Although I retained my form during the ensuing years, I found that the continued strain of competition matches and many years of hard training, together with the fact that I had achieved the world's highest honour for an amateur player, was affecting my keenness and my eyesight was starting to fail.
By 1964 Jim Long, who had been improving all the time, had caught up with me. In that year he won the Australian Championship and became eligible to represent Australia in the World Title event to be contested in New Zealand. Unfortunately for Jim, he was unable to make the trip because of pressure of business, and I was sent in his stead. This was my seventh appearance in world championship matches. This series was won by Wilson Jones, who defeated Jack Karneham of England, I finished fourth, but never at any stage reached top form.
In 1967 I won my twentieth Victorian Amateur Billiards Title. And then announced my retirement. However, many friends persuaded me to change my mind and I continued to play, but again Jim Long proved too good for me and defeated me in the Australian Championship in 1967. At this time Jim was available to travel to Colombo for the World Championship. However, a prominent Sydney businessman and a good friend of mine, Mr Keith Lord, offered to sponsor me to Colombo if permission could be obtained from the Australian Amateur Billiards Association to allow me to make the trip. The Association was agreeable, and I am indeed grateful to the Association and to Mr Lord for his generosity and kindness. So far as I am aware, no other private individual has ever sponsored an Australian Amateur Billiards Player on an overseas trip to contest a World Championship Series.
On this occasion, Jim Long was Australia's Official Representative and I was the second string. I told Jim that we would find it difficult to win in Ceylon because of the climatic conditions. Jim dearly loves the cold weather and the strip rubber cushions. After all, billiards is a winter game and it is difficult for many players when the World Championship is contested in a country that has a hot climate. I venture to say that Jim and I were the two most knowledgeable players in this series, but because of the climatic conditions we were unable to exploit our style of top of the table play and had to revert to all round billiards. To add to our discomfort, we had to resort to using gloves in an endeavour to combat the problem of perspiration. Needless to say, we were both unplaced.
Leslie Driffield eventually ran out the winner. He proved just too good for the opposition, with his painfully slow all round billiards. I am sure that he did it on purpose to upset his opponents. On one occasion he took 47 minutes to make a 371 break, although in the prevailing conditions it was a good effort. M. Lafir, of Ceylon was runner-up, but he would not have come within reach of the first ten players in Australia. So much for the 1967 World Championship Series. Nevertheless, we met many kind and hospitable people who, after all, are not to blame because their climate is not conducive to good billiards.
Late in 1968, I suffered a severe illness, with the result that I lost the use of my right arm. However, excellent medical treatment and therapy have enabled me to recover my health, but my touch is not the same; thus my competitive billiards life has come to an end. It has been with great sadness and regret that I have had to leave the competition side of the game, which enabled me to make so many wonderful friends, both among my opponents and the many followers of the game. Early in my billiards career I entertained three main ambitions: Firstly, to visit England, the home of billiards; secondly, to win a world championship; and thirdly; to make a break of 1000. I managed to achieve the first two, but to my lasting regret my third objective has eluded me.