BILLIARDS RECORD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22457, 29 June 1936, Page 16

BILLIARDS RECORD

NEW BAULK LINE RULE

LINDRUM'S GREAT BREAK

[from our own correspondent! SYDNEY. June 24 Walter Lindrum, world's champion billiards player, in an exhibition match here, established a world's record break of 1796 under the new baulk line rule, requiring a player to cross the baulk line with his cue ball in every 200 points, between 180 and 200 points, and restricting the number of successive cannons to 35. Lindrum s 1796 wiped off J. Davis' 1784 established a few days earlier, which had exceeded T. Newman's 1394 made a couple of days before. The world record was thus broken three times within a week.

Lindrum had devoted more than a week of exhibition matches to practice in marshalling the balls from the baulk line back to the top of the table, where his big figure breaks have always been made. With his 18oz. cue, which he had used for 18 years, Lindrum, in his record break, made three standard ivory balls behave as if they contained Bomo gyroscopic device working at the touch of a cue. The greater part of tho play was at the top of the table and centre pocket hazards. Lindrum was particularly jubilant at regaining the record, because ho believes that the Billiards Control Council in London had aimed tho baulk line rulo at him. Lindrum, in a subsequent interview, said that he regarded the changing of tho rules as a tragedy. Those at the helm should refrain from penalising ability—that was all a change in the rules meant. Not more than four players in the world were affected. It seemed to him that when someone did anything brilliant in any branch of sport those at the head of affairs became panic-stricken and got the idea that the "going was too easy." Then they sat down and introduced some new rules to make tho path harder. When rules had been made and had stood the test of time they should not be changed and the expert penalised. "Jt would bo absurd," he said, "to change the rules of cricket because Don Bradman is such a wonderful batsman, or to penalise a golf champion by making him play one shot in every four from the tee while standing on one leg."