Meredith retains billiards title

Press, 29 June 1983, Page 4

Meredith retains billiards title

Dave Meredith won his fourth successive Canterbury billiards title, and his sixth in all, when he beat an old adversary, Brian Kirkness, in an exciting final at the Christchurch W.M.C. last evening. The two men, who have dominated the championship since 1975, have had some close tussles in the past, but not many so close as this one. The final score was 908-891 after a four-hour contest. The lead changed at least six times in this period and the vital break was a 47 by Meredith with less than six minutes to go. For the whole of the last hour, the gap in the scores was seldom more than 30 points. In the first two hours both players were in top form as was shown by the scoring of nearly 1000 points in this session. All the high breaks came in these first two hours. Both players scored freely, each profiting when the other broke down at the top of the table. Although not the highest, the best break of the night was a 75 Kirkness made shortly before the interval. It was top-of-the-table play at its best, and once Kirkness had position after his second shot the white ball never moved more than a few centimetres as he played the delicate cannon ana potted red game. This break helped Kirkness to a 516-459 lead at the interval. But the players struggled throughout the second session. Twice in the last half-hour, Kirkness had position at the top of the table, but his confidence was not what it had been and simple misses denied him the big break that he was seeking. Meredith had a few problems with his potting in the middle stages, but his hazard play was sound and he played two superb long jennys. Overall, Kirkness was more consistent, certainly in his short game, although he was the first to admit that he had his chances. Breaks: Meredith: 63, 99, 57. Kirkness: 64, 123, 67, 75.