CAMERTON and Peasedown Croquet Club’s Andy Loakes and Colin Britt were part of the triumphant Somerset team who have won the Division 1 Inter-County Golf Croquet Championship at the Sussex County Croquet Club at Southwick.
This was the first time a Somerset team had won in five years and it broke a run of Nottinghamshire dominance.
Other members of the Somerset team were David Goacher and Dom Aarvold from Bristol and Stephen Custance-Baker and Neil Fillery from Taunton Deane..
Twelve counties were represented. with four to six players in each team. Every county played every other county and each round consisted of one doubles game and two singles games. On day one Somerset played six matches and won five of them, only losing narrowly to Essex. On day two the Somerset team won their first four matches, setting up a final ‘winner-takes-all’ encounter with mighty Nottinghamshire.
In this final tussle Colin and Andy played really well in the doubles, consistantly clearing from distance and successfully jumping to take the win. Meanwhile, on the adjoining lawn, the Nottinghamshire players of Rachel Gee, a former ladies world champion, and husband Will were playing Somerset’s David Goacher and Dom Aarvold. Dom pulled off a fantastic win (7-4) against Will to lift the trophy..