Simply, what the OP asks. Assume you are playing croquet (at whatever level, by whatever rules), and you are trying to go through a wicket in one direction, but find yourself directly on the wrong side of the wicket. The easiest thing to do is whack it back through the wicket the wrong way, such that you are perfectly positioned to hit it through the in correct direction on your next turn.
I never played anything other than the most casual of backyard games from childhood to now. I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the basic rules - which included YOU CAN NEVER GO THROUGH A WICKET THE WRONG WAY! Never questioned or thought about it. Just KNEW that that was a cardinal rule. Instead, you hd to take 2-3 turns to maneuver your ball back to the correct side.
Last weekend we were playing with my sister and BIL, and BIL blithely whacked his ball through a wicket the wrong way. My sister and I immediately howled, “You can’t do that!” To which he replied, “Why not?” We had nothing other than, “You just CAN’T!” He was cool and said, “Fine. What is the penalty?” But we had nothing. The need for a penalty never came up because it was something that just was not done.
So we went to the paper rules that came with the set, and they were silent on the topic. He pulled out his phone, and the best he could find was that going through the wrong way ends your turn, and you get no bonuses for the wicket or hitting other balls in the process.
So I guess I got my ignorance fought. All I can imagine is that my sister and I were remembering some “household rules” that we came up with as kids.
Just wondering if any of you Doper croquet mavens (whom I expect to be legion) had ever encountered the idea that wrongway wicket traffic was prohibited?