BILLIARDS.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17608, 10 November 1922, Page 6

BILLIARDS.

EETTJEN OF CLASS McCONAOHY. (spkiax to "the fbesl") WELLINGTON, November 9. After an absence abroad of two and a-half years, Clark McConachy, the brilliant young New Zealand billiards champion, has returned to bis nativo land. Sines hs left the Dominion he has been in most parts of the Empire, Canada excepted.- In India He bad a most interesting time, for ha spent five months there playing in most of the principal clubs and in the palaces of native notablities in Calcutta, Lahore, Cawnpore, Luuknow, and Madras. He found that most of the Maharajahs had wonderfully fine billiard tables and were excellent players, ano! the treatment he received was beyond all praise. One of the most prominent Indian rajahs was so p'.eased with Mr McConachy s brilliancy at the table that he presented him with a diamond ring which is now being worn as a brooch by Mrs McConachy. In England, McConachy says he was handicapped by the fact that the big games were all played with ivory balls which he was quite unused to. The difference between ivory and compo balls, he says, is verv great. In spotting it amounts to as much as three inches, the compo ball being easily th* liveliest in action. A shot from baulk with the red on the centre spot which would make the pocket with a compo ball, strikes the bottom cushion at least three inches from the corner of the pocket. To illustrate tha difference in the running of the two kinds of balls, a compo ball struck aa h«d as possible, would travel the length of the table six times, whilst a shot of the same strength with an ivory ball -would only cover the length five times. McConachy speaks well of Newman, who treated him very fairly aqd is a sport as well as a brilliant player. Tne young Now Zealander i» not able to say as much for other of England's best professionals. At Manchester he met Reece, who conceded the visitor 1000 points in 16,000. McConachy won by 2500 points. At Edinburgh he met Aitken, the Scottish champion, and after conceding the Scot 4000 points in a 16,000 points game, beat him by 300 or 400 points. At Manchester he met Reece, who again gave the visitor a handicap of 1000 points in 16,000, McConachy winning by 1300 points. Reece was a peculiar man. He was inclined to pet moody w*hen his opponent wae playing well, and on one occasion McConjjchy played him for a fortnight without Keece speaking a word. When he next met Reece at Nowcaatlo, the latter declined to finish, and the referee awarded the match to McConachy. "He subsequently Wt me at Burroughs and Watts, Toome in London." added McConachy, "but ,1 did not get a fair spin. Our balls were different. Mine did not run true, whilst -his did. I tried to get another ball, but the answer was that thev had nothing better. It was the same when a second-rate player named Telvis beat me by 1000 points. peaking generally, x would say that the. ivory balls are not »o reliable or true as the composition ones, yet wonderful work can be done with thnm in nursery canons- and top of the table play. It is the freakishness of ivory balls in long shots which often causes a player to lose a score he would get with a composition ball. I think, moreover, that the livotries axe affected Isy Vfcanges of temperature. The English public does not like continual playing off the red. They like to see good all-round billiards. The red player gets little credit whilst the all-round player is in favour." In the championship tan year McConachy had bad luck. Immediately before the fixture he suffered an attack of influent*, and actually got out bed to meet Reece, who beat him a» he was not able to play firstclass billiards for the first two days, owing to his shaky condition. Newman won tha championship. A subsequent engagement by Thurston's fell through, and he was kept hanging about doing nothing until he finally decided to return to New Zealand. McConachy intends to go Home again in 1924 for a three i months sojourn in England, taking in the championship. He expects, that ' that time will give him. two months prao- ! tice with the ivory balls before the big j even. He intends now to tour New Zealand.