Facing an unassailable AC opponent...

On our clubhouse wall is a photo of one of the world's ugliest trophies - the Mary Rose cup.  But, whether it was dredged up from the Tudor carrack or simply modelled on a crude pewter tankard found therein, it remains the most coveted prize in the AC B-Level world.  It's a national AC inter-club championship which we won in 2018 and again in 2023.

On June 12th, our team of Richard Coward, Keith Harker, Richard Peperell and David Cotton faced a team which, on paper, looked unassailable.  Our combined handicaps were 17, and Wrest Park's were 7.5.  The Mary Rose is a 'level advanced' competition which, for those who don't play AC, means at the end of various turns you have to snooker your opponent by placing balls in positions that stymie them and benefit you.

The format is quite prescriptive:  the lowest two handicap players on each side play doubles in the morning, while the higher handicaps play singles.  In the afternoon, everyone plays singles based on handicap order.  Richard Peperell (2) and David Cotton (3) played George Collin (1) and Eric Audsley (1) at doubles. Richard Coward (7) played Peter Rothwell ((2) and Keith Harker (5) played Tim Brewer (2.5).  Wunderkind Peter is in his third year of croquet and his handicap has dropped from 24 to 3 in that time.  The only player I know who has bettered this is Dave Fuller of East Dorset although keep your eyes on our own Gabriel Furse who may get there even quicker!  The results were a 26-19 win for Richard P. and David, a 17-14 win for Keith on time and a 15-26 loss for Richard C. with a very respectable score given the strength of the opposition.

After a light lunch, largely thanks to Jane Cotton, play was resumed.  In the afternoon, David had a sudden rush of blood to the head and beat Eric 26-2 in a little under an hour.  Richard P.  beat George 26-21 after a stunning rover peel and pegout.  His opponent claimed that Richard's peel would have been impossible on their lawns.  Hats off to Richard, Kenny and Russell for getting our lawns up to this standard.  Keith was unable to contain Peter and lost 7-21 on time and Richard beat Tim 20-17 on time.  The joy of the day was that everyone in our team won at least one match.  The result: 5-2 to High Wycombe.

We were given a bye in round one, and from my reading of the CqE website, we will play the winner of a Newport/Letchworth match in the quarter finals.

As we waved the opponents off the premises, we cracked open a nice bottle of Bordeaux, kindly provided by Richard C., to celebrate our victory.  We had naturally offered a glass to our opponents, but as they had declined, we drank it ourselves.

David Cotton ​