Sat 12th Oct, Moira Report by Mike
The 2019 Bottle Challenge was held on Saturday 12th Oct, a fine day during an otherwise unsettled period of weather.
The UK’s no. 7 ranked GC player Harry Fisher was our guest player, with Rachel, Will, Tim, Nick, Arthur, David and Paul from Ashby Croquet Club. A strong field with three -4 and two -3 handicaps.
An Ashby player had won the Bottle Challenge in each of the previous ten years, but Arthur beating an out of sorts Will 7-4 in the first round was a sign of things to come. I missed some of the mid-tournament games due to having to shop for the evening meal so will skip to the key game which was Harry v Will in the sixth round. Harry had not lost a game and Will had only lost one, so he could have won the tournament on who-beat-who. Harry won 7-4 and the tournament, a deserving and popular winner.
Rachel salvaged something for Ashby by beating Harry in the final round.
The Indoor Bottle Challenge was a limited affair due to time constraints after dinner. Only Harry and Will played and had twelve alternating shots each. Harry won after six successful shots as Will had by then accumulated enough penalties to have a score of minus one! Later in the evening there was a fitting end to the day when Nick smashed one of the bottles!