Carol Driver
Carol plays croquet at Purley Bury Croquet Club which is a 2 lawn club next Croydon. She loves the community feel of a small club. She is a Grade 1 coach in AC and GC and enjoys seeing players learn and develop. Carol has played a number of sports over her sporting career including playing cricket for Surrey so she understands the demands of playing competitive sport at a high level.
Carol is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and worked as HR Director across a range of different companies and charities. Most recently she worked for The Change Foundation, a charity that has for 40 years used sport to change the lives of marginalised young people. In this role Carol set up community walking sport sessions in football, cricket, netball and table tennis. She saw first-hand how much participants benefited from the fun, friendship and improved fitness offered at these sessions.
Carol is now retired and enjoys looking after her 4 grandchildren, playing croquet and bowls and padel. She is Chair of Croquet England and a local mental health charity.
Roger Baddeley
Roger has filled various roles in sports clubs over the past several years including fixture secretary, treasurer, club secretary, and team captain. He retired from the corporate world around 4 years ago, most recently in contingent workforce and change management. He is a member of Nailsea Croquet Club and has qualified in the last season as a croquet club coach.
George Collin
George is a retired High Street Solicitor. He plays AC and GC competitively. He is a GC referee and an Examining Referee at AC. He started playing as a founder member of Chester CC in 1977, relocating to Bedfordshire in 1981. He is particularly interested in grounds-care. He has been the honorary groundsman at Wrest Park CC since 1990. He has been a Club Secretary and Teams Captain. He was Treasurer of the East Anglian Federation, from its formation, for 25 years, then Chair.
Professor Kishan Devani BEM, FRSA
Kishan brings his business background and love of sport to help grow the sport of croquet.
He is an Entrepreneur, Political Strategist, World-Renowned Educationalist and Global Education Expert/Academic/Strategist/Trainer, Speaker, and International PR, Communications, Media, Campaigns & Fundraising Consultant/Advisor. He has had a distinguished career highlighted by numerous prestigious recognitions and roles that underscore his significant contributions to various sectors. He was honoured with the British Empire Medal (BEM) by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2020 New Year’s Honour’s List, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2015. Additionally, he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London, making him one of the youngest BaME Freemen of London.
He has held several advisory roles, and is currently Senior International Advisor to Westminster Group PLC (UK Listed Global Security Group). His political career includes serving as the youngest Deputy Chairman (Membership and Finance) of the London Conservative Party, Treasurers Envoy and Vice-President of the Liberal Democrats Campaign for Race Equality (LDCRE), and he currently serves as Fundraising Officer for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip Labour Party.
His consultancy work spans various sectors, including governance, finance, and education. He has been a vocal advocate for community cohesion and diversity within the British Asian community, volunteering extensively to motivate young Asians to engage in British civic life. His contributions to education and social integration have earned numerous accolades, including the Asian Achievers Award.
He is passionate about the power of sport, and is a Shareholder of Sixes Social Cricket – the world’s first Cricket Focused Social Entertainment Venues. He is also Shareholder of Global Airlines, Senior International Advisor & Shareholder of Westminster Group PLC. In addition to this, he runs his own consultancy firm and property company.
Matthew Macdonald
Matthew is an academic at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB), the first higher education institution in the world dedicated to university degrees in the football and sports industries. He teaches across a number of specialist areas and is Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Football Business degree.
He also supports executive students on specialist postgraduate programmes, including the MSc Sports Directorship and the CEO of a Sports Organisation course, and serves as an External Examiner at the University of Salford.
Alongside his academic career, he brings global consultancy experience supporting clubs, leagues, and executives across the sporting pyramid. He has delivered projects throughout Europe, Africa, and North America, covering strategy, sports operations, and commercial growth.
His industry highlights include consulting on a successful Premier League governance appeal by Everton FC, supporting a strategic review of UNAFUT and Liga Promerica in Costa Rica, and advising Mazatlán FC in Mexico on sporting operations. He has directly reported on multimillion-pound player transfers and managerial appointments while providing strategic recommendations to senior executives.
Samir Patel
Samir has been playing croquet since taking up the sport in 1994 as a student at Oxford University. He is now a member of Surbiton Croquet Club, with Association and Golf Croquet handicaps of -2.5 and -3 respectively. He has represented England and Great Britain in international matches since 2007.
In support of croquet administration, Samir has been a member of the Publishing, International, ICT and Tournaments committees. The latter included responsibility for maintaining and improving the Tournament Regulations. He also manages several tournaments each year, ranging from Handicap Weekends to the Open Championships. Internationally, Samir was a member of the World Croquet Federation’s Management Committee for 10 years (2015-2024).
Samir was elected to the Croquet Association’s Council in 2019, and served as chair from October 2021. He was consequently one of the Croquet England’s initial trustees, and was elected as Chair of the Board of Trustees upon its formation in March 2023 until May 2026.
John Sayce
John is a sports lover, being a qualified coach in 4 sports, including croquet. Professionally, he has been a child care social worker, trainer/facilitator and a senior manager for Barnardo’s. He was a trustee for a national parenting charity and is currently involved in environmental issues in Swansea. He is a member of Mumbles Croquet Club.
Andrew Stewart
Andrew lives in West Sussex and belongs to the Sussex County Croquet Club. His professional background includes working in management for a major commercial bank which gave him a strong financial background equipping him with the skills necessary to oversee financial stewardship, ensure robust governance, and contribute to strategic planning as a Trustee of Croquet England. He has previously served as a Director of the sports club where he started his croquet playing and in the last few years he has been Chair of Croquet South East, the regional federation of clubs in that area. Outside croquet he volunteered for the Citizens Advice Bureau for some years and still volunteers for the National Trust. He also plays a lot of bridge.
Robin Tasker
Robin first played croquet in his late twenties but it wasn’t until he retired some ten years ago from the worlds of science and computer networking that he came back to the game and joined Chester Croquet Club.
He worked for one of the UK Research Councils where he was responsible for the delivery of all network service; and through the British Standards Institution led the UK’s contribution to the development of international standards in the field of data communications.
In addition to being a trustee, his involvement in running the sport includes serving as the Secretary at Chester, and for the last two years managing the North West Federation’s Festival of Croquet.
Glenda Vencatachellum
Glenda is a practising barrister, Accredited Mediator (CMC registered), MCIArb International commercial arbitration.
During her time at the Bar, her practice has spanned many areas including Crime, Civil, Family, Divorce, Children (public and private law), International family law, Human Rights and Commercial Law. She also spent some years working for the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting, writing the Law reports, and the Times Law Reports.
Increasingly she has focused on dispute resolution, and has been seeking to transfer her skills and experience to the area of Sports. She recently completed a Sports Disputes Resolution Training certification course and brings her experience from the Bar, particularly in Safeguarding, to Croquet England.
