​Croquet quartet put Fylde on national map after big success

The four-person team consisted of Andrew Webb and Phil Snowden, both of St Anne’s, Lytham’s Barry Broughton and Betty Bates, of Warton.

They travelled to Edgbaston Croquet Club to contest East Dorset for the trophy which has been competed for since 1929.

Play consisted of one doubles match and six singles, each lasting three hours and 15 minutes.

In the doubles Webb and Snowdon took on Dorset’s Chris Weedon and and Alan Jones. Webb made the first significant breakthrough, taking his ball to Rover. Fylde won plus five.

Bates then went up against Christine Rice and it was the Fylde player who scored the first point and had a major break which ended when the referee judged her to have faulted whilst trying to roquet a hampered ball.

Rice closed her way back into the game but Bates held on to win plus two.

At lunchtime. the score was Fylde 2 East Dorset 1. In the afternoon singles games, Webb again played very well getting his ball to rover in a single break and put Fylde into a 3-1 lead.

Snowdon found Mike Rice a difficult opponent and was unable to establish a big break. The Dorset ace held the lead throughout and went on to win plus16.

Broughton dominated his game against Rice with the former making a spectacular roquet to the black ball in the jaws of hoop5 with a 30-yard strike. He proceed to peg out red and win the cup for Fylde.