In 1958 India was the venue for the next World Championship series and I was to defend my Title there. My wife had never before had the pleasure of travelling with me on an overseas trip and I thought that if on this occasion she could accompany me it would be a wonderful experience for her. With the assistance of some good friends, her trip was made possible. Leslie Driffield's wife also made the trip from England so my wife was in good company. On this occasion, Claude Harris, President of the Australian Amateur Billiards Association, also made the trip. Claude thoroughly deserved this privilege as for many years he had carried out a tremendous amount of work on the administrative side of the game.
We arrived at Calcutta in mid-November, to be met by officials of the India Billiards Association, and were given a warm welcome. The seven contestants for the Title were: Leslie Driffield, Wilson Jones, Chandra Hirjee, Rafik Dina, Mahomed Lafir, V. Freer and myself. Driffield, Jones, Hirjee and I were named the "big four" and after the earlier games had been played, w were left to fight it out. As all four players were in good form it was difficult to pick the winner.
Hirjee and Jones met in the first encounter and spectators were treated to some brilliant billiards, each player making numerous breaks of over 100. Hirjee then made a break of 246, which was quickly followed by 306 from Jones. On the billiard table no love was lost between these two players. They were keen rivals and were fighting to see who was India's best player. At the first interval there was little between them, but Jones eventually ran out the winner by 260.
The next match was between myself and Hirjee. I at once struck brilliant form and made consecutive breaks of 190, 239 and 346. This burst seemed to demoralize Hirjee, and although he made two fine breaks of 165 and 176 in the second session, I was a comfortable winner by a margin of 960.
Wilson Jones was next in line for me. I knew that I would have to play at my top, as Jones had been displaying brilliant form in both matches and at practice. In the first hour of this match I ran up a handy lead with useful breaks of 165 and 158, but Jones fought back with a beautifully compiled break of 345. At the end of the first session the scores were almost level. Unfortunately for me, a tropical storm broke over Calcutta at 5.00pm that day. This was unusual as rain like this had not fallen in December for about fifteen years. The result was that the atmosphere became very humid. My cue would not slide properly through my bridge, making it difficult for me to play good billiards. Jones was not similarly affected. Like other Indians, Jones skin was hard and as dry as a bone. I was at a disadvantage, whilst he was in his element, playing as if nothing unusual had happened. He made further breaks of 186, 269 and several over 100 and won the match by over 500 points.
At that stage, Jones was undefeated, but still had to play Leslie Driffield. I also had to play Leslie. If I beat him and he defeated Jones, it would result in a three-way tie. I felt that I still had a fighting chance, but it was not to be. My match with Driffield was a thriller, but he defeated me by the small margin of 135 points. I thought I had him beaten right up until the last 20 minutes, when I was leading by 54. At that stage I had two shots "on". Driffield's ball was on the brink of the top left-hand pocket and at the same time there was an easy in-off the red ball. Should I pot him and play safety, or should I continue to play the red ball? By doing so I felt that the minutes would tick away and my score would steadily increase.
I got in-off the red ball and left myself with a perfect position for an in-off into the centre pocket. I told myself the game was mine! After scoring nine points I shaped up for my next shot. However, in my excitement and to my complete disgust I fouled the cue ball. I could scarcely believe it! The balls were then in an easy position for Driffield to score a cannon and, playing like a bulldog, he ran to 203 unfinished, thus winning the game. It was a great disappointment to me. I felt that I had had the game won, only to lose it by sheer carelessness. I just had to accept the situation as best I could. Thus ended all my hopes of winning that Title.
The final looked promising for a great game between Wilson Jones, the idol of India, and Leslie Driffield, the dour Englishman. Leslie was not very popular with the crowds in India and no doubt that feeling extended back to the days of Great Britain's influence in India. However, the two players commenced their match in brilliant form. At the end of the first hour of play the scores were level at 340, each player having contributed two breaks over 100. At the end of the second hour the scores were: Driffield 880, Jones 757. The second session was played in much the same fashion, with Driffield leading by 312. In the third session Driffield went steadily ahead to increase his lead to 450.
In the first hour of the final session when Driffield was leading by 600 and looked a certain winner a startling change came over the game. Jones made a fighting 240 break. Driffield then missed an easy shot, to let Jones in for another nice run of 199. By this time the excitement was intense. The crowd was favouring Jones in no uncertain manner. At this stage, each time Driffield visited the table the crowd commenced to chant and hand-clap. They refused to stop when requested. These outbursts were uncalled for and Leslie became very annoyed. He turned to the crowd and appeared, "what have I done to deserve this"? This only incited the crowd to even worse behaviour and pandemonium reigned. In all the excitement Leslie broken down and cried.
It was ten minutes before the crowd quietened down to allow the match to continue. Leslie had put away his cue, threatening to forfeit the match. I went over to him and made an effort to comfort him, but he said "I am finished. I'll never come to India again". I said "Don't forfeit, Leslie. Don't take any notice of the crowd. You can still win the championship. You are in front, so don't throw it away". I then took his cue from its case and handed it to him. After he had received a nod from his wife, he continued to play. At that stage he was 90 points ahead, with 20 minutes left for play. However, it was obvious that the demonstration had upset him and he was shaking like a leaf. Poor Leslie could not get a shot, and Wilson Jones went on to win by 105 points. It was a sad ending to a wonderful Championship Series. Leslie Driffield left India next day.