Following last year’s triumph in the East Anglian Croquet Federation Handicap League, Colchester once again reached the knockout stages. Newport hosted the match, remarkably featuring, for the third year in succession, Colchester vs Unity. Kevin, Simon, Chris and Marilyn made the short journey to Newport where the torrential downpours of Friday meant the lawns couldn’t be mowed, making them challenging for both teams. The morning dry weather window was forecast to break at around 3.30, so speedy play was of the essence!
The two morning doubles matches were halved, as were the first two rounds of singles. 5 games all at lunchtime, and with the weather closing in, all to play for. Penultimate round wins shared, so going in to the final round matches all square 7-7.
But when the going gets tough, the tough get going … team captain Marilyn closed out the tie with a boundary shot through the Golden Hoop, just as the rain started to fall. Final result Colchester 10 Unity 8.
Once again, an incredibly close match, with a final hoop score of 102-101 to Colchester, who now qualify for the final at Wrest Park for the third year running. Congratulations to the team, commiserations to Unity, and many thanks to Anne Taylor and the volunteers from Newport for a well-run event.
