Nailsea & District Croquet Club's Ryan Cabble and partner Louise Smith (Sidmouth Croquet Club) were crowned English National Golf Croquet Champions at Budleigh Salterton recently.

Ryan and Louise entered the competition as 11th seeds, and were against a strong line-up of competitors, including several ex-winners.

A total of 16 pairs entered the block stage for Saturday’s matches, with the most successful pairs returning Sunday for the quarter-finals, semis and final.

Ryan and Louise were joint second in their block and went forward for the quarters, where they went through with a 7-6, 6-7, 7-1 victory.

The semis gave them a four-hour struggle, but they eventually became finalists with a 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 score.

In the final they lost their first match (7-3) but held on with a 7-4 win, so it all came down to the last match of the weekend.

And with some skilful play and excellent teamwork they became victorious with a 7-4 win, being crowned the national GC champions.

Ryan returned to Nailsea with the Ranelagh Cup and he and Louise will be invited back to defend their title next year.

Ryan said: “It was a hard-fought match but Louise and I were delighted to come through and take the cup. We are eager to try to retain it in 2022!”

A full match report can be found at the Croquet Association web page: https://www.croquet.org.uk.