Croquet at The Nationals: Conclusion

This was the result of the final shot in the Doubles which which was fired by Aaron Westerby from 17 yards away:

All in all I've enjoyed The Nationals. I made the top 16 from which a significant number of the Country's top players had been eliminated. I've increased my index points which brings me just that little bit further towards my goal of bringing my handicap down from three to two. I've enjoyed the games and the company of most of the people whom I have played against. I've not enjoyed the politics nor the attitude of some of the top players in the sport which has been in very marked conrast to my experiences up until this Tournament. But wotthehellarchie wotthehell it doesn't matter to me one iota. I have no desires nor expectations of ever of playing for my Country (whichever that is).

The Open Championship Singles was won by Chris Clarke (the World Number One) who played Tony Stevens in the final.

Chris Clarke (born 1971 in Lancashire) is an English croquet player who has been ranked among the world's top players since the late 1980s and won. two World Championships. Chris now lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and was married on 30 January 2008 to NZ rep Jenny Williams.

As a post script and as a small repitition of that seventh deadly sin I will add that Tony Stevens (and his wife Colleen) are two of my idols. Colleen was (and is) one of Hawkes Bay's top women players and Tony is the Bay's top male player. Colleen plays for Marewa (the Club I belong to) and Tony belongs to our rival Te Mata. The dealdly sin bit? I took one game off Tony a few weeks ago (his first defeat, I discovered today, for 34 games).