Well done. Next stop – Bradford-on-Avon.

Paul Felton