Reigate member Jamie Burch has been selected for the England Team for the 2026 Association Croquet World Team Championship, making it four championships in a row in which he has played.
The competition is also known as the MacRobertson International Croquet Shield – or simply the MacRob – named for its trophy, which was presented by an Australian confectionery maker and philanthropist, Sir Macpherson Robertson in 1925. Wikipedia describes it as the world’s premier croquet team event.
Now ranked as World No 2 for AC, Jamie joins five other top players who will be defending the trophy they won in Australia in 2022 over three weeks of matches against Australia, New Zealand and the USA in a contest that has taken place roughly every four years.
Next year’s event will take place in the UK from 24 July until 9 August across four clubs – Roehampton, Hurlingham, Sussex and Surbiton.
Alongside Jamie will be: Mark Avery, (runner-up in the most recent World Singles Championship); James Death (European Champion); Robert Fulford (six-time AC World Champion and currently World No 3); Jack Good (Semi-finalist in the 2025 U21 GC World Championship and AC World No 24); and Samir Patel (Capt; four-time AC World quarter-finalist and Chair of the Board of Trustees at Croquet England).
The England Team are sponsored by investment trust manager Alliance Witan, whose Investor Relations Manager Mark Atkinson has watched some of the team train over the winter at Hurlingham. “It is no surprise that they have been selected to play for their country,” he said in a statement released by Croquet England.
- Fun facts: The MacRob started in 1925 as a competition between Australia and England. New Zealand was added in 1935 and the USA in 1993. The England team has sometimes been a GB or a GB & Ireland team and across its 23 outings, England/GB has won 15 times. Australia and New Zealand have won four times each while the USA has yet to score.