No-one expected it to be warm when the one-ball final was scheduled for 20 November, and the day dawned with frost on the lawn. But by the start time of 11am, that had gone, leaving leaves – lots of them – to greet finalists Phil Davies and Doug Dykes on their arrival. Clearing them delayed the start of the match, which evolved into a very even contest during which leaves of a different sort set its eventual outcome.
Doug held a single bisque in each game, which he used early in the first. The players were even until Hoop 3, after which Doug established a lead that Phil ate into until their clips coincided at Penult. Doug ran it first, followed by Rover and a missed shot towards peg. It was a risky leave, giving Phil an easy roquet after he had run Penult, allowing him to roll up to Rover and potentially win the game. But he missed the all-important hoop shot, leaving Doug with the gift of an easy roquet from which he took the first game +2.
Game 2 was much the same. Level again at Hoop 3, which Doug won after a 30-minute safety exchange, again going on to build a lead. Both players made some impressive hits-in and some equally impressive hoop blobs before rendezvousing as before at Penult. Doug again ran it first, roqueted Phil and set up in front of Rover.
It was a tempting leave: would Phil hit in, setting himself up to catch up and win? If he missed, it would almost certainly be game-over. Instead, he retreated back to Penult, giving himself a chance to run that hoop and wrap up the game in his next turn.
This left Doug able to run Rover and approach the peg, just as in the previous game, whereupon he unleashed his – perhaps forgotten – bisque to peg out, winning the game +3 and thus the match and trophy, 2-0.
Phil was philosophical about his loss. “That’s how it goes,” he sighed at the end. And that, indeed, is how it went.