The Small end of the Cue

These colored balls can vary, but they are typically yellow, blue, pink, green, brown, and black. This may derive from the fact that (unlike in golf) players will often attempt to move their opponents' balls to unfavourable positions. In April 2013, Reg Bamford of South Africa beat Ahmed Nasr of Egypt in the final of the Golf Croquet World Championship in Cairo, becoming the first person to simultaneously hold the title in both association croquet and golf croquet. As of 2023, the Golf Croquet World Champion was Matthew Essick (USA), and the Women's Golf Croquet World Champion was Jamie Gumbrell (Australia). The world's top 10 association croquet players as of October 2023 were Robert Fletcher (Australia), Robert Fulford (England), Paddy Chapman (New Zealand), Jamie Burch (England), Reg Bamford (South Africa), Matthew Essick (USA), Mark Avery (England), Simon Hockey (Australia), Harry Fisher (England), and Jose Riva (Spain). Regardless of when and by what route it reached the British Isles and the British colonies in its recognizable form, croquet is, like pall-mall and trucco, among the later forms of ground billiards, which as a class have been popular in Western Europe back to at least the Late Middle Ages, with roots in classical antiquity, including sometimes the use of arches and pegs along with balls and mallets or other striking sticks (some more akin to modern field hockey sticks).

Nicky Smith presents two theories of the origin of the modern game of croquet, which took England by storm in the 1860s and then spread overseas. He then alternately pockets red and coloured balls. Giddy up, because in this article, we are going to discuss everything regarding the size of cue ball and other balls. Make sure your cue tip is always properly chalked. These are the colored and numbered balls that make up a set of pool balls. Unlike association croquet, balls are always played in the same sequence (blue, red, black, yellow). The current Women's Association Croquet World Champion (2023) is Debbie Lines of England. As well as club-level games, county-level tournaments, and leagues, there are regular world championships and international matches between croquet-playing countries. The sport has particularly strong followings in the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, and Egypt; many other countries also play. Commonly, social games adopt further non-standard variations to adapt play to the conditions. All the three games involve the use of a cue stick and balls over a table covered in cloth with rubberised or leather cushions on the edges. Professional tournament rules vary on the use of the kitchen when a scratch occurs.

The other common practice as a result of a scratch is that of the opposing player shooting from anywhere behind the head string, otherwise known as ‘in the kitchen’ or ‘from the kitchen’. For most of the game, these actions are considered standard fouls and result in ball-in-hand for the opponent either on the entire table or behind the head string. The expectation on what you pay when you buy brand new really depends on what kind of functions the pool table has, its design, quality and how it plays. Croquet became highly popular as a social pastime in England during the 1860s. It was enthusiastically adopted and promoted by the Earl of Essex, who held lavish croquet parties at Cassiobury House, his stately home in Watford, Hertfordshire, and the Earl even launched his own Cassiobury brand croquet set. An alternative endgame is "poison": in this variant, a player who has scored the last wicket but not hit the starting stake becomes a "poison ball", which may eliminate other balls from the game by roqueting them. The limitation of roqueting each ball once between hoop points is, unlike in association croquet, carried over from turn to turn until the ball scores the next hoop.

Balls that are played more than halfway to the next hoop before a point is scored are considered offside, and are moved to penalty areas. In play, the object is to stroke the cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom, or billiard, which counts one point. The next shot must move both the player's ball and the roqueted ball, and it is the "croquet" stroke that gives the game its name. Also known as deflection, squirt happens when using English on a shot. This penalty can limit the player’s options, making their next shot more challenging. Games are shorter, balls are more likely to be hit harder, and 'jump' shots are more likely to be witnessed, where a ball is played to deliberately jump off the ground and over another ball. The player can win a frame by scoring the most points by pocketing the red and colored balls with the cue ball. When a roquet is made, the player may pick up their ball and place it in contact with the roqueted ball. A poison ball that hits a stake or passes through any wicket (possibly through the action of a non-poison player) is eliminated.

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