Chester hosted the NW Federation 26-point AC HC tournament on Saturday 25 July. Only four players – two from Bowdon and two from Chester – had entered the tournament which was disappointing but those present enjoyed a competitive day on Chester’s fast courts and showed great skill from the start. 

The day began in warm sunshine and in the first round of matches, Mike Flannery (11) from Bowdon beat Ant Fletcher (12) 18-4 as Ant struggled to get the measure of the court. Meanwhile Sally Slater (14) was narrowly beaten by Bowdon’s Robert Cutts-Watson (10) 15-18 as she came back strongly as time was reached.

After an early lunch the second round matches pitted Sally against Ant who following the break found his touch and playing neat controlled croquet – well mostly anyway! – won 18-9. The other match between Mike and Robert was of high quality with some excellent breaks. Mike established a good lead but then Robert pegged him back and got to within 3 hoops of parity but just failed to get position on 3-back. This allowed Mike to run out the  21-16 winner.

The tea break allowed all to recuperate with the help of chocolate fudge cake, strawberries and squirty cream ready for the final round.

Robert and Ant fought out a tough match which by their admission was not one for the crowds with Robert holding on to a 17-11 win. Meanwhile in the other match Sally started strongly and established a  small lead but Mike replied with some excellent and precise croquet to peg out in just over two hour of play to win 26-13.

Once all the results had been compiled and points calculated Mike Flannery was the deserved winner of the 2026 Millennium AC 26-point Handicap Tournament remaining undefeated through the day and with 65 hoops run in the process. His was a fine display of consistent hitting in, controlled croquet shots and excellent hoop running on the rapid Chester courts. 

With the manager’s failure to recover the Tournament trophy from a previous winner in time, Mike was presented with his very own Chester mug as a surrogate prize for his endeavours. The real thing will follow in due course!

Report bu Robin Tasker, Tournament Manager

Karen Bowes (Crake Valley) defeated David Parrott (Bury) in the Final (7-4) to win the Cup.

10 players participated at Whitehead Park, several of whom were competing in their first Bury Tournament and it was great to welcome fresh faces to the Club.

The weather was much fresher and cloudier for the first part of the morning, however the sunshine and hot temperatures soon returned.

It was a keenly contested Tournament with great play and commitment from everyone throughout, demonstrated by the fact that so many of the matches resulted in a 7-6 scoreline.

Play consisted of 2 blocks. In Block A Karen Bowes (Crake Valley) won 3 out of 4 games, Ursula Walker (Fylde), Ray Lock (Ashby), and David Parrott (Bury) each won 2 and Mick Derrick (Sheffield) won 1.

In Block B Clare Rockall (Gainsborough) won 3 games, John Bowes (Crake Valley), Brenda Knight (Crake Valley), and Katy Hill (Ripon Spa) each won 2 and Sharon de Maine (Bury) won 1.

Semi-finals were held for both the Cup and the Plate. Players through to the Plate were Ursula and Ray from Block A and Brenda and Katy from Block B. Players through to the Cup were Karen and David from Block A and John and Clare from Block B. Mick and Sharon competed for the 9^th/10^th Playoff, a very close game, which was won by Sharon(7-6)

The first semi-final for the Plate was full of great shots and Ray had to work hard to gain his victory over Brenda (7-6) and his place in the Final. In an enjoyable match Katy beat Ursula (7-3) to face Ray in the Final, which was another excitingly close game, but Ray held his own to overcome Katy (7-5) to take the Plate.

Brenda and Ursula battled it out for the 7^th/8^th Playoff. Great play from both ladies but Brenda just pipped Ursula to the post and won (7-6)

The first semi-final for the Cup was the husband-and-wife battle between John and Karen Bowes. John put up a good fight, but Karen triumphed to gain her place in the Final (7-5). Yet another closely fought match took place between Clare Rockall and David Parrott.  David held his nerve and won (7-6) thus gaining his place in the Final.

In the 3^rd/4^th Playoff John Bowes unfortunately had to retire mid match due to an injury, consequently Clare took 3^rd place.

Despite playing some great shots and putting up a good fight David could not contain Karen and she beat him (7-4) to win the Cup.

Club President David Barrett presented the trophies and wine.

Thanks go to Referee, John Crossland, who did a sterling job as always, the Tournament Management, Grounds and Catering Teams for making the day an enormous success, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

Full results can be seen on Croquet Scores https://croquetscores.com2026

Winner Karen Bowes of Crake Valley CC with runner up David Parrott of Bury CC

Report by Sue Worth

5 places left at the inaugural event