Billiards Season 2024

Away Team Report:
I think it would be fair to say this was a match we were all looking forward to! We thought the draw come out ideal for us with 3 good match ups where ‘on paper’ at least we had the advantage.. little did we know just how bad that could turn out..
For me tho, even just looking at the cloth, the table was a totally different one to the one i played Darren on in the Billiards Handicap just a few months back. So missing the thin edge twice and watching it snake around the red to miss it a third time for my very first shot didn’t exactly help. Dreading every safety from then on, i seemed to keep leaving half chances which Rob capitalised quite well from to gain a good 20 ish lead. With 2 reds left tho he fluked a snooker which i got out of but he won the frame from there with some great potting. My 47 came at the start of the next picking off every loose red but i missed what felt like was a crucial blue in an attempt (failed) to split the pack. Next shot had a shot to nothing that went catastrophically wrong opening the reds and my lead was halved. One more safety and Rob slots in a great long red clearing up everything in sight even bringing the safe brown and safe yellow off cushions before i found myself with the brown in the middle of the baulk cushion full length of the table away and a dozen behind! I finally pulled off what felt like was a frame winning safety - snooker behind the black. On the 3rd attempt tho he hit it and got it safe. I couldn’t see one so attempted the 13 footer which rattled in the jaws and Rob wasn’t missing. Fair play to Rob, 2-0!
Noone could believe what they were witnessing in the 3rd frame, Andy 26 up with the brown left before fowling the black meaning a grand total of 59pts in fowls between them.. And Darren could now win of course! Andy then gets a good snooker tho leaving the brown near the yellow pocket and white up against the pink. So with the one cushion cut off Darren ‘Z‘s’ up the table cutting the brown along the baulk cushion dead weight into the green pocket and clears up! Lol, 3-0 and with Andy’s head in the bin 6-0 (to them) was looking very much on. He done well to recover tho getting a nice 44 to finally get us a frame on the board!
So could we get the draw? Well James was looking good in his first having just got a snooker on the yellow and points about level. James decided to have them back after the first attempt but Craig hit it this time, the white checking across the table snookering James behind the black in the jaws. James got a worldy escape first go tho leaving a long half ball yellow which just went past the black. Craig tried to power it in but missing it thin the yellow double kissed the black, came off the black cushion while the white came round two cushions colliding into the yellow again sending it straight into the yellow pocket and the white gliding up the table in a similar direction to land perfect on the green with the right angle to get on frame ball brown (all the colours off their spots) - all of which he did 4-1, match lost! Like Andy, James played a good last frame but it was no constellation really.
The two flukes are ranked as #1 and #2 in my memory of all time amazing flukes i’ve ever seen on a snooker table with Craig’s yellow as firm No. 1 ;- ) but the boys did play well to give them their due and i thought Rob was exceptional.