Phyllis Court 'A’ got back to winning ways today with a convincing 6.5 - 1.5 victory away at High Wycombe whose competitiveness was not suitably rewarded in that score line.
High Wycombe’s Richard Peperell, who is also a long-standing Phyllis Court member, played the best golf croquet of his career and took the middle game from the victors’ much higher ranked captain, Chris Roberts, in the highlight of the morning’s play.
Earlier, Phyllis Court’s Ian Norris had made short work of Wycombe captain Paul Gunn, winning 7-4, 7-6, inside an hour and a half, whilst repeated clearing of opposition balls prolonged the other three first round ‘best of three’ matches.
Roberts eventually got past Peperell 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 when the latter stuck in hoop 10 and Roberts executed a good jump to score leaving Peperell hampered in the hoop jaws.
Phyllis Court’s 2-0 lead was pegged back when Rick Lilley was unexpectedly beaten 7-6, 5-7, 2-7 by Wycombe’s Michael Bowker and the slowest match between Phyllis Court’s Roger Goldring and Alan Clark was suspended for lunch at 3-7, 7-5.
The 2-1 half-time lead was closer than Phyllis Court captain Roberts had imagined given the national rankings of the two sides’ personnel, but in the afternoon those pre-match expectations and wishes all came true in the head-to-head matches.
Roberts finished first with a 7-4, 7-5 win over Gunn and soon after Goldring secured the team win with a 7-2, 7-5 victory over Bowker.
Lilley was pushed all the way to the last hoop twice before winning 7-6, 7-6 against Clark just as Norris ran away with the last game of the number 2 rubber 3-7, 7-6, 1-7.
This gave Phyllis Court a flattering 6-1 team scoreline and it was agreed not to play out the final morning game of Goldring v Clark match, and for each side to take a ‘half’.
Phyllis Court ‘A’ continue in Southern Croquet Federation Open League action next week when they entertain Ryde from the Isle of Wight on Tuesday.