Tournament News
Day 10 Report: Monday, November 10, 2003
Today’s scores
Test Match standings
10:10 AM. Home crowd hoping for a historic win.
USA will win the test match against NZ if they can win at least one of today’s six singles matches. Jerry Stark is the first American to win a game today, and it would be a fitting result if USA’s most experienced test match player were to win the deciding match.
10:50 AM. Kiwis still in it.
John Prince (NZ) has not been in his top form so far this Series; his response has been to keep going after difficult plays: second-turn two-ball breaks, TPOs, and in game 2 against John Taves (USA), a sextuple peel. He needed a straight quad to finish, but his rush to 4-back was just too hard, and he is now finishing his break and contact leave.
NZ are leading in three matches; USA in two. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
11:10 AM. Wind returns with a vengeance.
The wind is a major factor today, and this is expected to continue for the next few days. Robert Fulford and Chris Clarke (GB) have bagged the first match of the day.
11:40 AM. Two Americans have the test on their mallets.
Jacques Fournier and Jerry Stark of USA each have chances to win their matches with delayed triples. Ken Rosenberry (USA) is working on a TPO of Peter Parkinson (NZ); John Taves (USA) went round from John Prince’s (NZ) contact leave, and has pegged out Prince’s peg ball and given contact.
Bruce Fleming and Stephen Forster of Australia can level their doubles matches with triple peels.
11:50 AM. USA win second-ever MacRobertson Shield test match
Jacques Fournier finished his triple peel to clinch the test match for USA. The score currently stands at USA 11, NZ 5.
12:20 PM. Wind continues to wreak havoc with matches.
Play is decidedly slower today than yesterday, as players continue to struggle in the gusty wind. Fleming completed his triple to extend that match (Fleming and M. Clarke [AUS] v. Avery and Maugham [GB]). Burrow and Mulliner (GB) have beaten Forster and Meatheringham (AUS), Burrow giving the referee a tough shot to call after a jawsed rover peel. Note that Bassett and Hockey (AUS) never took croquet against Fulford and C. Clarke (GB), Fulford having “popped” Bassett’s ball to 3 in both games.
Taves, Louw and Rosenberry of USA have levelled their singles matches against Prince, Bulloch and Parkinson, respectively, of NZ. Rosenberry completed his TPO and pegged off both rovers. As everyone knows, Kenster will do anything to get a game of one-ball. Actually, in this case he probably intended to keep his rover ball in the game, but having cross-pegged himself from partner after the peg-out of Parkinson’s ball, he had no choice.
1:10 PM. Six matches still in play.
Bruce Fleming (AUS) hit the last lift (well and truly the last—opponents were peg and rover in game 3) and is going round.
Prince (NZ) had a spot of bad luck that prevented him from finishing the match with a triple; he pegged off the striker’s ball, and Taves (USA) hit the lift. He is on 1 and 3 v. peg and box. Garrison (NZ) won game 2 against Stark (USA).
1:50 PM. Great Britain 15, Australia 6.
Yet another test match has finished with a 15-6 score, as Maugham and Avery (GB) beat Fleming and M. Clarke (AUS) in three games.
John Prince (NZ) beat John Taves (USA), and Jerry Stark (USA) beat Toby Garrison (NZ), each match requiring three games. The test match score is currently 12-6 to USA, three matches still in play. Intermittent rain showers—heavy at times—are now added to the challenge of the still-strong winds.
2:50 PM. NZ leading 3-2 on the day with one game remaining.
Brian Wislang and Peter Parkinson of New Zealand finished their singles matches at the same time and by the same score in the final game: 17tp over Curtis Drake and Ken Rosenberry, respectively.
Wynand Louw (USA) has begun what could be the final turn of the day, if he can dig out a triple from a challenging position—let alone the challenge of dealing with the wind, steady at 15-25 mph with stronger gusts.
4:00 PM. United States 12, New Zealand 9.
Louw did the three peels but missed the peg-out and sent the croqueted ball off the lawn. Bulloch finished to put NZ up 4-2 on the day.