Have you ever wondered if croquet is played by anybody else other than Alice in Wonderland with her flamingo croquet mallet?
And for that matter, what is croquet?
The basics are to hit four brightly coloured balls through 12 hoops using a mallet. It can be tremendous fun as well as providing a high level of competition.
Croquet in South Africa is most noted for the achievements of Reg Bamford, who is a world champion. He lives in England but plays for his native country.
Croquet has many variations, with the two main ones being golf croquet and association croquet.
The golf version is a more aggressive game but easier to learn and the most fun to play.
The association version has been described as chess played on a lawn, with intricate strategies, tactics and a repertoire of strokes and angle calculations more akin to snooker.
Croquet at Mbango Valley Association in Oslo Beach started in June 1991 as an activity for residents. Over the last few years, the club has grown and now includes non-residents and visitors.
Residents have seen that when young players start, they often have a natural talent for croquet, and their accuracy and skill are impressive.
It’s not just a sport for older people.
As part of the croquet experience, Mbango invites schools to try out the game so that children can experience the challenges and fun of croquet.
If one looks on YouTube at the New Zealand U21 Golf Croquet, one will realise how big the sport is in their schools.
At the last national open championships, which started in 1998, there were six schools and 16 players in the finals.
The sport has produced players like world champion Edmund Fordyce, who, in 2016, was the youngest competitor, aged only 15.
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