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Day 1

The World Grand Masters Tournament got under way this morning with a Great Grand Masters match between the England A and England B whose match had been switched to the opening match as the Dutch team originally scheduled for  the 10.00 start were still taking delivery of their baggage which had been held up in Munich the previous day. The senior side were soon playing the game in their opponents half but found it difficult to break through. However Bill Warrender broke the deadlock before half-time and added a much-needed second with only minutes left to secure a 2-0 win

 In the other Great Grand Masters game Germany beat Netherlands 2-0 and in the two Grandmasters matches that sandwiched the opening ceremony in the evening Germany beat Italy 2-0 and in an all-Australian encounter their A team emphasized their superiority by beating the B side with the fourth 2-0 score line of the day.

Highlight of the evening however was a presentation, or series of presentations to LX club captain Gerald Wilkinson to celebrate his 70th birthday. Needless to say Gerald himself had celebrated the occasion in appropriate fashion earlier in the day when he made his official debut appearance for the England Great Grandmasters, but the evening saw presentations from LX chairman Brian Woolcott, George Dramitinos the Greek  representative on the organising committee and lastly from lifelong friend Peter Child supported by the rest of his German squad.

Day 2

The first of the England teams into action for the second day running were England B in the Great Grand Masters event. This time their opposition was the Netherlands with just the one team in this competition. In a fluctuating game the England defence coped manfully with all that Netherlands could throw at them and a sharply taken goal by Peter Ashton  from a pass from George Hazell midway through the second half was all that separated the teams at the end – a 1-0 win to England B. In the earlier Great Grand Masters game Australia had beaten the Alliance 2-0. As the midday sun approached it was time for England A to make their first appearance in the Grand Masters competition - their opposition, the Alliance. England played attractive hockey and dominated the game, which was seldom played outside the Alliance half. However a packed and determined defence prevented any clear opportunities in open play but gave away a succession of penalty corners. Sadly not one was converted and it came as a great relief to England when quarter of an hour into the second half David Robson got himself into position for a vital deflection from a ball struck into the circle by Ken Wilcock. No more goals were added and a win was secured albeit by a lot fewer goals than might have been the case.

The evening session began with a crunch match (a most apt description) between Australia and Germany in the Grand Masters event. The game started at a cracking pace and the Australians were all over the Germans – but they failed to score. Again as with England no penalty corners could be converted and gradually the pace settled and the Germans began to get more into the game. They also got more into the Australians. When a goalless draw seemed the most likely result Australia tried a new short corner striker and at last found the net. The Germans were unable to respond and Australia finished with a well-deserved win.

Next up were Italy and Netherlands and the goals began to flow in what was to be the highest-scoring game to date – ending in a 3-3 draw. England B were then due to play Australia B in the final Grand Masters game of the day but a power failure shut down both the floodlights and the water supply to the pitch so the game was abandoned – a new date/time has yet to be agreed.

Day 3 

Both the England Great Grand Masters teams were in action with the B side being given the early slot of 8am, brought forward by half an hour at 11 o’clock the previous evening. This meant players were dragged out of bed by an unexpectedly early morning call. The game was evenly contested but the only goal of the game was unfortunately scored by Australia. The England Great Grand Masters A team then took on the other old foe – Germany. An early short corner gave the Germans the lead and from then on their rugged defence managed to disrupt and frustrate all the efforts of the England forwards to get back on terms. At the final whistle it was still 1-0 to Germany. In the final Great Grand Masters match of the morning Netherlands and the Alliance enjoyed a 2-2 draw.

The evening began with the same opponents - Netherlands and the Alliance – in the Grand Masters event. Netherlands added to their impressive goal tally with another three but this time without reply from the Alliance. England A then took on England B in what turned out to be a re-run of the same match in Edinburgh three months earlier. Once again there was almost continuous pressure from England A but despite numerous changes in personnel and formation up front no one was able to find a way through a packed and highly-motivated defence. Frustration grew as the A team failed to build any meaningful attacks and at the final whistle it was easy to see which team was the happier with a 0-0 draw!

The floodlights were back in working order for the final match of the day and the goal-scoring resumed as the well-drilled Australians put four past the demonstrative Italians to put Australia at the top of the table with three successive wins and still no goal against.

Day 4

A decidedly good day for England. It all began with the Great Grand Masters A team who bounced back from an unlucky defeat against Germany to control their game against Australia. A David Wright short corner gave England the lead and then Gerald Wilkinson and Dominic Bann combined to add two more before half time. Although Australia got one back after the break that proved to be their only success and, at a short corner played out after the final whistle, Dominic completed his hat-trick when he touched in a Wilkinson strike. Their 4-1 win gives the A team every chance of getting another crack at the Germans in the Over 65 play-off final. The Germans meanwhile were taking apart the Alliance in a 8-0 stroll, and in the other morning game the younger Germans also enjoyed a comfortable win over the Alliance in the Grand Masters, this time the scoreline was 6-2.

The evening session started with another England-Australia confrontation – England B against Australia A. What a great game it turned out to be for the England side. After their success in holding England A the day before the team continued to play as a highly-effective unit and took the lead before half-time when Tony Jones pounced on a loose ball in the D to surprise the ‘keeper. Early in the second half Australia managed to work the ball along the line to squeeze in an equaliser but England were not discouraged and continued to press forward. With ten minutes left their pressure was rewarded with a short corner. Hugo Rowbotham took the strike and Graham George moving swiftly onto the righthand post got the vital deflection – 2-1 to England. In a desperate last few minutes England’s defence held fast and the final whistle was at last blown to signal a memorable win which has opened up the whole Grand Masters competition.

The Netherlands 0-0 draw with Australia B that followed came as something of an anti-climax and it was left to England A to find their scoring touch and finish off a most successful day with a 5-0 win over Italy. After continued pressure in the first half Austyn Leaverland touched in a vital opening goal after good work from Ken Wilcock, who added two himself in the second half – one at last from a short corner – before Austyn and David Robson added numbers four and five.

Day 5

England Great Grand Masters B were in action again before most sensible people were awake – with an 8.00 game the bus leaves the hotel at 7.00, the same time that breakfast is first available! Sadly the forwards needed most sustenance or more sleep as the team overran the Alliance but somehow finished on the wrong ends of a 1-0 scoreline. In the other Over 65 game Germany retained their unbeaten record but dropped their first points in a 1-1 draw with Australia. The first match of the Grand Masters programme for the day and the last of the morning was a 3-0  win for Australia against the Alliance.

Germany and Netherlands got the evening under way and the Germans were comfortable winners by 3-0. England B were next up against Italy, still smarting from their defeat by England A the previous evening. This time their defence allowed England fewer scoring opportunities and the game was only decided by the successful conversion of a penalty flick by Hugo Rowbotham midway through the first half.

With one win under the belt it was now the turn of England A to keep the ball rolling. Their opponents were Australia B who put up a spirited fight for most of the first half before Tony Henman’s powerful strike from just inside the circle broke the deadlock and took England to half time with a one goal advantage. The second half saw England take control and the pressure eventually led to two more goals – both from short corners!

On both occasions Ken Wilcock moved the ball right to Gerald Wilkinson; first time round his shot was partly blocked by the keeper and then bundled in by John Land, then at the next corner Gerald slipped the ball back to Adrian Stephenson on the penalty spot who put it past the wrong-footed keeper.

Day 6

All four England teams were in action, three of them contesting the morning games. Early starters were the England Great Grand Masters A who proved too powerful for the Dutch and strolled to a 7-0 win with single goals from David Wright and Bill Warrender, two from John Davey and a second hat-trick from Dominic Bann. Germany were rather stiffer opposition for the B team that followed but the game was a great deal closer than might have been predicted with the B team showing considerable backbone and only going down by a single goal – no worse a result than their more illustrious A team. Rounding off the morning was the match between England Grand Masters B and the Alliance in which England B maintained their unbeaten record with an impressive 3-0 win.

Later in the day Italy doubled their points tally in the tournament with a second draw - 1-1 against Australia B – and Australia A put two past the Netherlands without reply, but highlight of the evening was the all-important England A v Germany. Following two commanding wins England started well and took control. It was no surprise when Peter Ross deflected a cross from the right to put England ahead midway through the first half. The Germans came out strongly in the second half but a Wilkinson – Jackson combination set up Adrian Stephenson who slipped the ball past the outcoming keeper to give England a 2-0 lead. Sadly things began to go wrong and the Germans were able to pin England back in their own half. Unable to move the ball upfield, the defence was forced back into their own circle and short corners resulted. Several attempts were thwarted but eventually a strike from the wide right found the net and Germany were back in business. Still unable to clear the ball England fought a rearguard action but the equaliser was almost inevitable. However, worse was to come. Determined but over robust defence provided the Germans with a penalty flick which they duly converted to ensure their 3-2 win. England A must now beat Australia A in the Ashes match to give themselves a chance of reaching the final.

Day 7

England regain the Ashes!(although England B reckoned they already had done so) On a day when the programme was reduced to accommodate the tournament dinner in the evening the Ashes game between England A and Australia was originally to be played at 1.15pm in the heat of the day. This was changed by mutual consent to 7am but then later changed to a much more civilised 4pm when it was decided that the temperature was not too hot. The change was also favoured by all those who wanted to watch the game and would not need to get up at the crack of dawn to so. There were no Great Grand Masters games in the schedule so the day started with the Grand Masters match between Italy and the Alliance. After a close game newcomers Italy came away with their first win – 2-1. England B were next on the pitch and after the disappointment of seeing the A team lose to Germany the previous evening  seemed to find it difficult to generate much sparkle against Netherlands and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Now they must beat Germany in the final game of the tournament to secure a place in the final. Germany, for their part, had a relatively easy 2-0 win over Australia B to close the morning’s proceedings.

Not only was the afternoon game an Ashes match, it was also a must-win game for both teams if they were to maintain their chance of reaching the final. It was therefore a tense first half in which both sides had their moments but Australia probably had more of the game. The second half looked to be going much the same way until ten minutes before the end a strike by Ken Wilcock through a crowded circle found Austyn Leaverland on the righthand post and England were in the lead. Could England protect their lead more effectively than the previous evening? Answer – yes! Alan Jackson led from the front in a display of how to retain possession and waste vital seconds while John Land created his own brand of nuisance to frustrate any Australian build-up down their right. It was a great comeback after the dejection of defeat by Germany and a real battling performance by every player on the field. The attitude on the field was much helped by the loud support of the England supporters who even managed to out-shout the large Australian contingent!

Day 8

A day on which all would be resolved. Playing for the minor places in the Great Grand Masters Australia B and the Alliance were due to be the first to take the field at 10am, a little later than usual to allow players to recover from the dinner festivities of the previous evening. However because of the floodlight failure on the second day England B had a re-scheduled Grand Masters match with Australia ahead of that at 8am. They came out eager if not necessarily fresh and found it difficult to break down the Australians - at half time there was still no score. Relief came early in the second half when George Hazell, with a swollen and blackened eye from the day before, saw enough of the goal to drill an accurate short corner. Knowing that one goal is never enough England pressed on and secured the two-goal lead they wanted thanks to Bill Butcher who was found in space in the circle and did all that was necessary. Grateful for a final score of 2-0 the team headed back to the hotel for stretching and warm-down in preparation for their vital last game against Germany later in the day. Australia then stepped up in the first of the two Great Grand Masters games to beat the Netherlands 2-0. After that it was the turn of England A who were already assured of their place in the final but wanted to show Germany that they would be a real threat in their re-match. Germany had beaten the Alliance 8-0 so England had to do better to make their point. They did just that and rattled in ten with five from Dominic Bann, two each from Keith Hunt and John Davey and a single from Gerald Wilkinson.

The Grand Masters evening session began with the second game of the day for Australia B who were obviously feeling the strain and the Alliance were only denied their first point of the tournament by a penalty stroke – 1-0 to Australia B. The next two games were make or break for the two England sides – sadly in both cases it was break rather than make. England A needed a win against the Netherlands to reach the final and on paper that didn’t seem an unreasonable expectation as the Netherlands had lost to both Australia and Germany. However England failed to get the early goal that might have set them up and when a relatively soft goal trickled in at the other end England suddenly needed two themselves against what was proving to be a skilful and well-organised defence. The Dutch added a short corner just before half time and three goals in the second half was a lot to ask of tiring legs. Percy Steele came on to inject a bit of pace and his flashing reverse stick sweep from the top left of the circle gave England a lift with quarter of an hour to go. But despite some genuine pressure at last nothing would go in and England were still 2-1 down at the final whistle and out of the final. A dejected A team showered and went back out to cheer on the B team who, in their second game of the day, had the altogether more daunting task of playing the Germans. After holding out for the first quarter and having an occasional burst up front themselves, England went one down to a neat German one-two and goals two and three were added before half time. Brave defensive work coupled with some more incursions into the German half kept the opposition on their toes and no further goals were scored at either end, but it was a 3-0 win to Germany and no glory for either of the England sides. The only satisfaction for England B was that, in the league table, they had finished one point ahead of the A team whom they would now meet in the Bronze medal play-off game.

Day 9

This was the first of the play-off days and began with the Great Grand Masters 5th/6th play-off between England B and the Netherlands whom they had beaten 1-0 in their league encounter. England were determined not to finish in the wooden spoon position and this time increased the margin to 4-0 with a goal apiece from Brian Woolcott, David Wilkinson, John Gordon and Peter Ashton. It was a great team effort and was testimony to the great team spirit that had built up through the tournament. In the 3rd/4th play-off Australia B comfortably took the bronze medal by defeating the Alliance 5-0.

The only evening game was the 3rd/4th play-off game in the Grand Masters event between England A and England B who had fought out a goalless draw in their earlier league match. Since then the B team had developed into a formidable unit and had actually finished a point ahead of the A team in the league. By the bizarre rules of the tournament, which appeared to change on a whim, it had been decreed that should the game finish as a draw the team with more points in the league would be the winners. This meant, of course, that all the B team had to do was to prevent the As from scoring. They had achieved this most effectively in their first meeting and were confident that they could repeat the performance. Once again they allowed the A team to come at them but tireless running and dogged determination won the day.  Although the A team came close on several occasions, they were unable to breach the defences marshalled by captain Nigel Strofton with George Hazell alongside him and Tim Pollard as a most efficient last line. Hugo Rowbotham and Andy Holden closed down every forward movement and every one of the squad deserves a mention for the way that they showed what teamwork can achieve. So, well played also to Geoff Morley, Bill Butcher, Robin Mayes, Tony Jones – who, with a little luck, might well have stolen a winner – Terry Mills, Colin Pearce, Laurie Alcock, Graham George, Robert Clark and Parmodh Sharma

Day 10

The England party was up early to cheer on the Great Grand Masters A team in their final with Germany. The game was an end to end affair with England having slightly more of the possession but with Dominic Bann suffering from a strained hamstring the finishing touch could not be applied to any of the England attacks. No score at halftime became no score at full time and after 10 minutes each way of extra time it was still no score. So it was on to penalty flicks. The first barrage of five ended 4-4 and another series followed, England went first and missed two flicks but on each occasion the German who stepped up next did exactly the same. The crowd were becoming as exhausted as the players when series three began. The first two flicks from both sides went to make it 9-9 but while Germany put away their next two England failed to do so and Germany were at last the winners. The two umpires insisted that the two dead flicks be taken and the final result was 12-10! Gold to Germany, silver to England and bronze to Australia.

In the Grand Masters final that followed Australia repeated their league win over Germany. Going 2-0 up before half time they effectively defended their lead through the second half despite some sustained pressure from the Germans. So Australia, who had been beaten by both England teams in their league games, took the gold medal, Germany the silver and it was bronze to England B. England A had the consolation of having regained the Ashes and another trophy went England’s way when Dominic Bann was presented with an individual award as leading goal-scorer in the Great Grand Masters.

A highly competitive and enjoyable tournament was over and all parties looked forward to re-convening at Leverkeusen in Germany in 2006