Ending the season on a high-ish.

Everyone has players they don't like to play - bogey players that they never seem to be able to beat. The same is true of teams, but of course for every bogey team you have, you are someone else's bogey team.

Our final game of the season saw the Lady Haig visit us knowing that (a) they had to win convincingly to have a chance of the title or even second place, and that (b) we had already beaten them 8-4 earlier in the season.

We were down the bare six players - as usual the three amigos (Craig/Tiz/Burkie) had not bothered letting us know if they were around or not so when 8PM rolled around and they weren't there it was Lee, El-chill, Fitz, Mike, Swanny & myself in the headlights.

We started well. Swanny versus Stuart and I made Stuart a 7-3 favourite. Early doors Swanny made a mockery of those odds but not in a good way - his first four visits were awful. Luckily Stuart never got a clean shot at the black and when it came time to clear-up, Swanny obliged in style - he cleared his six balls and the black for 1-0.

Mike & Fitzy lost and then I was up against Ben. I fancied my chances - he is one of their weaker players and I have been in good form of late. We played about for a bit in the early stages, but once I had knocked the black near to one of 'my' pockets I was in control. I picked off my last few balls for 2-2. 2-2 became 4-2 as Elroy & Lee put a "W" on the scorecard against their names.

Second half, and in the run up to the final game only Lee & I had won putting us 6-5 up. I had beaten Peter Shields - a win I was well happy with, especially after John Townsend had kindly taken ten minutes out of his life to educate me of the inadequacies of my game (I am too slow apparently). I sunk my second black of the night and punched the table (lightly) in delight and gave it a "get in" (under my breath).

Last game, Fitz versus Steve. The decisive moment (and perhaps the lowlight of the evening) came when Steve Townsend kindly gave Fitzy two shots with 4 yellows and the black remaining. Having polished off the yellows in double-quick time ("fitzy time" that is) he has the black on the side cushion and two shots on the black.

With his first he doubles it off the side cushion, and ends up nearly trebling it in the middle pocket. The black is so close to the middle bag that if the music had been any louder the vibrations would have made it drop. Unfortunately the white ends up tight on the side cushion leaving Fitzy a thin cut to nick the black in and give us the frame.

*multiple choice pool quiz*

The black is over the middle bag and you have a fine cut to win the game. Do you:

a) Take your time and gently nick the black in, risking the white rolling off?

b) Thump it in taking the table roll out of the equation, but risking the in-off?

c) Do neither of these things, instead electing to completely miss the black and lose the game?

Answers on a postcard.

So 6-6 and our season is over. We have six weeks 'til the summer season starts, and by then I will have published my review of the season, the final averages, and also confirmed the kitty for the "Rising Potters Annual Shin-dig".

Watch this space, and happy potting.

Massive In Iver

With the plea's of Mr K J Wallis ringing in my ears ("if you nick a couple of frames off them it would help us a lot") the Rising Potters headed to Iver for the penultimate game of the season knowing that we weren't going to finish last but that the title was in the balance and we could help decide which way it went.

Little did Mr Walls know that, with our team at least, "ask and ye shall get budg" was the moral of the day.

In fairness to us we were up against the team who were not only at the summit of our division, but whose ranks included at least seven county A & B players and a 'semi-pro' (whatever that is) in Mr Tony "Fisher" Price.

It started badly when tizz lost the first frame. He had more chances than he would normally need to win four frames, nevermind one, but in the end he deserved to lose.

I played second, and for the first time in a while I can say I was genuinely massive. Maybe it was the pressure of playing me, but my opponent broke off and flew the white off the table. Nice. As I perused the table I started to think "if I get this first pot in I have got game on". Seven balls later and I was on the final black and had set myself up for a dolly in the middle! Fabulous clearance and we are back at 1-1.

*I guess irony can be pretty ironic sometimes*

Second half started and we were 5-1 down. Tizzy lost again after his opponent broke and cleared up - 6-1. I played next, and with the break and my "eye in" I was confident of doing some damage. However the pool gods had other ideas. As the white flew across the room and nestled in the fireplace off my break I had that sinking feeling that goes with the knowledge that my opponent has two shots, ball in hand, and a dolly clearance. My fears were justified as matey-boy cleared the lot.

7-1 became 11-1 with only Elroy getting near the black in his frame - perhaps my rendition of Guava Jam inspired him. Maybe not.

Only Lee "most underrated player in the league love you captain fantastic" Greenwood stood between us and the ignominy of an 11-kev defeat.

With the typical mixture of steely determination & iron will - plus an opponent playing like a man with no thumbs - Lee won and we left the Fox & Hounds to celeberate what looks like the championship for them (Irish drew 6-6) .

Keith asked for a couple of frames - and a couple was all he got.

Lord Of The Pots - The Return Of The Swanny

Here is a quote from last weeks blog:

" how can we take three frames from the Irish but only two against the Nomads?"

Having lost to the Nomads by a greater margin that our loss to the Irish was bad enough. The last thing we could do with was a visit from Pat Phelan & James Harness and their Country 'A' chums the following week. The form book makes the Windsor crowd heavy favourites.

And yet, from the ashes of defeat, could the phoenix rise from the flames...

It started off predictably enough. Lee won, I lost. He was massive against one of the aforementioned "Country A Chums". I lost against James Harness, played well, ref missed a foul that would have won me the game, and James proceeded to treble the black in to the bottom corner. OK I wasn't massive but perhaps a little unlucky.

There was a crucial twist in the "Battle Of The Budg" - more on that later.

With only one other winner in the first half we were 4-2 down and heading for another defeat.

The second half of the match was nothing short of remarkable. Not only were we boosted by the winning return of Martin "budg" Burke, but Swanny won his second match of the evening, as did Lee and with two games to go we were 5-5!

Surely there was plenty of time to throw it away...Fitz played the eleventh frame and played what can only be described as perfect pool. That is I could describe it like that if I was lying, because in actual fact he contrived to play terribly, get in a winning position, and throw it away with three balls over the bag and the black hanging.

6-5 down and the scene was set. The crowd were jockeying for position. The best seats in the house were taken. There was a buzz of excitement in the air. Snowy was at the bar getting lashed up. The final game threw together two giants of the modern game - players with a bit of recent history. It was a grudge match, and I was playing against the man who, until a few weeks ago, would not even shake my hand. The Rodster.

The turning point of the game came when I cleared to the black and rattled it over the bottom pocket, covering Rods yellow at the same time. I could hear Lee shouting for me - or rather I could hear him shouting something. I think it was a reggae song. Anyhow despite my nerves I played three good tactical shots and induced the game-winning foul from Rod.

Did I say something about a form-book? Tear it up because we got a 6-6 draw from 4-2 behind against the Windsor Wanderers.

*Battle Of the Budg Update*

With Swanny winning two games this week the battle to avoid finishing last took what could be a decisive twist. He has now won 6 out of 21 games giving him an average of 28.6%. Interestingly the introduction of Morrel a few weeks ago could save Mike finishing last. Morrel has injured his shoulder, but managed one game this season which he lost. Mike single victory this season could yet be enough.

*Averages*

For your amusement and delight here are the averages for this season:

Lee 69.2% (played 26 won 18)
Martin 60.8% (23/14)
Tizzie 61.1% (18/11)
Darryl 57.1%(14/8)
Kevin "Wooburn Massive" 40.9% (22/9)
Elroy 35.0% (20/7)
Fitz 34.7% (23/8)
Mark 28.6% (21/6)
Craig 22% (9/2)
Mike 6.6% (15/1)
Morrel 0% (1/0)

No game for the next three weeks, so am off to racks for practice. Next update after our next league game on Thursday 23rd March.

A Tale Of Two Shittys

The good thing about playing for our team is that we are all a great bunch of lads and I really enjoy my night out with them. The bad thing is you never ever can predict a result.

Take our last two games. On successive weeks we played the Irish Club & the team formerly known as the New Berkshire Potters - The Windsor Nomads. These are two teams that, Julian Jacques apart, could not be more different. One is full of top quality players who can pot a ball off the chandeliers; the other plays at the Irish Club. Ba-da-Boom.

Before the Irish club match I considered we might win 2 or 3 frames, and that (with a bit of luck) we might follow that with a win over the Nomads. The target was 10 frames from the two matches.

Against the Irish I played my best frame of the season and with Lee also winning we were quickly 2-0 up. One bad shot in the second half cost me the frame against Terry Dingley, and with only Elroy winning in the second half we lost 9-3.

I was pleased with the way I was playing, and I moved into the last Thursday's 'Nomads' game with renewed confidence - at least I could win two games and get to 50% for the season?

Having the bare minimum six players didnt help, but it was the same six who took three frames from the Irish so I thought a draw was a realistic aim.

It started well - Lee won. Lee always wins. I think that he is probably the most under-rated player around. He is not the best potter in the league, but when you understand the rules as well as him, and you play to your strengths as well as he does you cant fail to at least compete in every match you play.

I played second, had four visits, one of which was a break, and I lost with more of a whimper that a bang. In the second half I was so desparate to win against Julian Jacques that I missed several sitters and gifted him the game. I lost both. I was tiny and he, and he was massive (as it were).

Lee won again in the second half - but no one else could even get close to winning and we lost the match 10-2. Unbelieveable. How can we take 3 frames from the Irish and only 2 against the Nomads?

The simple answer is usually the right one - we are not good enough. We do not have enough players who can win matches. Simple.

On a roll

There are certain venues in the area that strike fear into the hearts of men. Bad beer, good players, a crap table, even female participants - all are guaranteed to make grown men tremble and rightly so.

The Swan in Burnham is not one of those venues.

Its a great pub with a great landlord, a good table and a good bunch of at-best above-average players whom we had already beaten earlier in the season. As such there can't be many better places to mark the end of a pool era.

The last game that Mr Darryl Hill played in the Thames Valley was marked by a win for the team (a rare event), two of which were from Darryl himself (even rarer), and a first win of the season for Mike Salmon (!).

We won the match 8-4. A controversial decision from captain-of-the-night Darryl saw me start the ball rolling with a well (un)deserved loss. Two further losses followed and we were 3-0 down.

Surprisingly, despite the poor start, we ended up 3-3 at the break. Perhaps even more surprising was my inclusion in the second half. I managed to grind out a result to set us up at 6-4 up.

It was down to Mike Salmon & Lee Greenwood to see us home and with Mike registering his afore-mentioned first win of the season, and Lee his usual solid self, we got to 8-4. The win gave us 2 wins from 3 games since the new year (we lost 8-4 after being 4-2 up in my absence last week) and renewed confidence.

I am back. And how.

New Year. A time when realistic and fact-based judgment calls are replaced by mindless optimism and enthusiasm. It's the time of year when strange things happen. Maybe it's been so long since our last game that we all actually convinced oursleves that we were good and we could win.

And so it happened.

Last night we beat The Lady Haig 8-4. And I won.

I was massive.

As I had lost in the previous game before Christmas I was due for a drop tip. However DJ Swan Master J and Titzy were both late so sneaked in to the third spot. Playing behind Tizz & Burkee is a great place to play. It is inconceivable that they will both lose. It is likely that that they will both win; and so it was. I played at 2-0, has three visits (one of which was a miscue) and won in ten minutes - leaving us 3-0 up and leading nicely into...

*Battle Of The Budg Update*

Mike played fourth, played well, and lost. Swanny played fifth, played OK, and won. 1-0 to swanny. Fifteen games played between them, one win.

5-1 up became 6-3 became 8-4 to give us only our second win of the season.

My personal record is played 10 won 3. I have to say though, in each of the games I lost I have been very unlucky. It's not true of course, but I had to say it.

Laters

Our name's on the plate.

Quick update on our first-round cup match against Rob Uzzel's crowd - we lost.

The first leg finished 6-6, and I genuinly felt we had a chance of winning. I felt that way all week. Right up to the point where I walked in the door just prior to us starting the second leg, and saw James Harness sitting there. He hasn't played all season. He was basically a ringer. He is better than all bar one of our team. It was then I knew we would not win.

Unluckily for my team-mates I arrived. I mean I arrived at the game an hour early, and with James H being there I proceeded to get drunk. At that point I had no way of knowing that Lee was planning to play me first, so on an empty stomach Jimbo & I hit the Stellas. Two pints and 45 minutes I was cueing up to play the first game and was at least partially sloshed.

Needless to say I lost, Tizzy played twice and won, and it was downhill after that. We lost 7-5 and we were behind pretty much all the way.

Their is a plate competition for first round losers, and we have won it for the last three years running. Always the bridesmaid...

It's a game of two halves

Quick update on our last two matches, and the lastest on the "Battle of the Budg".

I missed last weeks league match against the Fox & Pheasant. We lost 7-5. Tizz won twice, Daryl won twice and Burkee won once. A quick piece of mental arithmativ will tell you that everyone else lost.

This week was the first leg of our first round cup-tie with Rob Uzzell's Old Windsor Club. We have drawn them in the first round of the cup for the last four years. We have lost to them in the first round of the cup in the previous three. Without Mike & Elroy we tied the game 6-6 so it's all set-up nicely for the second leg.

If we lose next week, the thing that will keep my interest this season is the "Battle Of The Budg" - that is to say who will finish bottom of the averages. At the moment you can't get a fag-paper between Swanny and Mike "Dessie" Salmon. They have both lost every single game this season.

Back to last night - I was mildy massive but ended up losing. Pat Phelan is one of the players I hate playing - primarily because he loves playing me. He always wins and last night was no exception.

The game was only five visits. He broke and didn't pot. I potted three and ran out of position. He potted all his and rattled the black. I cleared up my three balls but missed the crucial last ball with the black hanging. It was a near-straight shot and I missed by some way. It was very disappointed but Rob was kind enough to point out after the game that I played well, and in fact I got a massive kick on the white on the crucial pot. I didn't notice it - but then I wasn't looking at the white!

Generally I think that is where I am going wrong. On crucial pots I am so desparate for the ball to go in I move whilst on the shot. I hope to work on it throughout next summer.

Next week is the second leg of the cup, Mike and Elroy "Rod" Hull will be back for us. Despite that I think there is a chance to cause an upset.