I had arrange a couple of hours snooker with Mark Carrington at my local club on Thursday 10th. He had been working all last week and had no match so he was desperate for a game. I don't really like the snooker as I still feel it interfers with my billiards but I do like to practice my cueing.
The first frame he set the standard with a 56. I feel really good and still had a chance to win I had a 30 and had a chance to clear the last red and colours but missed a simple blue.
I won the next frame with a 40 and a 25 break. I hardly missed a shot and felt I was cueing really well especially in the reds and around the black spot.
The next frame I had another 30 but mark had a 68. He won the next with a brilliant 95 with 2 reds left both in difficult positions he joggled a tough red in the jaws but was perfect on the green.
Everygame I played really well my long potting was really great and I had at least a 30 in everygame Mark however was playing really well having a 50+ in nearly everygame. He won 9-1 but I felt I had played really well and had chance to win a couple more frames despite him getting good breaks.
That night I had no match but had arranged a snooker game with another friend Steve Cannon (no relation to Mr Inoff) Again I played really well I give Steve 21 start in the league at Snooker so we played off handicaps. I played well getting a few 25 and 30 breaks. I managed a 41 and a 48 to go 5-5. We decided to play a decider and the loser pays for the table. Steve got a 28 break and put me under pressure I managed to claw it back with a few lucky snookers and we both had chances on the black before I fluked a double in the top to win.
A good days snooker quite enjoyed it for a change.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Silktown Practice
Had a strange game of Billiards with Wayne over at Silktown, Macclesfield we had two hours 2-4 on the Wednesday as our sort of weekly match. Its usually quite a good standard with either myself or Wayne Holbrook playing well but today he beat me by quite a margin. I felt really good and had been playin really well but he just kept having run throughout the game. Every shot I was on the cushion or in a bad position rather strange as the luck usually changes at some point.
It ran with him for the two hours and he won by about 100 points. Really quite odd as he didn't really do anything outstanding neither of us had a decent break. This has happended to me before and usually changes. It's a little like playing in thick mud the harder you try the worse it gets. Very strange day, I went for a hour in my local club that that night and had no problems I played old Alf and had a couple of 40 breaks.
It ran with him for the two hours and he won by about 100 points. Really quite odd as he didn't really do anything outstanding neither of us had a decent break. This has happended to me before and usually changes. It's a little like playing in thick mud the harder you try the worse it gets. Very strange day, I went for a hour in my local club that that night and had no problems I played old Alf and had a couple of 40 breaks.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Snooker Players Guide to English Billiards - Martin Goodwill
Whilst at Bradford I received a signed copy from Martin Goodwill of his new Book.
Anyone who is interested in English Billiards or any cue sport must get a copy it is fantastic. I have followed Martins website and learnt most of my shots from www.englishbilliards.org Now he has released the book which makes things even clearer than the website.
This a top quality hard back and should be in every cue sports collectors bookshelf.
In a small way I feel I contributed to the book as the book coincided with me taking up the game instead of Snooker and both Martin and Roger have picked my brains and experiences over the last few months and included sections in the book which I had real problems with. Hopefully now the book will help everyone get over those difficulties.
Martin has produced this book at his own expense so get your credit cards out and get buying this is the first Billiards book for years lets give him the support he deserves. You must know someone who needs to improve his or her cue game.
Anyone who is interested in English Billiards or any cue sport must get a copy it is fantastic. I have followed Martins website and learnt most of my shots from www.englishbilliards.org Now he has released the book which makes things even clearer than the website.
This a top quality hard back and should be in every cue sports collectors bookshelf.
In a small way I feel I contributed to the book as the book coincided with me taking up the game instead of Snooker and both Martin and Roger have picked my brains and experiences over the last few months and included sections in the book which I had real problems with. Hopefully now the book will help everyone get over those difficulties.
Martin has produced this book at his own expense so get your credit cards out and get buying this is the first Billiards book for years lets give him the support he deserves. You must know someone who needs to improve his or her cue game.
Visitors
I have added a map of visitors to the blog which is on the front page at the bottom left hand side. This is experimental as the normal stats only tell me how many visitors in total and their ip number.
In the last 6 months I have had 12,000 hits on the site from the following areas.
Australian
New Zealand
UK
Ireland
Scotland (Hi Roy)
Wales (Hi Roger Morgan)
Austria (Hi guys keep up the practice)
India
Sri Lanka
Hong Kong
USA
Canada
Just lately I have had a quite few hits from Canada and the US also someone in China. Hopefully if the map works properly it will give you some idea who is interested in this mad game. I do not have any adverts anymore on the pages which reduced site traffic by quite a few thousand, but who wants to see adverts for ebay.
Also time flies only 150 days left till my last major event the Police Championships in May. Not sure what I will do after that date maybe take up Pool or Bridge we shall see.
In the last 6 months I have had 12,000 hits on the site from the following areas.
Australian
New Zealand
UK
Ireland
Scotland (Hi Roy)
Wales (Hi Roger Morgan)
Austria (Hi guys keep up the practice)
India
Sri Lanka
Hong Kong
USA
Canada
Just lately I have had a quite few hits from Canada and the US also someone in China. Hopefully if the map works properly it will give you some idea who is interested in this mad game. I do not have any adverts anymore on the pages which reduced site traffic by quite a few thousand, but who wants to see adverts for ebay.
Also time flies only 150 days left till my last major event the Police Championships in May. Not sure what I will do after that date maybe take up Pool or Bridge we shall see.
Monday, 7 December 2009
EBOS British Open - The Winners
(Left: Causier Right: Mike Russell)
Great players well deserved Winners wish I could play half as well as these guys.
EBOS British Open Bradford
Saturday 5th December
Off the Bradford only 30 miles which is a really nice change, means no Hotel and I can get home at night. Arrived just time the competition was as usual bang on time, slight change to the groups Brian Watson was moved to another group to even out the numbers as someone had dropped out.
My first game was Geoff Brassington, we had played before and I managed to keep up with him for about the first half hour, the table was very poor lots of kicks and although the cushions were springy the cloth was rubbish. Geoff only beat me by 100 points and and I managed a 31 break. It shows how poor the game was as he did not get a single 50+ break which is not like Geoff.
My next game was against Robert McCrum, I knew very little about him he is one of the Irish players and has played in some of the International games. He has the oddest cue action but seems to pot and play reasonably well. I played quite well and got about 35 in front. but with about 15 minutes to go he knocked in a 38 and a 26 to beat me by only a few points. I was unfinished on 10 when the bell rang. He has been playing for about 3 years but we are fairly equal. I feel a little disappointed as the longer the game went on the better I was playing.
I refereed Martin Goodwill and Norman Whaley. Martin won an easy victory and played reasonably well, he had a few breaks over 50 but nothing massive. He plays so well with a nice touch, he played some lovely little cannons around the black spot to regain TOTT.
I played Rob Hall next he is far to good for me I hardly had a shot he had a 153 and was unlucky as my ball just fell into the middle pocket. If it had stayed there I am sure he would have made an even bigger break. He plays really softly and has great feel and touch. He can also pot like a demon. Quite interesting when he gets to the top. he holds position quite well and plays lots of Reverse top (easy top) which he feels gives you more options for when you run out of position. I only score around 60 points although I did get a 25 when he missed at the top.
Sunday 6th December
Playing Phil Davis first thing this morning. We had an interesting game I played better than I did against him in Austria. It was all even at the half hour point, but his skill and experience began to show and he knocked in a couple of fairly quick 30 breaks. The table which I think Phil would agree was even worse than the other one I played on first. The cloth being very worn out and in desperate need off stretching. Phil won by a fair margin but I missed a simple red off it's spot on 35 which was my only decent break. Phil beating me put him into the quarters which was a great result as he has also defeated inform Geoff Brassington.
I managed to watch quite a bit of the action on various tables Mark Hurst was playing really well getting a couple of 200 breaks. David Causier seemed to be on fine form knocking in a 400 and loads of other breaks. Billy Bousfield had a 200 and I spotted Chris Taylor knocking in a few 150's.
Then there was Mike Russell he is head and shoulders above everyone else. He knocks in 100's likes most people knock in 30's. He can pot like a snooker pro but has the most wonderful touch around the spot. he simply has no bad points to his game. He probably just has the wrong attitude to the game like Ronnie O'sullivan. He knocked in massive breaks all weekend including a massive 794 missing a fairly easy loser in the middle. I had my camera ready for his last 100 points as it is £ 1000 for a 1000 break. Simple staggering he is clearly the best player around by a massive margin.
I drew CW Steiner in the plate. It was a tough game but I played quite well getting my standard shots quite well I also managed to get to the top a couple of times no breaks but a little 25. CW played badly he missed some really easy pots which I would have expected him to get. But he is such a nice chap turning up for all these competitions he is a tribute to Austria and the game.
I drew Michael White in the next round a bit of a tough one that as he is a very good player. I managed to keep with him all the way through the game he then got going and was 40 ahead. I ran in a quick 30 missing in in off where my ball just stuck on the edge of the pocket which put me level with about 3 minutes to go. He managed to get a quick 12 and kept me safe which won him the game.
I was very please to stay with him and to only miss out by a few points as he is a 100break man.
As the venue was local I managed to stay right to the end. The semis were good Martin Goodwill did well to come back in his game with Causier but who had a 400 break. But just won in the end.
The final was incredible and each player played really well but Russell was just too good. I really enjoyed this event the standard was better than anything else I have seen even the other comp at Birmingham and at Leeds where all the Indian players were entered this was a much higher standard.
I also keep a record of shame for all those players who have lost to me in the string the list gets longer.
Geet Sethi
Rupesh Shah
Rob Hall
Chris Taylor
There are many more on the list but I seem to win more than I lose.
Left to Right. (Rob Hall, Liam Clark, Geoff Brassington)
Left to Right (Phil Davis and Vic Hartly Ref)
Left to Right (Robert McCrum, Aonghus McAnally)
CW
Michael Wright
Off the Bradford only 30 miles which is a really nice change, means no Hotel and I can get home at night. Arrived just time the competition was as usual bang on time, slight change to the groups Brian Watson was moved to another group to even out the numbers as someone had dropped out.
My first game was Geoff Brassington, we had played before and I managed to keep up with him for about the first half hour, the table was very poor lots of kicks and although the cushions were springy the cloth was rubbish. Geoff only beat me by 100 points and and I managed a 31 break. It shows how poor the game was as he did not get a single 50+ break which is not like Geoff.
My next game was against Robert McCrum, I knew very little about him he is one of the Irish players and has played in some of the International games. He has the oddest cue action but seems to pot and play reasonably well. I played quite well and got about 35 in front. but with about 15 minutes to go he knocked in a 38 and a 26 to beat me by only a few points. I was unfinished on 10 when the bell rang. He has been playing for about 3 years but we are fairly equal. I feel a little disappointed as the longer the game went on the better I was playing.
I refereed Martin Goodwill and Norman Whaley. Martin won an easy victory and played reasonably well, he had a few breaks over 50 but nothing massive. He plays so well with a nice touch, he played some lovely little cannons around the black spot to regain TOTT.
I played Rob Hall next he is far to good for me I hardly had a shot he had a 153 and was unlucky as my ball just fell into the middle pocket. If it had stayed there I am sure he would have made an even bigger break. He plays really softly and has great feel and touch. He can also pot like a demon. Quite interesting when he gets to the top. he holds position quite well and plays lots of Reverse top (easy top) which he feels gives you more options for when you run out of position. I only score around 60 points although I did get a 25 when he missed at the top.
Sunday 6th December
Playing Phil Davis first thing this morning. We had an interesting game I played better than I did against him in Austria. It was all even at the half hour point, but his skill and experience began to show and he knocked in a couple of fairly quick 30 breaks. The table which I think Phil would agree was even worse than the other one I played on first. The cloth being very worn out and in desperate need off stretching. Phil won by a fair margin but I missed a simple red off it's spot on 35 which was my only decent break. Phil beating me put him into the quarters which was a great result as he has also defeated inform Geoff Brassington.
I managed to watch quite a bit of the action on various tables Mark Hurst was playing really well getting a couple of 200 breaks. David Causier seemed to be on fine form knocking in a 400 and loads of other breaks. Billy Bousfield had a 200 and I spotted Chris Taylor knocking in a few 150's.
Then there was Mike Russell he is head and shoulders above everyone else. He knocks in 100's likes most people knock in 30's. He can pot like a snooker pro but has the most wonderful touch around the spot. he simply has no bad points to his game. He probably just has the wrong attitude to the game like Ronnie O'sullivan. He knocked in massive breaks all weekend including a massive 794 missing a fairly easy loser in the middle. I had my camera ready for his last 100 points as it is £ 1000 for a 1000 break. Simple staggering he is clearly the best player around by a massive margin.
I drew CW Steiner in the plate. It was a tough game but I played quite well getting my standard shots quite well I also managed to get to the top a couple of times no breaks but a little 25. CW played badly he missed some really easy pots which I would have expected him to get. But he is such a nice chap turning up for all these competitions he is a tribute to Austria and the game.
I drew Michael White in the next round a bit of a tough one that as he is a very good player. I managed to keep with him all the way through the game he then got going and was 40 ahead. I ran in a quick 30 missing in in off where my ball just stuck on the edge of the pocket which put me level with about 3 minutes to go. He managed to get a quick 12 and kept me safe which won him the game.
I was very please to stay with him and to only miss out by a few points as he is a 100break man.
As the venue was local I managed to stay right to the end. The semis were good Martin Goodwill did well to come back in his game with Causier but who had a 400 break. But just won in the end.
The final was incredible and each player played really well but Russell was just too good. I really enjoyed this event the standard was better than anything else I have seen even the other comp at Birmingham and at Leeds where all the Indian players were entered this was a much higher standard.
I also keep a record of shame for all those players who have lost to me in the string the list gets longer.
Geet Sethi
Rupesh Shah
Rob Hall
Chris Taylor
There are many more on the list but I seem to win more than I lose.
Left to Right. (Rob Hall, Liam Clark, Geoff Brassington)
Left to Right (Phil Davis and Vic Hartly Ref)
Left to Right (Robert McCrum, Aonghus McAnally)
CW
Michael Wright
Friday, 4 December 2009
Stalybridge League - St Georges A v St Georges B
Had plenty of practice yesterday so quite happy to be playing last night in the Stalybridge League.
We were playing our 'A' team so things would be tough. We lost the first Snooker match and the captain put me on I was play Phil who is a reasonable player I'm still on -50 he's on +25 so 75 start first to 100. He has to score 75 I have to get 150.
I have finally got to grips with the table and had a 48 on the same table on Wednesday so I felt confident and I hardly missed a ball, I set off like a train getting 2 x 20 breaks and a 23. I got a few little 10 breaks and within 15 minutes I was 10 in front and he had not scored. He managed to score 30 by the end of the game and I ran out an easy winner 100-55.
I tried to explain to our captain last night that I was really happy my handicap has dropped because now I really have to concentrate and put some effort into my game where as before I was just going thru the motions. There are a few players who can play so now I have to switch on and get on with it and watch what I leave.
Steve Cannon and I went on last in the snooker doubles giving 37 start but it was an easy win. We lost the match 3-2 but this leaves us in second place at the Christmas break which is not bad won 10 lost 2 for the team, I'm on 14/14 with the two cup matches.
Looking forward to the weekend got the EBOS Open at Bradford which was the Irish competition.
My Draw is:
Geoff Brassington (again)
Rob Hall - I have refereed him but not played him
Phil Davis - Quite looking forward to our return match hope I play better
Robert McCrum - One of the Irish player don't know much about him looking back at the records he has had a couple of 50+breaks so may be dangerous
Brian Watson - Don't know much about him, I presume he is the sponsor at the names match. I have a feeling I saw him play at an ABC, I think he wasn't well and I refereed his game for him.
Again my target now is 125-150 points per match and I have had a 30 in each match so again I am hoping to get a 40 within the 5 hours play. The only thing is you don't get many chances against Rob, Geoff or indeed Phil for that matter, really looking forward to the weekend though, only local and it will be nice to see all the lads again.
We were playing our 'A' team so things would be tough. We lost the first Snooker match and the captain put me on I was play Phil who is a reasonable player I'm still on -50 he's on +25 so 75 start first to 100. He has to score 75 I have to get 150.
I have finally got to grips with the table and had a 48 on the same table on Wednesday so I felt confident and I hardly missed a ball, I set off like a train getting 2 x 20 breaks and a 23. I got a few little 10 breaks and within 15 minutes I was 10 in front and he had not scored. He managed to score 30 by the end of the game and I ran out an easy winner 100-55.
I tried to explain to our captain last night that I was really happy my handicap has dropped because now I really have to concentrate and put some effort into my game where as before I was just going thru the motions. There are a few players who can play so now I have to switch on and get on with it and watch what I leave.
Steve Cannon and I went on last in the snooker doubles giving 37 start but it was an easy win. We lost the match 3-2 but this leaves us in second place at the Christmas break which is not bad won 10 lost 2 for the team, I'm on 14/14 with the two cup matches.
Looking forward to the weekend got the EBOS Open at Bradford which was the Irish competition.
My Draw is:
Geoff Brassington (again)
Rob Hall - I have refereed him but not played him
Phil Davis - Quite looking forward to our return match hope I play better
Robert McCrum - One of the Irish player don't know much about him looking back at the records he has had a couple of 50+breaks so may be dangerous
Brian Watson - Don't know much about him, I presume he is the sponsor at the names match. I have a feeling I saw him play at an ABC, I think he wasn't well and I refereed his game for him.
Again my target now is 125-150 points per match and I have had a 30 in each match so again I am hoping to get a 40 within the 5 hours play. The only thing is you don't get many chances against Rob, Geoff or indeed Phil for that matter, really looking forward to the weekend though, only local and it will be nice to see all the lads again.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Practice x 2
Had a couple of hours with Wayne Holbrook at Silktown yesterday afternoon and played really steady. I was really glad to see Wayne stop potting and play proper Billiards for once.
He set his stall out right from the start to avoid Spot Red potting and to concentrate on all round play. He did very well his half ball in-offs are now spot on he hardly missed one, he did stun the ball a few times which missed balls but he hadn't played for a week.
He played some lovely cannons and his middle pocket shots have improved, he just needs a little work on playing the ball thicker to control the shot. In fact it's something I have only just realised that for the last 4 weeks since playing Norman at Derby he showed me a long in-off shot which he plays quite thick with drag and a little running side since I have practiced that shot which occurs frequently and allows you to hold the object ball in the middle of the table for another shot.
In fact since then I have started to improve again getting loads of high 30 breaks every time I play and just over the past two weeks several 40 breaks. I know I had several 50 breaks by simply potting the red off it's spot back in April and march. But I don't count them as they are simply not Billiards. Mark Carrington had several against me in the 40's red ball pot's any decent player can do that.
Wayne noticed I was playing the loser differently I had a 28 break which was entirely long losers all around the pink area. I didn't notice that I came quite close to the loser limit of 15.
I showed him the shot after the game and he simply could not play the shot. he managed to practice it and until he was hitting it regularly. He seem quite happy as it will give him some extra control of the balls which is what this game is all about.
I also managed to sneak out for a knock at St Pauls, Stalybridge in the evening Phil Vidler and Roy Nelson (Captains of both Teams) were having a game of Billiards I had spent an hour with Phil a few weeks back and showed him the half ball shots and he has improved I can see a distinct improvement in his game, he dispatched quite a few half ball shot during his game he managed to win against Roy who is also improving a lot since he has got over his illness and put a little weight back on.
I played Phil next off our handicaps he is on 25 I'm on -50 first to 100. I played really well it's a very tight table very old the bags are really difficult the slightest touch on the side of a bag and the ball pops out. I got a couple of 15 breaks and then knocked a really nice 48 I was at the top and just had to tap a red 3 inches into the bag again to leave perfect top with his ball just by the side of the black spot and guess what missed the pot by 2 inches. What an idiot!!!
Not only was it a crap shot but I really felt I could have gone on and made a really massive break as I was cueing really well. and despite the breaks I was still 4 behind. I went on to win by a lot 100-61 finishing with a 29uf. I was really happy and played Roy next game. I can't understand how in the next game neither of us could get going I won but it was a real struggle the balls never went into a decent position. God it's maddening this game buzzing one minute, hopeless the next. I suppose I should be happy I know I am adding a few shots and breaks every week.
Looking a my diary I can see a definate pattern of increased breaks, I have played a lot over the past month or so but this months breaks are 3 shots more than last month on average. That's only 6-9 points but it makes a massive difference to go from regular 20 breaks to regular 30 breaks is a big leap in percentage terms.
He set his stall out right from the start to avoid Spot Red potting and to concentrate on all round play. He did very well his half ball in-offs are now spot on he hardly missed one, he did stun the ball a few times which missed balls but he hadn't played for a week.
He played some lovely cannons and his middle pocket shots have improved, he just needs a little work on playing the ball thicker to control the shot. In fact it's something I have only just realised that for the last 4 weeks since playing Norman at Derby he showed me a long in-off shot which he plays quite thick with drag and a little running side since I have practiced that shot which occurs frequently and allows you to hold the object ball in the middle of the table for another shot.
In fact since then I have started to improve again getting loads of high 30 breaks every time I play and just over the past two weeks several 40 breaks. I know I had several 50 breaks by simply potting the red off it's spot back in April and march. But I don't count them as they are simply not Billiards. Mark Carrington had several against me in the 40's red ball pot's any decent player can do that.
Wayne noticed I was playing the loser differently I had a 28 break which was entirely long losers all around the pink area. I didn't notice that I came quite close to the loser limit of 15.
I showed him the shot after the game and he simply could not play the shot. he managed to practice it and until he was hitting it regularly. He seem quite happy as it will give him some extra control of the balls which is what this game is all about.
I also managed to sneak out for a knock at St Pauls, Stalybridge in the evening Phil Vidler and Roy Nelson (Captains of both Teams) were having a game of Billiards I had spent an hour with Phil a few weeks back and showed him the half ball shots and he has improved I can see a distinct improvement in his game, he dispatched quite a few half ball shot during his game he managed to win against Roy who is also improving a lot since he has got over his illness and put a little weight back on.
I played Phil next off our handicaps he is on 25 I'm on -50 first to 100. I played really well it's a very tight table very old the bags are really difficult the slightest touch on the side of a bag and the ball pops out. I got a couple of 15 breaks and then knocked a really nice 48 I was at the top and just had to tap a red 3 inches into the bag again to leave perfect top with his ball just by the side of the black spot and guess what missed the pot by 2 inches. What an idiot!!!
Not only was it a crap shot but I really felt I could have gone on and made a really massive break as I was cueing really well. and despite the breaks I was still 4 behind. I went on to win by a lot 100-61 finishing with a 29uf. I was really happy and played Roy next game. I can't understand how in the next game neither of us could get going I won but it was a real struggle the balls never went into a decent position. God it's maddening this game buzzing one minute, hopeless the next. I suppose I should be happy I know I am adding a few shots and breaks every week.
Looking a my diary I can see a definate pattern of increased breaks, I have played a lot over the past month or so but this months breaks are 3 shots more than last month on average. That's only 6-9 points but it makes a massive difference to go from regular 20 breaks to regular 30 breaks is a big leap in percentage terms.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Huddersfield League - New Mill V Lindley A
Over to Huddersfield this week, no rain to worry about this time instead 2 inches of Snow everywhere, great just what I needed the M62 was gridlocked with wagons struggling to get over the pass as they had not been out gritting yet.
I arrive cold and wet, this was an important match as Lindley are 2 points behind and a game in hand. So we needed at least a point to stay top. We won the first game and John our player had at least 15 flukes to win by loads. I went on second and was giving 15 start. We both played really poorly the table was like lightning and I kept over hitting my shots.
The other player David Tulley was also awful both I us should be ashamed with our game. he beat me 200-194 and either of us had a 10 break quite remarkable that if you think about it. We also lost the last game Brian Cousen played Peter Atkinson. I had not seen him play before he is quite old but what a nice player. He has a really classic style like Peter Shelley and Ron Agnew and plays lots of delicate Long Losers and as usual for the older players lots of middle red ball play. He dominated and we lost 2-1. This still leaves up top I have now lost two in a row. I didn't mind losing to Mathew Peaker the week before he was outstanding but this game was really poor.
Nice journey home though the snow had melted and I only had to content with the lashing rain!
What really annoyed me was I had gone for a practice in the afternoon and played quite well Mark Carrington had wiped me out 7 nil at snooker but I have played Billiards for our hour after and I played really well having 3 x 30 breaks. Strange how it goes this game. I do seem a little happier mixing my snooker and billiards together, it used to affect my cueing action but I have got used to my new grip now for both games.
I arrive cold and wet, this was an important match as Lindley are 2 points behind and a game in hand. So we needed at least a point to stay top. We won the first game and John our player had at least 15 flukes to win by loads. I went on second and was giving 15 start. We both played really poorly the table was like lightning and I kept over hitting my shots.
The other player David Tulley was also awful both I us should be ashamed with our game. he beat me 200-194 and either of us had a 10 break quite remarkable that if you think about it. We also lost the last game Brian Cousen played Peter Atkinson. I had not seen him play before he is quite old but what a nice player. He has a really classic style like Peter Shelley and Ron Agnew and plays lots of delicate Long Losers and as usual for the older players lots of middle red ball play. He dominated and we lost 2-1. This still leaves up top I have now lost two in a row. I didn't mind losing to Mathew Peaker the week before he was outstanding but this game was really poor.
Nice journey home though the snow had melted and I only had to content with the lashing rain!
What really annoyed me was I had gone for a practice in the afternoon and played quite well Mark Carrington had wiped me out 7 nil at snooker but I have played Billiards for our hour after and I played really well having 3 x 30 breaks. Strange how it goes this game. I do seem a little happier mixing my snooker and billiards together, it used to affect my cueing action but I have got used to my new grip now for both games.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Billiard Politics
It's quite funny really that over the last 8 months I have tried to understand all the different aspects of Billiards as a game and try to immerse myself in the game to try and understand exactly what it stands for.
However I can understand the beauty of the game and how difficult it is and how it should be the number one cue sport in the world what I can't understand is how the people who play this wonderful game who travel (as I have) all over the place with the sole purpose of just playing and enjoying the game can be so negative towards each other.
The latest spats have broken out on Billiard junkies, the same people work in both organisations ranging from the ref's to the players and yet they just can't get along and people wonder why Billiards and Snooker are on the decline again. Why can't all these NICE people who love these sports get together and stop acting like spoilt children. It's really silly I can fully understand why these sports are dying out with this sort of attitude around.
It's really sad that the same people in the EABA, EBOS EASB and any other of the multiple abbreviated groups are unable to work together for the good of this game. I know some people may take the hump with these comments but come on it's the game that matters not politics.
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