RECORD BILLIARDS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8409, 25 April 1907, Page 3

RECORD BILLIARDS.

Though • the Billiard Association has declared its intention to canvass the views of all the leading players before resorting to the revolutionary expediment of imposing the veto, the famous or notorious stroke, known as Lovejoy's "cradle-double-kiss cannon," may be considered to have received its death-blow at Thurston's on Tuesday, says a recent number of the London Daily Mail. As is well-known, those old antagonists, Reece, of Oldham, and Inman, of Twickenham, are playing a match of 16,000 up for £IOO a-side. When on Monday Inman aggregated 1,333 while the Northerner was making 710, the public were justified in forming the conclusion that the result would be a mere repetition of fleece's inability to do himself justice against this combative^opponent. But Lovejoy's invention has introduced into the game a startling possibility, and the fact of Reece obtaining the position on Tuesday afternoon, and retaining it till the end of the session, continuing in the evening till he had accumulated 1,269 prints in 41 minutes, proves that so long as the cradle-double-kiss cannon is recognised as a legitimate stroke the game is in constant danger of aifiasco such as occurred in the never-to-be-forgotten encounter between Roberts and Ives on the compromise table at Humphreys' in Knight's Bridge in 1893. Ives, it will be recalled, obtained position in the jaws of a pocket (the balls were not jammed) and made a break of 2,539. In other circumstances the fact that Reece during the afternoon scoi'cd 1,290 while Inman was making 50 would be sufficiently remarkable, but the fundamental importance of the northerner's performance is that all world's records were broken. Until last Tuesday Stsvenson'a 802 (in 55 minutes) against Dawson at Thurston's on February lfiHi, 1905,. ranked as the official rec tfd break. In point of technical skill, oi course, Stevenson's performance can scarcely be said to be eclips"d, yet Reece's break against Inman now takes official precedence, Reece began the afternoon's play with breaks of 84 and 203, and then, working to the top of the table, played splendid billiards for 181. Up to this point he //as achieving success by the orthodox game, but, with the balls lodging fat the shoulders of the top right, he had no occasion to do more than Repeat the now wellknown stroke. With the nature of this our readers are now familiar, but we may repeat that the cannon is played by kissing back off the further ball to the near object, and then kissing pack into the original position. Reece's previous best break was 441. Continuing in the evening Reece increased the break into 1,269(521 cannons). Seven cannons from the finish he got into difficulties and had I to play with the left hai:d. [ Every succeeding cannon only serv- , e*J to weaken his position, and finally he was forced to play the white loser. Naturally there was a great demonstration. '