New Zealand's croquet team is hoping a key change in personnel will see them win the sport's biggest competition for the first time in nearly 30 years.
The MacRobertson Shield will be decided in three tests around the country over the next fortnight, and for the first time they have one of the world's best players in their ranks - but only because England didn't want him.
World number one Chris Clarke is making his shield debut for New Zealand. He was a key player for England for two decades, only to be dropped.
"I was ranked world number two at the time and they picked world number 50, so it became clear I wasn't in the frame living 12,000 miles away," he says.
The 43-year-old was living in Christchurch at the time, and has done so for eight years now. That he had to switch allegiances still rankles.
"It's very sad not to play for my country of birth, but my wife, who's on the New Zealand tee, that's a positive," he says.
Jenny Clarke is the world number 15; she's also the only woman in the 24-strong field, which also features teams from Australia and the United States.
"The last time New Zealand won it was 1986," says New Zealand manager Jarrod Coutts. "Since 1990 England has won it every time."
The ultimate payback for Clarke would be to break England's 24-year winning streak, which would see old friends become foes.
"I think it will be very tough for him against England - he'll come up against his best friend Robert Fulford," says Coutts.
"I've played five MacRobertson Shields with him as my doubles partner," says Clarke. "He was my best man at my wedding, I was the best man at his, I respect everything he does; it'll be an interesting game when we play."
And that test in Tauranga in less than a fortnight will ultimately decide croquet's most coveted prize.
3 News
source: newshub archive
