SiLOSSiLOS

Croquet lines by Sunday

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croquet mallet
1

1Pace it

Walk the long way in big steps and count; a long step is about a yard, and so is a mallet. The rules measure with the mallet, so the one in the box is also your tape.

2

2Stakes first

Nine-wicket: two stakes on the long centre line, at least 6 ft in from each end, and a wicket 6 ft in front of each. Those sixes are the only numbers the association asks you to keep when the rest shrinks. Six-wicket: one peg, dead centre, and everything measured from it.

3

3String last

A nail at each corner, string pulled tight, and the boundary exists. Paint or chalk down the side of the string if the court has to last the weekend; flags at the corners if it only has to last lunch.

4

4The first shot

Nine-wicket: halfway between the finishing stake and wicket one. Six-wicket: a metre inside the boundary in front of hoop one. Blue goes first. Nobody agrees about the rest.

5

5String

Nylon builders' string on a winder, one winder per string, or the first hour goes on untangling. Cotton breaks; the field crews say nylon takes the paint better and marks the grass less when you move it.

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