Exciting billiards promised

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33093, 7 December 1972, Page 28

Exciting billiards promised

Although the withdrawal, because of illness, of the Englishman, J. Barrie, is unfortunate, the match in the world open billiards championships to be played at the Richmond club in Christchurch today still promises much. The match is part of the initial round-robin series—from which the seedings will be made for the championship proper—being played away from the tournament headquarters, Pukekohe. Barrie, a former English professional champion, was

. to have played his fellow- , countryman, J. Fryer. But now Fryer will play the Aus1 tralian amateur champion, P. > Tarrant, who has entered the | tournament as Barrie’s re- , placement. Fryer, like Tarrant, is an • amateur and although both i are no doubt fine players the I gap between amateurs and professionals in billiards is very wide. This is borne out by the fact that neither has had a ’ win at the tournament so fair, 1 although both have scored ■ well. I Tarrant has shown the bet- ; ter form, with seven century breaks in his six games, the i highest 191. Fryer has made ; three century breaks in five

games, but his worth might be better gauged from his highest competitive break in England, 502. Both players have, no doubt, been restricted in their scoring by the long periods spent at the table by their more-talented opponents and if, as it would seem, they are fairly evenly matched their scoring average could improve markedly. The game will be played over four hours in two twohour sessions. The first session is from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. and the second from 8.15 to 10.15. It must still be regretted that the tournament organisers did not see fit to ensure that the one match

being played in the South Island had at least one, and possibly two, of the professionals. The loss of Barrie will also be felt by two other working men’s clubs, which had arranged for him to play exhibition matches before he returned to Pukekohe on Sunday. These appointments will now be kept by Tarrant and his opponents will be Canterbury’s two top players, B. D. Kirkness, the New Zealand champion, and E. Simons, who beat Kirkness in the final of this year’s Canterbury championship and later lost to him in the national final.