Bath Stars Shine on Cheltenham lawns

Bath Croquet Club got their 2012 Parkstone Trophy campaign off to a solid start with a 6-1 victory against Cheltenham on Saturday 28 April. The fixture had been hastily rearranged as an away fixture because of Bath’s soggy lawns but the loss of home advantage was always unlikely to have much of an impact on Bath who were the far stronger side on paper.

The indomitable Roger Hayes guided the up-and-coming Paul Francis to victory in the doubles in the morning. However, the scores were soon level as Peter Miles succumbed to an inspired final turn against the odds by his morning opponent. Bath Captain, Andrew Willis restored Bath’s lead by winning his morning singles match and his steady, if unspectacular, form continued into the afternoon with another victory. This inspired Bath to complete a clean sweep of singles victories in the afternoon including an excellent, albeit narrow, win for Francis against a supposedly stronger opponent.