Law 1: This corresponds mainly to old Law 4.
The old Law 4(d)(3) says the striker is allowed to
play two more strokes after hitting another ball. The
new Law 1(e)(3) allows him to play only a croquet
stroke. Only after doing so is he allowed a
continuation stroke under Law 1(e)(5). This affects
the meaning of Law 27(f)(2).
Suppose the striker roquets red. He intends to take
off to his next hoop but in confusion he plays his
ball from where it lies to a position in front of his
hoop. In his third stroke, he runs the hoop. He plays
another stroke and is then forestalled. He has failed
to take croquet when required, but the limit of claims
of this error has passed. The old laws seem to say
that he was entitled to play the second and third
strokes, and if so he may now continue his break.
Under the new laws he was playing when not entitled
from the third stroke on, and Law 25(a) is applied.
(Note how a small change in one law can affect a law
in a different part of the book.)
Law 2 corresponds with old Law 1, but much of Law
2(b) is new.
Note carefully the differences between Parts
(a)(3) and (b)(3), both dealing with the
yard-line.
Law 3 corresponds with old Laws 2 and 3.
(a) The peg: The last sentence of Law 3(a)(2) is
new. So is Law 3(a)(3).
(b) Hoops: Law 3(b)(3) is new.
(c) Balls: The last sentence of Law 3(c)(2) is
new.
(d) Clips: Most of Law 3(d)(2) comes from old Law
4(e). The last sentence is new.
(e) Mallets: A lot of details have been added,
especially to the rules for changing a mallet.
(f), (g) and (h) No material change.
Note that five laws deal with misplaced
court furniture: Laws 2(b)(3), 2(b)(5),
3(a)(3), 3(b)(3) and 35(d). Be careful of
differences between each of these laws.
The sections on baulk line markers and check
fences in the old laws have been removed.
Law 4: Start and end of a game and turn:
Part (a) is new
Part (c) comes from old Law 26(e). The words "in
agreement as to which side has won" are new.
Part (d): The listing is new, but the contents
are not. Referees need to understand this
section as it is an integral part of Law 27(j). It
determines whether a turn ends after an error
under Laws 27(e) to 27(h) is discovered within its
limit of claims.
Part (e) corresponds to old Law 26(d) but
extensive changes have been made.
Law 5 corresponds to old Law 31.
(a) The words "and any consequences thereof" are
new. So is the second sentence.
(c) contains new details.
(d)(3) is new.
(f) The last sentence is new.
(h) contains a lot of new material.
(i) is new
Law 6
(a) Ball in play: No change of meaning, but the
definition in the first sentence is more
general.
(b) Ball at rest: has been rewritten, but the
main change is in section (5)
(c) Ball in hand: This has been rearranged and
expanded, but the important changes are
(i) a ball in hand is now an outside agency,
and
(ii) Item 4, on when a ball ceases to be in hand,
is changed.
(d) Ball in a critical position: (from old Law
23(d)) is expanded
(e) Live and dead balls: This replaces the term
"ball which may be roqueted"
(g) When used as a noun, "rover" now refers only
to the hoop.
(h) Part (2) is new. The words "other than the
striker's ball" are new.
(i) No change.
Law 7: The definition of outside agencies in old
Law 34(b)(2) is expanded.
Law 8:
(a) The toss: Corresponds to old Law 5. The last
sentence is new.
(b) The start: Corresponds to old Law 6, but is
more precise.
Law 9: Corresponds to old Law 8.
If a ball is picked up, it is not now elected as
the striker's ball if it had been in contact with
another ball, even if the striker intended to take
croquet or take a lift.
The definition of a lift is new.
The old Law 8(b)(1) has been removed; so the
number of elections the striker can make has gone
from three to two. This simplifies the laws on
playing a wrong ball: If two or three balls are in
contact at the start of a turn, the election of
the striker's ball and the croqueted ball is made
when the striker takes croquet, i.e. plays the
stroke. The striker makes no election until the
stroke is played. (See Law 19(c)).
Law 10: The last sentence is new.
Law 11: No new material.
Law 12: Replacing balls.
(b) and (c) are new and replace old laws 12(b)
and (c)
(e) The first sentence comes from old Law
47. The last sentence is new.
Law 13: Wiring lifts.
(b) A player is now responsible for the position
of a ball that he is deemed to have roqueted or
which is moved or shaken in a stroke in error or
when an error is rectified. He is also responsible
for a ball moved in an interference committed by
him under Law 33, but not other interferences.
(c)(1) Under the old law, there were rare cases
where a ball on one side of a hoop was not wired
from a ball on the other side because the relevant
ball could go through the hoop. This is no longer
so.
(d) Impeded swing: The test must be made with the
mallet used in the turn before the relevant ball
was positioned.
(e)(2) is new to the laws, but it was in C.A.
Regulation 5(d)
(f)(1) The last sentence reflects usual practice,
but it may not have been compulsory under the old
laws.
Law 14: Hoop point: The law has been rewritten,
but has the same meaning, although several loop
holes have been removed.
Law 15: Peg point (b)(5) and (6) are new. (c) A
ball that has been pegged out may now cause
another ball to score a point. (d) The third and
fourth sentences are new.
Law 16: Roquet. This has been rewritten but no
change in meaning has been made, although
ambiguities in part (c)(1) have been cleared up.
Under part (b), it no longer matters whether the
striker's ball hits the live ball or vice
versa.
The old laws 16(b)(3) and (4) are moved to Law
17.
Note the new words in Law 16(d): "on any live
ball in the group".
Law 17: Part (a) corresponds to the old Law 17. It
is reworded but the meaning is the same.
A ball now cannot score a hoop and make an actual
roquet in the same stroke except under the
procedure of Law 17(a). It can still run a hoop
followed by a deemed roquet, the same as before.
This removes a few rare cases where hoop and
roquet may have been possible under the old laws
when the target ball was not on the non playing
side of the hoop at the start of the stroke.
Law 18: Consequences of a roquet. The meaning is
unchanged.
Law 19: Placing balls for a croquet stroke.
(a) Note that the phrase "to take croquet" has
been replaced by "in preparation for a croquet
stroke" as the former is now defined to mean to
play the (croquet) stroke rather than preparing
for it. To understand Law 27, you must realise
that "to take croquet" has the precise meaning of
"playing a stroke in which the striker must place
the striker's ball on the ground in contact with
the roqueted ball however he chooses but not in
contact with any other ball".
Parts (c) and (e) are new.
In part (f), rotational alignment has to be
preserved only if a peel is going to be attempted.
Grass clippings or similar material may now be
used to hold a ball in position.
Law 20: Croquet stroke: No material change.
Law 21: Continuation stroke: Some material has
been moved from old Law 4(g). There is no material
change.
Law 22. Errors, general principles:
(a) and (b) are new.
Mistakes under the new laws 30, 31 and 32 were
errors under the old laws, but interferences under
the new laws. See the list of differences
between errors and interferences at the end of
this article.
(c) comes from old Law 45(b).
(d) The term "rectified" is new, but the process
often occurred in the old laws. The definition is
now more precise.
Most of (e) and (f) are new.
Restricted remedies occurred in the old laws.
They have been abolished except for the cases
mentioned in (f). The term "condoned" has been
dropped.
(g) is new.
Law 23: Forestalling. Most of this material
occurred in various places in the old laws,
but it has been brought together and
rewritten with more precision.
The definition in part (a) has changed from that
in old law 26(a).
Note that part (b) does not apply if the striker
has already committed an error that will result in
end of turn. The turn-ending error of
purporting to take croquet from a dead ball has
been added to part (b).
Parts (b)(3), (c)(4). (c)(6) and (d) are new
Part (e): This offense used to be an error under
old law 27. It is now an interference under law
32. (You may not notice any change in effect, but
only because the old law was applied flexibly.)
Law 24: Compound errors. This has the same effect
as old Law 26(f), but errors in wording have been
corrected. The last sentence in the old law 26(f)
has disappeared, but a similar result follows from
new Laws 27(i) and (j).
Law 25: Playing when not entitled.
If the error is discovered after the limit of
claims, all points scored stand. The limit of
claims varies depending on whether the striker or
non-striker commits the error. There has been no
other change in meaning (except that the word
"entitled" is perhaps limited to the meaning in
Law 1).
Law 26: Playing a wrong ball:
Old Law 28(a) has been deleted.
If the next turn is also played with a wrong
ball, the limit of claims is extended until
someone begins a turn with the correct ball.
The restricted remedy in Old Law 28(b)(2) has
gone. If the error is not discovered within the
limit of claims, all hoop points that were scored
stand but peg points are cancelled. See also new
Law 40(d) for points scored by a partner ball in a
doubles game.
Part (b) on restarting a game has been changed a
lot from old law 28(c).
Part (c) is new.
Law 27: This corresponds with old laws 29 and
30(a), (b) and (c). However the classification and
naming of the errors has been changed. Many of the
limits of claims are changed. Many of the remedies
are changed, but not usually if the error is
discovered after the limit of claims.
Parts (a) and (b) contain general provisions. The
section on forestalling will not seem new to some
people, but you should check it because the old
rule was ambiguous. The other provisions are
new.
The new error of purporting to take croquet
corresponds roughly with the old errors of taking
croquet from a wrong ball, taking croquet when not
entitled to do so and taking croquet when the
striker's ball is touching two balls. However the
definition in Law 27(c) should be read with
care.
Parts (d) to (i) discuss six errors. Purporting
to take croquet is listed under two errors,
according to whether a dead or live ball is
involved. If a dead ball, the penalty is greater
and the limit of claims is longer. Remember that a
ball becomes dead when croquet is taken from it,
not when it is roqueted.
The errors under parts (e) to (h) have much the
same remedies: If the error is discovered within
the limit of claims, it must be rectified. If not,
play continues from where the balls lie. These
four errors do not in themselves cause a turn to
end, but the turn ends if some event has occurred
which ends the turn. This applies equally whether
the error is discovered within the limit of claims
or not. Details appear in Law 27(j), where you are
referred to the list of turn-ending events in Law
4(d). Although the principle is simple, some of
the results may be surprising. If in doubt, you
must follow the law to the letter.
The interchange option in old Law 30(a)(1) has
been removed.
Part (i) corresponds to old law 29, except that
some cases under that law have been moved into
earlier parts of law 27. Part (i)(2) deals with
cases where Laws 27 and 33 might otherwise
contradict each other. A part (i) error does not
lead to end of turn (although some other event in
the same stroke may do so.)
Law 28: Faults
(a) Several definitions are changed. The words
"or an outside agency" in (2) are new. So are the
words "dropping and throwing" in (5). Read Law
5(h) on when a fault under Laws 28(a)(1), (2) and
(3) can be committed.
(a)(4) is the old Law 32(a)(6) with changed
wording. Note that "striking it with the mallet
audibly and distinctly" has a different meaning
from "audibly or distinctly" in the old
law.
(a)(7) has been reworded to bring the definition
of a push closer to what was always intended.
In the process, the number of paragraphs in Law
28(a) went down to 15 compared with 16 in old Law
32(a).
(a)(8): The words "audibly or distinctly" have
been removed. (However this may not lead to a
change in practice.)
(b) Remedies: The concept of waiving in the old
law 32 has gone. The adversary is now asked to
choose whether to rectify the error or leave the
balls where they were after the first stroke in
error. This option applies regardless of whether
Law 20(c) is involved, and any points scored are
cancelled in either case. Under law 37(h), the
error must be rectified if the striker takes a
bisque, but the adversary still has the choice
if the striker takes a half bisque.
(c)(1) is new.
(c)(2) and (d) contain material moved from other
parts of old Law 32.
Law 29: Interferences, general:
(b) is new.
Law 30: Balls wrongly removed or not removed from
the game: This corresponds to old Law 30(d).
The old law required all play after the
interference to be cancelled. Under the new law
this happens only from the first affected stroke
on.
Part (b) is new.
Law 31: Misplaced clips, etc.: This corresponds to
old Law 35.
(a) The limit of claims has changed.
The new law refers to a misplacement of a clip
"for which he was not originally responsible". The
old law dealt only with a clip misplaced by the
other player.
(b)(1) The words "adopting a different line of
play" are new.
(c) and (d) are new.
Law 32: Playing when forestalled: The whole law is
essentially new, although the topic was
dealt with in a different way in the old Law
26(a), but see the comment on law 23(e).
Law 33: Interference with position of a ball: This
corresponds to old Laws 33 and 34.
(a) The first sentence is new.
(b) now applies only if the interference is
discovered before the next stroke.
(c) is new.
(d) No material change.
Law 34: Interference with playing a stroke:
Part (a) is new.
The other parts combine old laws 23 and 24.
The second sentence of part (c) is new.
Part (e): In the first sentence, the old law
spoke of balls "likely to be affected". The new
law extends this to balls that "could foreseeably
be affected".
The second sentence is new.
The third sentence is changed in meaning.
Law 35: Miscellaneous interference: The whole of
this law is new.
Law 36: Advanced play: This repeats the old law
36.
Parts (e)(1) and (2) are new.
Part (e)(4) clears up ambiguities in the old
law.
Old law 37 has been deleted.
Law 37: Bisques: corresponds to old law 38.
(b)(2) makes it clear that a bisque cannot be
split into two half bisques. This was ambiguous in
the old law.
(d)(3) The words "without informing the adversary
that he has not yet decided" are new.
Part (h) is new. Note that the fault has to be
rectified if the striker takes a bisque, but not
if he takes a half bisque. In the latter case, the
adversary still chooses under Law 28(b)(2).
Law 38: Pegging out in handicap games: This
corresponds to old law 39. If the partner ball
becomes a rover in the same stroke as the
striker's ball is pegged out, the peg out now
counts, even if it occurred before the partner
ball ran the rover hoop. Likewise if an adversary
ball is pegged out.
Law 39: Restoration of bisques: This replaces the
old law 38(h) which has been rewritten.
Law 40: Doubles play, general:
(a) The words "as determined by the first stroke
played by his side" are new.
(b) The old law used the words "...may advise his
partner". This has been changed to "...may advise
and instruct his partner".
Parts (c)(2) and (d) are new.
(c)(2) The only way the striker's partner can
commit a fault is by touching a ball with his
body, clothes or mallet. Even then it is not a
fault if he touches a ball that is not relevant to
the stroke or in a few other cases.
Laws 41, 42 and 43 are unchanged.
Law 44: Shortened games: called "Modified
Games" in the old laws
The second sentence in Part (b)(4) is new.
Part (d) is new.
Law 45: Part (c) is new. Old Law 54 is deleted.
Law 46: No change
Part 4. The title "Customs of the game" has been
changed to "General laws of conduct".
Law 47: State of the game: The old laws are not
changed, but more examples are given.
Part(a) corresponds to old law 44. Part (b)
repeats material in old laws 45(b) and 35(b).
Law 48: Referees of the game: This corresponds to
old Law 45.
Part (b)(2) is new.
Part (d)(1) contains new material.
Part (d)(3): The words "but should remind the
striker to take the initiative..." are new.
Part (f): The last sentence is new.
Law 49: Expedition: No material change, except
that the reference to time-limited games has been
dropped. So now in all games, "the adversary
should anticipate...".
Law 50: Advice and aids
Part (a) is new and requires careful reading.
Part (b): The words "or electronic source" are
new.
In parts (c) and (d), the basic rule is
unchanged, but the exceptions are new.
Law 51: Miscellaneous laws: Corresponds to old law
46.
The second sentence of part (a) is new.
Law 52: Double banked games: Corresponds to old
appendix 2.
Part (b)(3) is new.
Part (d)(4) is new, and replaces old Appendix
2C(6).
Law 53: Tournament and Matches: This corresponds
to old law 50.
Parts (a) and (b) are new.
(c) The words "if available" have been added.
Parts (d) and (f) are new. Parts (g)(1) and
(2)(B) are new.
Law 54: Local laws: Replaces old law 25.
Law 55: Overriding law: This corresponds to old
law 51, but is much expanded.
Distinctions between errors and interferences.
An error is a breach of Laws 25 to 28. An
interference is a breach of Laws 30 to 35.
An error often results in end of turn. There is
no penalty for an interference (except that some
interferences under law 33(a) are treated as
faults).
If more than one error is found to have occurred,
Law 24 applies. There is no such overall law for
interferences, although Laws 22(g) and 27(i) deal
with special cases.
The word "rectify" is used when an error leads to
the balls being replaced in their last legal
position. The word "cancel" is used for the
corresponding event with an interference. The
different names reflect different practices: A
stroke that is cancelled is treated as if it had
never occurred. A stroke that is rectified is
still deemed to have occurred. Therefore:
(1) The striker becomes responsible for any ball
that is moved and rectified. He does not become
responsible for a ball moved in a stroke that is
cancelled. Exception: A player is responsible for
a ball replaced after he commits an interference
under Law 33.
(2) In counting whether a limit of claims has
passed, strokes which are rectified are counted,
but strokes which are cancelled are not.
If an error is rectified and the first stroke in
error was a bisque, the bisque is not restored,
apart from a few special cases. If the stroke is
cancelled because of an interference, the bisque
is restored. But read Law 39 to get the details
right.
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