By Eric Sawyer | I should have expected it. Those plucky Irishman. We ended up in a tie with them, 3-3.
Ben and Sherif were dominant in their doubles match. But Danny and David lost their second straight doubles match. We then split singles 2-2, with Ben and David winning their matches and Sherif and Danny losing their matches. Danny's loss was a bit of a surprise to me; David's win was huge!
What this means is that if Ireland beats Sweden, as expected, and Egypt beats our lads, as expected, the US and Ireland will be tied 1-1-1 for second place. On Wednesday morning they will have to play a special, three-game tie-break: one doubles game and two singles matches played by the players who aren't playing doubles. We'll discuss that later.
The Egyptians flattened the Swedes, so they clinched a play-off birth, regardless of how they fare against the US tomorrow.
If Sweden beats Ireland tomorrow, we will clinch the second play-off birth regardless of our match. The same if Sweden and Ireland tie. Sweden has played well, but not as plucky as the Irish. So I think we are more than likely looking at a tie. GO SWEDEN.
Rich Lamm is cooling his jets on the sideline, practicing every day and trying to stay sharp in case the old war horse is needed to spell an injured or tired player.
In the other block, New Zealand flattened Wales and England had an easy time with South Africa. So much for my predictions. NZ and England are now headed for a show-down tomorrow, but both have clinched play-off spots so they are just placing for seeding. In England's match, reigning world AC champion Stephen Mulliner defeated Reg Bamford in two games. Rachel Rowe won her matches too. She is becoming a croquet rock star.
Tomorrow should be a fun match between NZ and England. It could be Mulliner v. Chris Clarke, a death-match. We could also see Rachel Rowe against Jenny Clarke, a women's death match. Let's keep our fingers crossed. The lads will begin play shortly. I'm about to begin sleep!