Handicap Croquet League Table 2011
	Matches				Games		Points
	P	W	D	L	W	L
Fylde	8	6	0	2	35	21	12
Pendle & Craven	8	5	0	3	31	25	10
Southport	8	5	0	3	27	29	10
Bowdon Firs	8	4	0	4	27	29	8
Bury Caesars	8	3	0	5	29	27	6
Chester	7	3	0	4	24	25	6
Bury Peelers	7	3	0	4	23	26	6
Bowdon St Marys	8	3	0	5	25	31	6
Crake Valley	8	3	0	5	24	32	6

Table courtesy of croquetnw.co.uk

Betty accepts the trophy from Federation Chairman David Barett

St. Mary’s 1 Fylde 6

St Mary’s: Mike Steer (5) Margaret Russell (10) Jonathan Swinton (22) David Morrow (24)
Fylde: Terry Vernazza (6) Martin Bradshaw (8) Peter Hallett (9) Betty Bates (11)

Fylde travelled to Bowdon hoping to gain the win which would make them favourites to win the league. Peter and Terry faced Mike and David in the doubles and had a close encounter for the first 2 hours. David was slowly gaining hoops for Bowdon but used his bisques, while Terry kept the score level for the away side. Mike Steer made a good break but Peter responded and took his ball round in the last turn to give Fylde a +7 win on time. Betty had a close game with Margaret but pulled clear towards the end to give Fylde a second win (+4 on time). Martin spent the early part of his match watching Jonathan go round with the aid of his numerous bisques. However, once these ran out, Martin took control and overtook Jonathan by one hoop as time was called. Jonathan failed to hit in from Martin’s four corner leave so it was 3-0 to Fylde at lunch.

In the afternoon, Terry got off to a good start using his one bisque to take his first ball round before sticking in four-back. Mike hit in and took his first ball to rover. Terry failed to make the roquet from the long leave and Mike took control to finish the game (+15). Peter played Jonathan and the game was similar to Martin’s in the morning, Peter winning +3 on time. Betty and Martin both established comfortable leads in their games and held on for another two Fylde wins. So well done to all the Fylde players who have retained the league title, losing only three games in two seasons.

Posted by Terry, 11th September

Fylde 3 Bury Peelers 4

Fylde: Terry Vernazza (5), Betty Bates (12), Ian Theakstone (12), Ken Harper (14)
Peelers: Paul Kenworthy (4), Ken Anderton (5), Margaret Anderton (16), Jean Hargreaves (24)

In the morning singles, Ian was playing well with good use of his bisques. He managed to shut Ken Anderton out of the game and got both of his balls to peg. However, he missed his first attempt at a peg out. This allowed Ken back into the game, who promptly took his first ball round. Ian failed to get back the innings and Ken took his second ball to peg and completed the win for Bury. Betty and Margaret had more of a tussle, both getting the innings on a number of occasions to run a few hoops at a time. this included a 25 yard hoop from Betty. Betty eventually prevailed to win the game. in the doubles, ken made a good start to get his ball through the first three hoops. Paul responded and took his ball to 3 back and eventually to rover. With the aid of bisques and some good play, Jean slowly progressed to give Bury a substantial lead. terry eventually got an opportunity and took his ball to peg. ken followed suit and managed to tie the match before sticking in 4 back. As time was called, Fylde lost control of the innings and Paul ran rover to give Bury a win by one hoop.

After lunch, Paul continued to play very well. Terry struggled to find any form or consistency and could not prevent Paul from winning another game, by a substantial margin, for Bury. Betty established a good lead over Ken in her game. However, as the game progressed, Ken fought back to pass Betty and peg out for his second win of the day. Ian established an early lead over Margaret, and went on to win +15. Ken Harper again gained the early initiative for Fylde in the final game. Jean then started to progress with use of her bisques. As the bisques ran out for both players, the scores were fairly even, peg and 2back (Ken) v rover and 2back (Jean). The innings then kept swapping with odd hoops being scored until Ken eventually pegged out to give Fylde a third win. Final result: Fylde 3 Bury Peelers 4. A second consecutive loss for Fylde, the first time that this occurred for nearly two seasons.

Terry Vernazza and Ken Harper lost to Paul Kenworthy and Jean Hargreaves -1 on time
Betty Bates beat Margaret Anderton +10
Ian Theakstone lost to Ken Anderton –1
Terry Vernazza lost to Paul Kenworthy -23
Betty Bates lost to Ken Anderton –8
Ian Theakstone beat Margaret Anderton +15
Ken Harper beat Jean Hargreaves +6

Posted by Terry, 14th August

Chester 5 Fylde 2

Chester: Alan Clare (8), David Boyd ( 12), Dennis Holman ( 16), Helen Pickford ( 18)
Fylde: Terry Vernazza ( 5), Ian Theakstone ( 12), Alan Morton ( 14), Ken Harper ( 14)

The Fylde quartet arrived at Chester hoping to consolidate their position at the top of the league. In the morning games, both Ian and Alan faced determined opponents in the singles. In both matches, the Fylde players established early leads but saw their opponents rally. After close battles, Ian held on to beat Dennis +8 but Alan was overtaken by David. In the doubles, all the players were finding the uneven lawn and slope difficult to contend with, taking 40 minutes for the first hoop to be scored! Alan Clare eventually but a break together but Terry responded to put his ball on rover. Helen and Ken slowly scored a few hoops, with Chester eventually winning +6 on time. Time for lunch in the excellent new clubhouse, accompanied by a flypast by the Red Arrows.....probably practicing for the Blackpool Air display later in the day. After lunch, the pattern of play was similar to the morning. Alan Clare played very well, shutting Terry out of their game. Ian established an early lead, peeling his 2nd ball through hoops 2 and 3, but was eventually overhauled by David. Helen was playing well and, with the aid of her bisques, kept Ken at bay throughout their match. In the final game, Alan and Dennis had a close fought encounter and were tied as time was called. Alan held his nerve and scored the golden hoop, adding a little bit of respectability to the final score. Chester 5 Fylde 2 So Fylde’s first defeat of the season but they remain top of the table with 2 games to play.

Alan Clare and Helen Pickford beat Terry Vernazza and Ken Harper +6 on time
Dennis Holman lost to Ian Theakstone –8
David Boyd beat Alan Morton +16
Alan Clare beat Terry Vernazza +26
David Boyd beat Ian Theakstone +6
Alan Morton beat Dennis Holman golden hoop
Helen Pickford beat Ken Harper +13

Posted by Terry, 7th August

Fylde 4 Bowdon Firs 3

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw(8), Alan Morton(14), Ken Harper(14), Leonard Ainsworth(22),
Bowden Firs: David Cotton(2.5), Charles Harding(6), Chris Irwin(7), Steve Reynolds(10)

A glorious day for the clash with our lawns looking great.

Alan and Ken took possession of their lawn in the morning singles with Ken storming round to whitewash Charles (only partially necessary considering his splendid barnet!). Alan got ahead of Chris but she was able to recover and ran out the winner by seven. A typical slow scoring start to the doubles which eventually got going, and saw the opportunity for a peel and peg out of David by Leonard and Martin leaving Steve to battle on his own. Leonard played excellently to secure enough advantage to squeeze through by a single hoop. Fylde 2 - 1 up at lunch.

Ken continued where he had left off with his total hoop deficit for the day being two(!), and was soon brewing tea for Chris. Martin found David quite a handful and despite taking the lead, David's smooth hoop running proved irresistible leading to a nine point win. One win required from Alan or Leonard. Alan played well and got both balls to rover, but Charles began to grind his way back. Meanwhile, Leonard was keeping Steve out of the game and secured a splendid win and the match. Charles eventually got the better of Alan and pegged out by just three.

Scores:
Martin & Leonard beat David & Steve +1
Alan lost to Chris -7
Ken beat Charles +26
Martin lost to David -9
Alan lost to Charles -3
Ken beat Chris +24
Leonard beat Steve +9

Posted by Mart, 3rd July

Fylde 6 Southport 1

Southport: Carol Lewis (4), Diana Williamson (9), John Mawdsley (16), Freida Smithies (18)
Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (8), Betty Bates (14), Alan Morton (14), Leonard Ainsworth (20)

A bleak weather forecast did not materialise (for the second day running) and we enjoyed a glorious day in the sun. The two morning singles were close run with Alan and Betty trading blows with Diana and John respectively. Alan eventually eased his way past John by four, but Betty had to hang on for a single point win. The doubles saw Carol and Martin both taking a ball round and then Leonard establishing a lead. Freida clawed her way back to draw level and the golden hoop awaited. The world stopped spinning as a hoop miss apiece preceded Leonard sealing it making Fylde three up.

In the afternoon after a splendid lunch Betty and Alan continued their excellent work with Betty clinching the team win. Leonard came up against a combination of Freida's solid hitting in and good hoop running which proved unbeatable. Carol and Martin had a battle royal. Another golden hoop had a (relieved) Martin win. With three very close matches an altogether different result might have occurred.

Results:
Carol & Freida lost to Martin and Leonard -1T
Diana lost to Alan -4
John lost to Betty -1
Carol lost to Martin -1T
Diana lost to Betty -11
John lost to Alan -9
Freida beat Leonard +9

Posted by Mart, 18th June

Fylde 4 Pendle 3

Fylde: Lee (-0.5), Peter Hallett (10), Betty (14), Ken (14).
Pendle: John Filsak (2), Abdul Ahmad (4.5), David Pollitt (7), Ron Welch (9).

On a typically sunny seaside day, though the temperature wasn’t hot by any means, Pendle were the latest visitors to try and stop Fylde retaining their handicap league crown. There were a few kittens for the team beforehand, as Pendle had not confirmed they were coming despite several messages being left, which is apparently par for the course. Add this to the designated driver steering well clear of motorways, and it is perhaps not surprising that a few emergency phone calls were made before Pendle finally turned up on the stroke of 10am.

Perhaps to punish them for their insolence, Fylde were quickly out of the blocks. Lee and Peter, playing the doubles against John and Abdul, used their bisque wisely to garner a 6 hoop break for Peter. Despite John getting round to penult, Abdul failed to get in the game and Lee pegged out after only 90 minutes play with the half bisque still in the ground. In the other games, Betty and Ken used their bisque advantage to open up big leads on Ron and David. And, with the away team failing to get to grips with the lawn they were never really in danger of being pegged back. Betty ultimately pegged out as time was called to win +7, with Ken prevailing by the same score on time.

Excellent catering was provided by Betty. Terry kindly came down to do the washing up, and as the captain left the afternoon singles had all started and Fylde were in very healthy positions in all of the games and a possible whitewash was on the cards.

It is just as well for his heart that he didn’t stay. Clearly there was something in the lunch that agreed with the away team, and also the experience of the lawns was being put to good use as the fight back was on in earnest. In the first game to finish, Abdul pegged Peter out when all the balls were nearly round and he ended up winning +1. Having wasted his bisques early, John did to Lee what he did to Terry last year, namely roqueting every ball in sight from as far away as you care to imagine. This enabled him to peg Lee out and he won +5. On the same lawn, Ron had a winning turn against Ken when on penult and peg against penult and rover, but failed to run penult with all the balls set up. Ken played his rover ball, ran the final hoop, and with Ron’s peg ball by the peg duly pegged it out. Careful play by Ken enabled him to win +2 without Ron getting back in. Which was just as well, as in the fourth close game of the afternoon, David beat Betty +4 on time, just failing to peg out in his time turn.

This keeps up Fylde’s 100% handicap record this season, and the double is now well and truly a possibility.

Posted by Lee, 11th June

Crake 1 Fylde 6

Crake: Tom Griffith (1/2), Graham Whitehouse (2 1/2), Steve Holmes (11) and David MacInnes (24)
Fylde: Lee Hartley (-1/2), Terry Vernazza (8 ), Betty Bates (14) and Ian Theakstone (14)

At the start of play, the weather conditions at Crake were testing, there was a very strong wind and frequent blustery showers. In the doubles, Lee was quickly in to his stride and also helped Ian to set up his breaks. They made good progress, although Tom replied well for Crake. However, despite Lee threatening to play the wrong ball, Fylde completed the match well within time, winning +16. In the singles, Betty struggled with the conditions and found it difficult to put a concerted break together. As the match progressed, her opponent, Graham, found his rhythm and went on to win the match. Terry also struggled with hoop running initially in his game with Steve and found himself a few hoops behind . However, he started to find his stride in the last hour and went on to win +6 on time. As play stopped for lunch, the sun came out and the pavilion offered a respite from the wind as well as a pleasant lunch complete with brownies and hot chocolate sauce! In the afternoon, the lawns were hit by a very heavy period of blustery rain which made play difficult. However, the Fylde players adapted well to the conditions and Following a rover peel, Terry pegged out with 45 mins to spare in his game against Graham. Betty was also playing well and won her game a few seconds after Terry. This was achieved with a long peg out from beyond penult. On the other lawn, Lee had a close struggle with Tom but then pegged Tom’s 1st ball out. This enabled him to go on and win the match +4. By now the lawns were awash with sunshine as Ian completed a winning afternoon for Fylde by pegging out against David.

Tom/David lost to Lee/Ian -16
Steve lost to Terry -6T
Graham beat Betty +18
Tom lost to Lee -4
Graham lost to Terry -16
Steve lost to Betty -16
David lost to Ian -15

Terry’s handicap triggered down to 7

Posted by Terry, 22nd May

Fylde 4 Bury Caesars 3

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (8), Terry Vernazza (9) (c), Alan Morton (14) & Leonard Ainsworth (20).
Bury Caesars: Graham Saunders (10), Malcolm Hardman (14) (c), Richard Harvey (14), Bob Whittle (20)

It was a glorious spring day for the first match of the season and Fylde were keen to make a good start to the defence of their title. The lawns were initially slow due to the heavy dew but Graham Saunders quickly mastered the conditions, putting several good breaks together to win the first game for Bury against Alan Morton. However, Terry Vernazza replied for Fylde with an equally good win against Richard Harvey, both games being completed well within time. Conditions on the other lawn were proving more difficult and neither team managed to establish a large lead. The result of the game hung in the balance until close to the end, then Bob Whittle compiled a good break to give Bury the win, 20 – 16 on time. Lunch time and the players enjoyed a fine meal in the new club house facilities. Ian and Liz also raised the flag on the new pole to celebrate. After lunch, the conditions on Lawn 3 were proving difficult. Terry and Malcolm struggled for a while to get going, then Terry surged ahead to win his game comfortably within time. Meanwhile, Leonard was making good use of his bisques and managed to shut Bob out of the game. Leonard eventually won well within time, leaving his opponent with six bisques still in the ground. On Lawn 1, the other two games were much closer, with the lead changing hands several times. Alan held his nerve and beat his opponent +5 on time. Martin and Graham has a close match throughout and were level on time. They entered a “Golden hoop” stage of the game, which Graham managed to win to give Bury the final game. A winning start for the league champions.

Posted by Terry, 17th April

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