Matches				Games		Points
	P	W	D	L	W	L
Fylde	8	7	0	1	38	18	14
Bury Caesars	8	5	0	3	28	25	10
Chester	7*	4	0	3	27	22	8
Southport	8	4	0	4	26	27	8
Bury Peelers	8	4	0	4	24	29	8
Bowdon St Marys	7*	3	0	4	24	26	6
Pendle & Craven	8	3	0	5	26	30	6
Bowdon Firs	8	3	0	5	24	32	6
Crake Westmorld	6*	1	0	5	15	24	2

* Games not completed. Table courtesy of the North West Federation

Bury Peelers 4 Fylde 3

Peelers: Matt Holmes (3½), Barbara Young (5), Margaret Anderton (12), Geoff Young (14)
Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (8), Terry Vernazza (9), Ken Harper (14), Betty Bates (16)

Fylde visited Bury for the last match of the season, having won the league but hoping to maintain the undefeated record for the season. Play got under way promptly, the lawns being partly covered in dew and small leaves. Betty, playing Matt Holmes was in fine form and used her bisques well to quickly get her first ball to penultimate. Matt responded on his turn and peeled Betty through the last two hoops in readiness to peg her ball out. However, he failed to run rover and Betty then went on to win her match +15. Barbara and Geoff evened the match by beating Terry and Ken +16. Martin had a long struggle against Margaret who was also using her bisques well and eventually lost -5 on times. After lunch, Betty started a Fylde comeback easily beating Geoff +25 well within time, triggering a handicap drop to 14. Terry got off to a good start in his game against Barbara, 2 and 3 balling his first ball to rover. However, Barbara responded well and eventually won +11. Martin was also showing good form and got his balls to peg and rover but could not finish the match on his break. There followed an intriguing tactical battle, Matt getting his first ball round and pegging Martin’s first ball out, He then two balled, one or two hoops at a time with Martin left stranded for most of the time. Matt looked as he was going to go on and win but stuck in penultimate. Martin hit in on a long roquet and finally won his game. All square, with one game to go. Margaret continued her winning ways from the morning and after a long game, eventually beat Ken. So Fylde’s winning run came to an end but it has been a glorious season for the team.

Barbara and Geoff beat Terry and Ken +16
Margaret beat Martin +5 on time
Matt lost to Betty -15
Matt lost to Martin -3
Barbara beat Terry +11
Margaret beat Ken +15
Geoff lost to Betty -25

Posted by Terry, 18th September 2010

FYLDE 6 St Mary’s 1

Fylde: Lee Hartley (c) -0.5, Alan Morton 16, Ken Harper 16, Betty Bates 16
Bowdon St Mary’s: Alan Mayne -0.5, Ros Pimlott (c) 14, John Larmouth 16, Dave Morrow 24

Undefeated Fylde welcomed Bowdon St Mary’s hoping to win the match that would cement the 2010 Handicap League title. Teams from both Bowdon and Bury traditionally struggle on their visits to the seaside, since they are used to playing on silky smooth surfaces, but with our lawns in better condition than they have ever been, which was commented on by the Bowdon players who had been here previously, it remained to be seen whether this trend would continue. The doubles saw Lee and Betty pitted against Alan and Dave. With only 2 bisques in play this was always likely to be a closely run tactical affair, with Lee and Alan trying their best to get their partners round, and so it proved. With 5 minutes to go Lee and Betty were 1 hoop behind, but they did have the innings. However Dave chose this moment to hit a 25 yard roquet which saw Alan and Dave ultimately prevail by the classical +1 on time. In the morning singles Ken got off to a flying start and comfortably beat John +15 with plenty of time to spare. Alan similarly got off to a good start, but Ros fought back and with half an hour to go Alan was only 4 ahead at rover and 2 back against 2 back for both balls for Ros. Lunch always tastes better when the team is ahead, so it was with some relief that despite Ros chipping away at the lead, Alan held on to win +2 on time. Betty provided an admirable lunch, and with the weather at its best for the day this was enjoyed alfresco in front of the clubhouse. 2 wins out of 4 were all that were now needed to secure the trophy. And whilst it would be nice to be able to report a dramatic finale, the truth is the result was never in doubt once Lee had dispatched Alan +26 on the 7th turn in well under an hour. Often the lawns were full of Fylde players, and the only thing to be decided was who would have the honour of securing the decisive victory. This went to Betty, who beat Dave comprehensively +17 with some very nice play. Ken stormed ahead of Ros, but got stuck on peg and rover and with Ros continually hitting in, she got back in contention. However eventually she missed and Ken finished +5. This just left Alan to beat John, which he duly did +8, earning a handicap reduction to 14 in the process. Well played Red Cards. This gives us a perfect 7 out of 7 this year, with one match still left to be played, and hence we have regained the trophy that we first won back in 2005.
So congratulations to everyone who has contributed to this success.

Posted by Lee, 4th September 2010

FYLDE 6 SOUTHPORT 1

Fylde: Ian Theakstone (c) 16, Ken Harper 16, Alan Morton 20 & Terry Vernazza 10
Southport: Tony Thomas (c) 5, Keith Roberts 4.5, John Maudsley 16 & Peter Bundred 20

The day started with wind and rain but an undeterred team were going to continue the 100% winning streak. The doubles team were Ian and Ken with 8 bisques taking on Keith and John with 2.5 bisques. A tight game ending 23-20 to Fylde.Terry faced Peter and won 26-11.Alan took on Tony with a forest of bisques and won 26-0 peeling rover and 4 bisques still standing. This display saw Liz do some reckoning and rewarded Alan with a new rating of 16! Lunch was arranged and served by Betty which was the best seen this side of the pennines. Score so far 3-0. Only 1 win required to win the match, easy peasy, wins from Ian Alan and Terry saw Fylde win 6-1. So the streaking goes on 6 games 6 wins.

Posted by Ian, 17th July 2010

Pendle 3 Fylde 4

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (8) Terry Vernazza (10) Betty Bates (14) Alan Morton (20)
Pendle: Roger Schofield (2 1/2) Andrew Webb (4 1/2) David Pollitt (7) Robin Delves (12)

This match saw a closely fought contest between Pendle, last year's champions, and Fylde who are current league leaders. In the morning games, Betty Bates was in good form during the doubles match, quickly taking her ball round the hoops in one break. Her partner, Terry Vernazza could not find the same consistency, but they held off the challenge from the Pendle pair of Roger Schofield and Robin Delves. In the singles games, Alan Morton of Fylde managed to keep in front of his opponent to win his game. The other singles game saw a very close contest, which was eventually won by Pendle, after the game was decided by a golden hoop finish. In the afternoon round of singles games, Terry Vernazza improved on his morning form and had a convincing win for Fylde, but Pendle reduced the deficit when Roger Schofield had a comfortable win. Pendle also ran out winners in the third game when David Pollitt mounted a strong comeback to overhaul Betty Bates, leaving the match tied with one game to play. Alan Morton continued to show good form and, after a close game, won to give the match to Fylde.

Roger Schofield and Robin Delves lost to Betty bates and Terry Vernazza -3 on time
Andrew Webb beat Martin Bradshaw +1 (golden hoop)
David Pollitt lost to Alan Morton -5 on time
Roger Schofield beat Martin Bradshaw 26 - 9
Andrew Webb lost to Terry Vernazza 2 - 26
David Pollitt beat Betty Bates 26 - 20
Robin Delves lost to Alan Morton 15 -20 on time

Posted by Terry, 13th June 2010

Fylde 5 Chester 2

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (9) Terry Vernazza (11) Leonard Ainsworth (18) Ian Theakstone (18)
Chester: Elmyr Hughes (4), Alan Clare (8 ), Peter Morgan (18), Helen Pickford (20)

On the first wet rainy day of the season , Fylde continued to set the pace at the top of the League. In the morning session, Terry was in good form and quickly went round with both balls. He pegged out after 90 minutes having kept his opponent, Elmyr, off the lawn for the whole game. Ian was also excelling in the morning drizzle and beat Alan 26-9 well within time. In the doubles, Martin quickly got his ball to rover, but the other players found conditions more difficult. Eventually, Helen and Peter managed to edge in front of Leonard and won the game +5 on time. After lunch the rain increased and the lawns became heavy and slow. However this did not affect Terry, who again beat his opponent, Alan, 26-5 well within time. Ian also continued his morning's form and beat Helen +12. In the third game, Martin got off to a good start and got his balls to rover and peg. However, Elmyr fought back to close the gap but was too late to prevent Martin winning +10 on time. The final game was a close fought battle, with both Leonard and Peter putting breaks together to gain hoops. Peter was the eventual winner 26 - 19 As a result of the games, Martin, Terry and Ian all triggered their handicaps down. Just in time for the Longman match against Pendle!

Posted by Terry, 29th May 2010

Fylde 5 Crake 2

Fylde: Lee Hartley (-1/2), Terry Vernazza (11), Betty Bates (14) & Ken Harper (18)
Crake: Dave Nick (-1), Tom Griffith (1/2), Tony Saville (11) & David MacInnes (24)

On a scorching hot day, Fylde continued the club's winning start to the season. In the morning session, Terry and Ken struggled in the first part of the doubles game, but their opponents, David and Dave were also having trouble putting a break together. Ken and Terry eventually found form and got to peg and rover. Dave responded, taking his ball round in one break and peeling his colleague through three hoops. However, time ran out and Ken and Terry won + 2 on time. On the other lawn, Betty was in good form pegging out to win +20 against Tony. Meanwhile, Tom showed excellent form to beat Lee +14. After lunch, most of the games were close for a long period, with a number ending up as three ball games. Fylde eventually prospered with wins for Terry against Tom (+4), Ken against Tony (+ 3) and Betty against David (+13). Dave Nick had the only success for Crake, beating Lee (+17)

A very enjoyable day's croquet in the sun.

Posted by Terry, 23rd May 2010

Bowdon Firs 2 Fylde 5

Martin captained an unusually shaped team due to a last minute change. Ian played very well in the doubles not missing a hoop, Peter had his shooting boots on and managed a good break to penult with a cross wire leave at hoop one. For Firs, Philip came out of the traps with all guns blazing and had a commanding lead before Martin took Croquet. Amongst many things the problems of the hung Parliament were all solved over a sumptuous lunch. After which Ian continued where he left off, taking only 3 minutes per hoop to finish the game and put Fylde on the hill. I played like a dream he said when interviewed later. Despite the large lunch both Peter and Lee's opponets began eating into the Fylde players' leads. Step forward our Captain who rose to the occasion with a great break that took Fylde over the finish line. Frank kept Lee working on the Sunday Times crossword but Peter saved his game with a four point two ball break.

Lorna Frost (6) & Steve Reynolds (9) lost to Lee Hartley (-½) & Ian Theakston (18)
Frank Moir (2½) lost to Peter Wilson (2½) -21
Phil Hunter (10) beat Martin Bradshaw (9) +24
Frank Moir beat Lee Hartley +15
Lorna Frost lost to Peter Wilson -5
Steve Reynolds lost to Martin Bradshaw -21
Phil Hunter lost to Ian Theakston -15

Posted by Peter, 9th May 2010

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