A team of 14 players from the Nord-Jarlsberg Croquet and Country Club came to Dulwich for a friendly match on 11th June. After a brief refresher to ensure we were playing the same game (we were!). Playing on two lawns laid out on the former Bowling Green, the two sides were soon hard at play. It was too much fun to keep score but a good time was had by all.

Norway vs Dulwich: a hoop being run from the boundary?? (Great trousers Einar!):

The social side….

Høy kølle! (as they say in Norway- “high mallet”).

We look forward to seeing you again.

Association Advanced

We had nine entrants for the level advanced Ayling Cup, with handicaps ranging from 1 to 7 with one visitor Tom Whiteley (no relation) fresh from Oxford University. Tom got off to a good start, beating Mark Ormerod in a close game +2, then beating David Collins and Michael Blair on Saturday. On Sunday he won another close game against Simon Whiteley +4, followed by Ray Hall +26, makinng him a worthy winner on 5 wins out of 5.

Mark Ormerod came second with 4 wins out of 5. Of the higher handicaps, Andrew Dymond did well in his first level advanced tournament with 3/5 wins, beating Ray Hall, Michael Blair and David Collins.

Ed Dymock, Mark Ormerod, Simon Whiteley and Peter Earnshaw travelled to Watford on 2nd June for the frst round of the Murphy Shield Golf teams event, for teams with a minimum handicap totalling 12. Last year we reached the finals so expectations were high. Unfortunately we were not playing our best, while Watford played consistent and effective croquet, and we were 0-3 by lunchtime- a hard position to come back from. In the event, we were only able to take 2 of the afternoon games, making it 2-5 overall. Congratulations to Watford, and we look forward to welcoming you to Dulwich at some stage.

26th May 2011

Dulwich beat Surbiton 4-2 with one game abandoned.

(Dulwich first)

Mark Ormerod (1) and Simon Whiteley (1 1/2) beat George Noble (1/2) and Eugene Chang (1) +15

Edward Dymock (1 1/2) lost to Christian Carter (2) -2

David Collins (2) beat Ian Parkinson (1 1/2) +1

Mark Ormerod beat George Noble +16

Simon Whiteley beat Eugene Chang +5

Edward Dymock vs Ian Parkinson abandoned

David Collins lost to Christian Carter

Two closely matched teams (1 handicap point between them) played on the usual Surbiton lawns- fast with firm hoops. Unusually the doubles was the first to finish, with Mark and Simon fairly comfortable winners against George and Eugene. The two singles games turned into marathons with a number of finishing opportunities on both sides before Ian prevailed over Ed Dymock +2 after 4 hours and David squeaked home by 1 after nearly 4 1/2 hours. The usual Surbiton lunch was delayed but was as good as ever.

In the afternoon, Mark took little time to beat George while Simon was well ahead unil a mistake after 4-back allowed Eugene to get going, and only a mistake with his second ball at penult let Simon back in for a strong finish to win +5 and take the match. By now the strong winds throughout the day were accompanied by heavy rain, so Ian and Ed abandoned their game, but Christian and David continued until Christian had pulled one back for Surbiton.

Thanks to Surbiton for their usual hospitality and good company.

Happy New  Year

from the 18 players who turned out on New Year’s Day to play
croquet and feasted on Bangers and Mash!

Remember we shall be playing every Sunday morning (weather
permitting) until the end of March