GC Team B 29/5/24

Team B travelled to Reigate Priory to play their first match in the Croquet South East (previously SECF) Advantage League.

Having eventually found the club, (trickier than expected due to Sat Nav taking us to the far reaches of the enormous, very attractive site), we discovered that their sole lawn was 3/4 size. It took a bit of getting used to but didn’t deter us.

Round 1 saw Richard Perkins and Hilary Bird winning their doubles match, while Janet Curtecka and Martin Birch had a more difficult match. In Round 2 , 3 of us won our singles, meaning we had a promising lead of 4-2 when we stopped for lunch.

Reigate’s hospitality was wonderful and most welcomed – the delicious 3 course meal being their way of apologising for several of us having to have byes, necessitated by scheduling 9 games on 1 lawn. Perhaps it was actually a cunning plan to make us less alert for Round 3…….

As it turned out, we lost the next 2 singles, leaving a nail biting doubles to seal a victory for the team.

All in all it was a most enjoyable day, made even sweeter by the final result 5-4 to GGCC!