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For The Past three years, two sporting teams have met for a Grudge Match with a difference. Is The River Nene pronounced " Nen" or " Nene" Let The croquet mallets decide.

The third annual croquet Match between Northampton and Peterborough is not your average regional derby.

At Stake is The Right to pronounce The name of a river The Way they want to - for The Next 12 Months at least.

Because in Northamptonshire, The 90-mile (150km) River Nene is known as The " Nen". Over The Border in Cambridgeshire, they call it The " Neen".

The Northampton croquet team won The inaugural Match in 2021 - with Peterborough drawing level with a win in 2022.

This year, The Rivals met on The Lawn in The Village of Roade, near Northampton, for tea, Cake - and croquet.

" The One thing about croquet, it is an honesty-based activity. We don't have to enforce it - We Trust people, " said Paul Chard, from The Northampton club.

The bout began as villagers from both counties were emerging from Covid lockdown restrictions.

" Peterborough and Northampton croquet clubs don't actually compete in The same quadrant of The leagues, " Mr Chard added, " but we're quite Close - we're only an hour or so away from each other.

" We decided it would be good to have a social get together and to add a bit of an edge to it we decided to look for a theme. "

The clubs decided The friendly rivalry over The pronunciation of The River was The perfect stake.

" In some of our Electronic Communications , we've now dropped into phonetic spellings rather than The actual spellings, " Mr Chard added.

" This year has been another incredibly tight Match - There 's only a couple of hoops in it. "

The Teams play 12 games and two types: golf croquet (single ball shots to win hoops) and association croquet (break-making, like snooker).

" The One you see in The background in Downtown Abbey, or Poirot or programmes of that ilk, " Mr Chard said.

He Said The Game offers gentle exercise and social interaction and that " tactics and strategies play a large part".

" It can have a reputation for being miserable, mean and vicious, " He Said .

Adrian Kirby, captain of The Peterborough team, said enforcing The result was " a matter of honour".

" The First Time we did this, I thought: 'Maybe There 's More Than two pronunciations?'" He Said .

" I looked it up and There 's a state bird of Hawaii, called The Nene Goose - pronounced nay-nay.

" I reckon at The start of Match Day we should all call it The nay-nay until The Match determines The year's pronunciation. "

The River Nene rises at Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire and flows through The County into Cambridgeshire, where it forms The Border with Norfolk for a few miles, before reaching Lincolnshire and flowing into The Sea at The Wash .

But who won The bragging rights?

This year, Peterborough successfully defended their 2022 win, so - for The Next 12 Months at least - The UK's 10th longest river will informally be known as The " Neen".

Source of news: bbc.com