Ian Plummer has been playing croquet since he was a graduate and currently plays off a scratch (0) handicap. He started at Oxford University with a chemistry degree and obtained his doctorate designing and developing a new form of electron microscope. Following post doctoral work, consultancy and positions at Corpus Christi and St. Anne's Colleges he has now returned to his original college (Balliol) where he does computing. At Oxford University he has encouraged and coached many students in the sport.

He is a qualified Croquet Association (CA) championship referee, grade 3 coach, handicapper and a member of the CA's Equipment Committee.

"I came to croquet by accident; one of the students in my laboratory was secretary of the Oxford University Croquet Club and I helped him use the new fangled 'word processor' we had in the lab to type out the Club's minutes. Other than that I had only thwacked balls in the college quadrangle without any idea of the game. It was some surprise consequently when I found that I had been 'elected' to be the secretary of the Club for the following year. "But I don't know how to play and I'm not a member!"

From that start however I have not looked back. Of the sports I have tried croquet has always had a new challenge - and still does. Unlike 'target' sports (archery, shooting, etc.) where you do the same thing but become more accurate (normally asymptotically), or a team sport (rowing) where your good (or bad) input gets averaged (probably to the lowest common denominator), croquet always has a new summit to be reached by your own efforts

As a beginner there is a thrill in making a small break through a few hoops, then getting the skills to perhaps go 'all the way around'. Slowly the balance of touch and tactics is revealed; there are days when everything goes right and tactical considerations are second most. Other days the mallet may as well be a wet stick of rhubarb and you have to depend on tactics. If I had to sum up my performance I would say that I am one of the worst shots for someone of my handicap!

Croquet is a pleasing intellectual challenge. Some of the more fancy manoeuvres (e.g. triple peels) are complex acts of horizontal juggling. Then there is the fact that you have to 'play the person'. There is the delight of executing a daring and complex break, or leaving the opponent with a do or die scenario at the end of your break. I can heartily recommend the game.

I get a huge amount of pleasure from introducing people to the sport and have recently been delighted to find people I taught 20 years ago returning to croquet now that their lives and careers have settled."