The Haste Cup was contested at Sidmouth Croquet Club, writes Roger Hendy.

This is a qualifying Golf Croquet tournament for the prestigious Ascot Cup run by the Croquet Association later in the season.

Fourteen players competed, including two from Sidmouth, with one coming from as far away as Northampton.

Some of the best players in the country came to play in this ‘level play’ tournament which was played in ‘American Blocks’ where all seven players in a block meet each other.

By lunch on day two all the block games had been completed. The two players in each block who had won the most games then played the semi-finals.

This saw Northampton’s Lionel Tibble take on Ryan Cabble from Nailsea, and Sue Lightbody from Dulwich play Swanage-based William Ormerod.

Cabble and Ormerod prevailed to contest the final. These two players, with an age difference of about fifty years, had quite different styles of play, and were very entertaining to watch!

Ormerod won the first game only for Cabble to take the next two to claim the match and lift the prestigious Haste Cup for the third year running.

Cabble will now take his plave in the Ascot Cup later this season.

The match for third and fourth place, contested by the tow beaten semi-finalists saw Lightbody defeat Tibble.

Unlike last years woes with wet weather, this year the tournament was played in dry weather, but it remained cold throughout.

All visiting players enjoyed the weekend and the opportunity to play on the fine croquet lawns at Sidmouth.