THE MACROBERTSON SHIELD IN PROSPECT
It may be a year late because of the impact of Covid on the world championship schedule, but the Centenary MacRobertson Shield is just around the corner. The event dates back to 1925 when MacPherson Robertson, a confectionery millionaire and an enthusiastic croquet player, donated the MacRobertson Shield for competition between Australia and England to raise media interest. Popularly referred to as “The Mac” or “The MacRob”, it has been held 23 times so far and was expanded by the addition of New Zealand and USA in 1930 and 1993 respectively. England/ Great Britain have won 15 times and Australia and New Zealand have each won four times. So, what are the prospects this time, especially given that the last three holdings have been won by New Zealand, Australia and England respectively? On paper at least, England look distinct favourites. They are the current holders, have the benefit of home advantage and can boast an average grade (in mid-May) of 2563 compared to USA (2484), New Zealand (2459) and Australia (2379). Furthermore, four of the England team (Mark Avery, Jamie Burch, James Death and Samir Patel) were members of the victorious 2022 team while Robert Fulford returns for his ninth appearance (and will thereby draw level with John Prince as the two most frequent Mac players) and 19-year old Jack Good makes his debut after an impressive series of wins in GC events and excellent progress in AC including an unbeaten run in the 2025 Solomon Trophy against USA. The American team of Tom Balding, Matthew Essick, Kyle Maloof, Stephen Morgan, Ben Rothman and Zack Watson has been together since the 2023 Solomon Trophy and five (all bar Maloof) played in the 2022 MacRobertson. Given their GC by Stephen Mulliner Eight Times MacRobertson Shield Team Member
2017 England MacRobertson Shield Team Jamie Burch, James Hopgood, James Death, David Maugham, Samir Patel & Stephen Mulliner
expertise and their extraordinary shooting at the 2025 Solomon Trophy, their long roqueting is likely to be the strongest of all four teams and much will depend on the consistency of their break play. If they achieve a high level in that department, they have an excellent chance of claiming their first Mac victory. New Zealand will field five of the 2022 team, namely Greg Bryant, Paddy Chapman, Edmund Fordyce, Felix Webby and Aaron Westerby. Bryant, Chapman and Westerby bring significant experience with 15 Mac appearances between them. The newcomer is Logan McCorkindale who is a strong player and winner of the NZ Open Championship in both 2024 and 2026. New Zealand can never be ruled out, but the odds suggest that they will have a tough battle with USA for second place. Australia will be represented by Trevor Bassett (who made his Mac debut in 2000), Stephen Forster, Greg Hill, Dwayne McCormick, Stephen Pearce and Edward Wilson. The absence of the three Fletcher brothers is obviously a significant change from their 2022 team and suggests that Australia will do well to avoid the wooden spoon.
Forecasting team performance is not only about data and experience. One of the factors to be kept in mind is team age and potential for development. While both codes of croquet contain many examples of older players who remain formidable competitors and winners long after their half-century, there is no doubt that younger players have an edge in relation to long roqueting success, especially when the courts are of high quality, and have generally greater scope for improving break play. The courts at Hurlingham, Roehampton, Sussex County and Surbiton should be in superb condition and ideal for accurate shooting. The American team will be the youngest team in this year’s Mac and the only one that is effectively unchanged. If they have been able to absorb the lessons of their narrow loss to Great Britain in the 2025 Solomon Trophy, they have the greatest potential to spring a surprise. As mentioned earlier, the last three Macs have been won by three different countries. It would be quite something if the Centenary MacRob completed the sequence so that it could be said that the last four Macs had been won by four different countries!
www.croquetworldteamchampionships.co.uk | 6
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online