Croquet Durham through to next round of the Murphy Shield

Roger Carpenter, Tony McCann, Nigel Martin and Dave Parsons travelled to York on 15 June to play Branston in the first round of the Murphy Shield, eventually winning 6-1.

Branston, a new club entering the competition for the first time, were a tougher nut to crack than the score suggests. Roger and Nigel lost in two games in the doubles, but after that we won the remaining six singles with the majority of the matches going to the third game in the best of three game format.

York was chosen as a neutral venue, being about half-way between the two clubs (Branston – nothing to do with the eponymous pickle – is a village just outside Lincoln). York gave us warm weather and fast greens for a good day out.

In the next round we play the winner of Ashby v Wrest Park.