The croquet grudge match that decides how River Nene is pronounced

For the past 3 years, 2 sporting teams person met for a grudge lucifer with a difference. Is the River Nene pronounced "Nen" oregon "Nene"? Let the croquet mallets decide.

The 3rd yearly croquet lucifer betwixt Northampton and Peterborough is not your mean determination derby.

At involvement is the close to pronounce the sanction of a stream the mode they privation to - for the adjacent 12 months astatine least.

Because successful Northamptonshire, the 90-mile (150km) River Nene is known arsenic the "Nen". Over the borderline successful Cambridgeshire, they telephone it the "Neen".

The Northampton croquet squad won the inaugural lucifer successful 2021 - with Peterborough drafting level with a triumph successful 2022.

This year, the rivals met connected the tract successful the colony of Roade, adjacent Northampton, for tea, barroom - and croquet.

"The 1 happening astir croquet, it is an honesty-based activity. We don't person to enforce it - we spot people," said Paul Chard, from the Northampton club.

The bout began arsenic villagers from some counties were emerging from Covid lockdown restrictions.

"Peterborough and Northampton croquet clubs don't really vie successful the aforesaid quadrant of the leagues," Mr Chard added, "but we're rather adjacent - we're lone an hr oregon truthful distant from each other.

"We decided it would beryllium bully to person a societal get unneurotic and to adhd a spot of an borderline to it we decided to look for a theme."

The clubs decided the affable rivalry implicit the pronunciation of the stream was the cleanable stake.

"In immoderate of our physics communications, we've present dropped into phonetic spellings alternatively than the existent spellings," Mr Chard added.

"This twelvemonth has been different incredibly choky lucifer - there's lone a mates of hoops successful it."

The teams play 12 games and 2 types: play croquet (single shot shots to triumph hoops) and relation croquet (break-making, similar snooker).

"The 1 you spot successful the inheritance successful Downtown Abbey, oregon Poirot oregon programmes of that ilk," Mr Chard said.

He said the crippled offers gentle workout and societal enactment and that "tactics and strategies play a ample part".

"It tin person a estimation for being miserable, mean and vicious," helium said.

Adrian Kirby, skipper of the Peterborough team, said enforcing the effect was "a substance of honour".

"The archetypal clip we did this, I thought: 'Maybe there's much than 2 pronunciations?'" helium said.

"I looked it up and there's a authorities vertebrate of Hawaii, called the Nene goose - pronounced nay-nay.

"I reckon astatine the commencement of lucifer time we should each telephone it the nay-nay until the lucifer determines the year's pronunciation."

The River Nene rises astatine Arbury Hill successful Northamptonshire and flows done the region into Cambridgeshire, wherever it forms the borderline with Norfolk for a fewer miles, earlier reaching Lincolnshire and flowing into the oversea astatine The Wash.

But who won the bragging rights?

This year, Peterborough successfully defended their 2022 win, truthful - for the adjacent 12 months astatine slightest - the UK's 10th longest stream volition informally beryllium known arsenic the "Neen".

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