CROQUET TOURNEY

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 110, 3 February 1930, Page 17

CROQUET TOURNEY

NORTH ISLAND HONOURS FINAL MATCH TO-DAY - The North Island croquet tournament was continued ou the Lower Hutt lawns on Saturday. There was a good attendance of spectators, amongst Whom was Mrs. Charles Izard, the mother of the late Mr. Keith Izard, former ‘English* champion. Several light showers of. rain fell during the afternoon, but none of the games were interrupted. Open Championship. The main attraction of the day was the final of the open championship, in which Mr. W. Windsor liichards, the well-known English player, playing tor Geraldine, was declared-the winner. Mrs. W. E. Caldow, formerly of Hataitni, but now playing for Wellington . and Haeremai, was runner-up. The final, the best out of three games, went ■ the whole distance. In the first game of the rubber, Mrs. Caldow never took croquet and was defeated 26 —0. Mr. liichards played excellently, the game lasting' only 20 minutes. In, the second game Mrs. Caldow gave a very fine exhibition and won 26—24. • ' Her break- play was, a feature of the game and was the subject of congratulation by her omonent. .The third game and the rubber was won by Mr. Richards, the score bein" 26—0. Mrs. Caldow had only once chance of getting into play and failed. \ Mrs. Caldow is a comparatively recent entrant into the field of croquet and during the few years has been gradually coming to the fore. Never before has she gone so far in a New. Zealand Croquet Council championship. She was congratulated heartily on her play against so formidable an opponent. Handicap Singles. The final round of the handicap singles was also decided on Saturday, the honours again going to Mr. Richards. In this event he met his former partner in the handicap doubles, Miss McFarlane, of Palmerston North. The latter was obviously suffering from nervousness playing against the champion, and suffered defeat by three points. Ladies’ Championship. There remains to be played only one final before the conclusion of the tournament. The event is.the ladies’ championship. In the final round of the first life, which was played on Saturday, Mrs. Gambrill defeated Mrs. N. Smith by 15 points. The final of the second life resulted in a close victory for Mrs. Jarvie, who defeated Mrs. Mouat, 26—25. Mrs. Gambrill will thus meet Mrs. Jarvie for the title honours. The round, the best of three games, will be played on the Hutt croquet lawn at 9.15 a.m. to-day. Presentation of Cups. At the conclusion of the day’s play, in view- of Mr. Richard’s departure for the south that night, the cups and trophies for the open championship, the champion doubles, tho handicap singles, and the handicap doubles, which were wdn respectively by Mt. Richards, Mrs. Gardner and Mr. Richards. Mr. Richards; and Miss McFarlane and Mr. Richards, were presented by Mrs. IV. S. Austin, president of the Wellington Croquet Association. Mrs. Austin expressed great pleasure at Mr. Richards’s, entering into the tournament, for it gave all the-players a splendid opportunity of seeing good croquet. She also thanked the visitor for the way in which he had helped the players by placing his knowledge of the game at their disposal. Mr. Richards thanked the members of the local clubs for their generous hospitality, which was the finest he had ever received on his travels, both at Home and abroad. He congratulated the-play-ers on the amicable spirit displayed during the games, and Mrs. E. McKenzie and her able committee on the excellent management of the tournament. Before leaving the lawns* Mr. Richards gave a demonstration of shots which was greatly appreciated by both, players and spectators alike. The results of the day’s play are as follow: — LADIES’ CHAMPIONSHIP. First Life. Final round: Mrs. Gambrill (Palmerston North) defeated Mrs. N. Smith (Central), 26—11. ' x • Second Life. Third round: Mrs. Jarvie (Wanganui) defeated Mrs. Boocock (Haeremai), 26—15. Semi-final round:: Mrs. Mouat (Waimarie) defeatred Mrs. Caldow (Wellington.) 26—15; Mrs. Jarvie defeated Mrs. Mcllroy (Haeremai), 26—10. Final round: Mrs, Jarvie defeated Mrs. Mouat, 26—25. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP.

Final round: Mr. W. Windsor Richards (Geraldine) defeated Mrs. Caldow, 26—0, 24—26, 26—0,

HANDICAP SINGLES. Fifth round: Miss McFarlane,'Palmerston North, (2J) defeated Mrs. Jarvie (scr.), 26—10. Semi-final round: Miss McFarlane defeated Mrs. Heymanson, Hataltai (6), 26—11; Mr. W. Windsor Richards ( —J), won from Mrs. Polson, Masterton (7) by default. Final round: Mr.W. Windsor Richards defeated Miss McFarlane, 26—23. COMMENTS ON PLAY Commenting upon the general play during the tournament, Mr. Richards said to a “Dominion” representative that the games had been of the in-and-out type. “As a contrast to this,” he went on to say, “one morning at Roehampton, Miss Steel was playing Mr. Longman. Mr. Longman got in and picked up a difficult break in -both games and won each by 26 points, never allowing Miss Steel to take croquet. Mr. Longman was my opponent in the following game, and in turn he was not allowed to take croquet. I won both by 26 points. My turn came next against Mr. Duff-Matthews, who did not allow me to take croquet, thus defeating me in both games by 26 points. This was the reason why the lift was introduced into the game. “The shooting of the ladies in the tournament/’ Mr. -Richards continued, “has been excellent. I have never seen better shooting in any tournament I have attended. Unfortunately, however, the . same cannot be said of their tactics, tjl'hese,’ no doubt, would improve if they played in more tournaments. For instance, when in front of a hoop and close to it, they travel too far through the hoop, often missing the. return croquet. Another thing, one should never go • through four back during the-first break. More attention might also be paid to wiring opponents' balls. Further, ladies’ used mallets too heavy, especially for the stop shot, which is the most important -shot in the whole of- the game. “Finally,” said Mr. Richards, “the four , important shots to be mastered are —firstly, the stop shot; secondly, the fol-low-up shot; thirdly, the rush shot; and lastly, making hoops. When these four shots have been, mastered, the game of croquet becomes a comparatively simple matter.”