And finally... the Mary Rose 2020 Final

The 2020 Mary Rose final took place at Wrest Park on 11th April 2021, on a sunny yet bitterly cold day.  The two teams, High Wycombe and Nottingham, agreed that the games should be played without time limits… a decision we may have ended up regretting!  Progress was slow as the players shook off their early-season rust, but as lunchtime approached, the match stood at 1-1, with Keith Pound winning +6 against Sophie McGlen and Richard Peperell losing -14 against Mike Hedge.  And the doubles dragged on… finally, after almost four and a half hours, Wycombe snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, with Mike Porter and Chris Roberts going down -3 to Dave Gunn and Alex McIntyre.
 
In the afternoon games, Sophie rapidly beat Richard +24 to put Nottingham within one win of the trophy. As the snow began to fall, the other three games were finely balanced but when Mike Hedge beat Keith +6 to clinch the title, the other two games were gratefully abandoned in favour of warm cars and a drive home.
 
Congratulations to the Wycombe team for making the final for a third consecutive year, to Nottingham for a well-deserved victory, and to Wrest Park for hosting the final.

​Mike Porter