Driffield fall away after commanding Lead
By a Staff reporter
BEHIND on points in the 13th and deciding frame, the CEYLON champion, Mohammed Lafir, snookered Leslie Driffield to earn 12 points that gave him the chance he needed to make a bid for victory. And victory by 56points to 52 came deservedly a few minutes later in Thursday ‘s exhibition snooker match at the Great Eastern Hotel .
The match was at time exciting , at times it had its brilliance, and at times it dragged along .
Driffield shot into an easily- achieved three – frame lead and then seemed to ease off on his concentration approaching the patch of green to play his shots as they came and not always laying the foundation for a big break building.
The small crowd was nevertheless treated to a delightful display of potting wizardry . Driffield in particular showing a marked affinity for superb control and positioning of his cue-ball. The delicate touch possessed by both men resulted in many a superbly executed shot, balls gliding into a pocket as though drawn by an invisible magnet. Lafir excelled in the long pot.
Early in the match – the third frame- Driffield downed seven blacks and a yellow with the aid of nine reds to knock up a useful break of 60, and only two frames later Lafir replied with 63- compromising seven blacks , a blue and nine reds- which proved to be the highest of the evening.
As the match hinged on that thrilling 13th fame it would be fruitless to describe the earlier frames in any detail. Both men started the final frame cautiously , but Driffield looked well on the way to victory when leading by 52 points to 26 with only the black, pink and blue balls remaining on the table.
But Lafir had not given up the fight. He snookered Driffield on the blue magnificently , with the cue- ball miraculously jammed against the cushion behind the black ball. In trying to extricate himself from this difficult position Driffield accidentally struck the black , which turned out to be very unfortunate for his cue- ball came off the cushion to strike the blue. It was seven points for Lafir .
He did it again when he hid the cue- ball behind the pink and Driffield missed the blue for five points away.
The score was now 52-38 and Lafir was in a position to go for the balls .
Luck favoured him a little later when Driffield’s attempt at a long pot on the blue ended in disaster when the balls kissed, leaving the blue on for Lafir . The Ceylon champion leapt at the opportunity and battle was joined for the pink and he black.
Finally , after many scoreless visits to the table, Lafir tried a long pot almost along the cushion , bringing it off with amazing casualness . He took the black to win the frame and match by 56 points to 52.
Scores (Lafir first) – 54-83, 44-81, 19-92, 99-15, 87-26, 81-30, 56-52.
Breaks:
Lafir-24, 22, 25, 39, 31, 25, 63, 30, 39, 26, 57, 35, 24, 22.
Driffield -24, 28, 35, 60, 43, 40, 21, 25.
TODAY’S BILLIARDS
The following is today’s match in the World Amateur Billiards championship : Tom Cleary v Wilson Jones (5-30p.m. and 8-30 p.m.).
By a Staff reporter
The match was at time exciting , at times it had its brilliance, and at times it dragged along .
Driffield shot into an easily- achieved three – frame lead and then seemed to ease off on his concentration approaching the patch of green to play his shots as they came and not always laying the foundation for a big break building.
The small crowd was nevertheless treated to a delightful display of potting wizardry . Driffield in particular showing a marked affinity for superb control and positioning of his cue-ball. The delicate touch possessed by both men resulted in many a superbly executed shot, balls gliding into a pocket as though drawn by an invisible magnet. Lafir excelled in the long pot.
Early in the match – the third frame- Driffield downed seven blacks and a yellow with the aid of nine reds to knock up a useful break of 60, and only two frames later Lafir replied with 63- compromising seven blacks , a blue and nine reds- which proved to be the highest of the evening.
As the match hinged on that thrilling 13th fame it would be fruitless to describe the earlier frames in any detail. Both men started the final frame cautiously , but Driffield looked well on the way to victory when leading by 52 points to 26 with only the black, pink and blue balls remaining on the table.
But Lafir had not given up the fight. He snookered Driffield on the blue magnificently , with the cue- ball miraculously jammed against the cushion behind the black ball. In trying to extricate himself from this difficult position Driffield accidentally struck the black , which turned out to be very unfortunate for his cue- ball came off the cushion to strike the blue. It was seven points for Lafir .
He did it again when he hid the cue- ball behind the pink and Driffield missed the blue for five points away.
The score was now 52-38 and Lafir was in a position to go for the balls .
Luck favoured him a little later when Driffield’s attempt at a long pot on the blue ended in disaster when the balls kissed, leaving the blue on for Lafir . The Ceylon champion leapt at the opportunity and battle was joined for the pink and he black.
Finally , after many scoreless visits to the table, Lafir tried a long pot almost along the cushion , bringing it off with amazing casualness . He took the black to win the frame and match by 56 points to 52.
Scores (Lafir first) – 54-83, 44-81, 19-92, 99-15, 87-26, 81-30, 56-52.
Breaks:
Lafir-24, 22, 25, 39, 31, 25, 63, 30, 39, 26, 57, 35, 24, 22.
Driffield -24, 28, 35, 60, 43, 40, 21, 25.
TODAY’S BILLIARDS
The following is today’s match in the World Amateur Billiards championship : Tom Cleary v Wilson Jones (5-30p.m. and 8-30 p.m.).