Sidmouth Herald published 28 August 2009
A Win For Sidmouth's Advanced League Team
Sidmouth's advanced play team have struggled this season against high calibre opposition in the top division. The visit of a weakened Dyffryn team provided hope that they might at last get some points. In the morning singles, Cliff Jones had a comfortable win, while the doubles pairing of Robert Hammond and Richard Wood never quite got going, with Richard sending several croquet strokes off the boundary. At 1-1 this left all to play for in the afternoon singles.
Unfortunately, an early error by Cliff was ruthlessly punished, resulting in a quick loss - something that can happen all too easily at this level. This left Richard and Robert needing to win their singles games. Both had closely fought battles. Eventually, Robert and Richard both pegged out within a couple of minutes of each other to complete a closely fought 3-2 victory for Sidmouth.
Cunningham Salver
Twenty players in four blocks competed for the Cunningham Salver Golf Croquet Singles for High Handicaps. John Coombes and Ann Ratcliffe made it through to the finals with Ann the worthy winner by seven hoops to four. Six new members entered the competition, some doing very well - David Jeremiah won three of his four games and Philip Harris won two.
The Hatherley Cup
The following day the Hatherley Cup for Low Handicaps took place, with 12 players competing in two blocks. The resulting semi-finalists were Ian Friedlander, Peter Hills, David Clarke and Doreen O'Hara. Peter and David battled out the final, which Peter won with a score of seven hoops to four.
Overall, it was an enjoyable couple of days, ably managed by Helen Pryor.