Perhaps the most important event at Compton on the first day of the qualifiers competition was something that didn't happen: no rain. Earlier forecasts proved pessimistic, the cloud thinned and sun shone at times.

Sunshine of a sort too amongst the players who assembled to play. A group of 9 Spanish players were the largest national group and were enjoying themselves from  the start, though a crash course in Spanish for croquet managers would have been useful at times.

In fact it proved as the day went on that this was going to be a lovely group of players to take through a competition.

Generally we held to the schedule, though a hold up and some slowness in one of the blocks meant that half finished rather later than planned.

A few things spotted on the lawns during play:

Two good clearances by Maria Asuncion Cardoso to save the match but a long hoop by Beryl Hughes won it anyway;

In round 2 Lynn Pearcey finishing her game with a delicate shot at hoop from the boundary;

Debbie Davidoff making a 45 degree or so hoop from a couple of yards out with a jump shot;

A game that had to restart after both players played an opponent ball;

A gaggle of referees and a player-translator on lawn 3 trying to unravel a wrong ball situation.

The lawns at Compton looked good and the hoops , though tight seemed reasonably forgiving after the recent rains.

Results on the day did not all go by ranking. Paz Gonzalez de Aguilar won all her games, the only player to do so. An off-form Ellen Nielsen won only 2. In Block B Eastbourne player Liz Drury pleased the club members watching (and no doubt herself) by winning 5 of 7 matches, including 3rd ranked Lynn Pearcey.

Day two will see the final rounds of the block stage before the cut is made for the final qualifying and plate blocks.

John Low