JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL

The Oatlands Mount S. C. Harrogate (16th-17th January 1999)

The Players & Rankings

The junior internationals were making their first appearance of the season competing for the ‘Kingsman Cup´. Playing alongside the more experienced senior internationals, this would prove to be a valuable experience in the learning process for the young stars of the future. The juniors competed for a total of 24 points, and would play the short game format of three games of 100 up and the longer game of one hour duration.

If the young players had any “big-match” nerves, it wouldn´t have helped to have been given the “honour” to be the first to play on the pristine Riley´s match tables in front of the competition sponsors and about 100 spectators!

Playing games of one hour duration, England had nineteen year old John Hartley first in action against fellow number four seed Ricki Lee. Hartley is the current secretary of the Teesside Boys Billiards League and had been playing the game for over ten years, whilst opponent Lee had reportedly only taken up billiards two weeks previous to the event!

Both players struggled to come to terms with the new cloth and tight pockets in the early stages, before the more experienced Hartley exerted his authority to give England the early advantage.

On the adjoining table, eighteen year old Dean Bavister of Northants was in action against the potting sensation Maynard Hamilton. The Irish number three seed had made three maximum ‘147´ breaks at snooker, but little was known about his billiard qualities. Bavister struggled to make anything count and went down to a score of 204- 127.

The middle session´s play saw the top four juniors in action with the 100 up format. Playing in the tiny billiard room on the first floor of the club was a stark contrast to the atmosphere of the main arena. Reigning English under nineteen champion Robin Wilson from Middlesbrough, is only fifteen years old but already has lots of titles and records to his name. Playing against Irish number two seed Joe Buttimer, Wilson wasted no time in getting down to business. He kicked off in the first game with two breaks over thirty to record a 100-3 score. Thereafter, Buttimer failed to produce his best, seeming to be overawed with his opponent making the most of every opportunity, and Wilson continued to dominate going on to win the match 3-0 with scores of 100-40 and 100-41.

The Irish top seed Aaron Cahoon is a regular face in the junior international side for Northern Ireland, with an impressive physique for his age, he dwarfed the rest of the junior players. Against England number two Jimmy Chambers of Ely, Cahoon made the highest break of the first day with a run of 40. This wasn´t enough however as Chambers went on to secure a 2-1 victory and leave England with an 8-4 advantage at the end of the first day.

The second day´s play began with England knowing they could secure the title if they won both of the opening one hour games. Buttimer was hoping to show some form after his disappointing first match, but in a slow paced game with lots of safety techniques involved, he didn´t get much opportunity. Opponent Jimmy Chambers recorded his second win of the international with an eighty point victory in a game without too much excitement.

With this game going on however, most eyes in the room were focused on the battle between the top two seeds, Cahoon and Wilson. Cahoon started well and was quickly into a scoring mode whilst young Wilson seemed to struggle with the table and the atmosphere. As the game progressed Wilson began to peg back and included a 45 break to level things up. Cahoon asked the referee for permission to remove his waistcoat and things looked as though they could heat up, but from this point Wilson dominated and went on to record a near one hundred point victory and take the ‘Kingsman Cup´ for the English juniors.

Councillor Mrs Ruth Timmis, Lady Mayor of Harrogate breaking off in the billiards international at Oatlands Mount Club. In the background is Peter Shelley, EABA Chairman.

With the trophy secured, the final two pairings were competing essentially for pride. With most attention focused on the senior players in the downstairs arena, only a handful of spectators sat in the club´s billiard room for the final games; these mainly compromising players and parents.

Dean Bavister started well against Ricki Lee and won the first game without his opponent reaching double figures. He experience little more difficulty in his remaining games, going on to include a 48 break—the highest of the weekend for the juniors—in clinching a 3-0 victory. John Hartley was full of confidence after his victory the previous day and seemed to be playing a very relaxed game against Maynard Hamilton. The Irish number three, renowned for his potting skills struggled to find his angles as Hartley edged the first game by a few points. The second was probably the tightest game of the weekend as Hamilton, picking up his form, raced into an early fifty point lead. However some unexpected misses by the Irish No.3 when requiring only a handful of points gave Hartley one chance too many as he compiled a break of 40 unfinished to move 2-0 ahead. In the last game Hartley again came from behind, threatening to run out again as a break of 39 fell just short of the winning post. This time Hamilton ensured he did not get another chance and salvaged the final point for the Irish squad, bringing the final match score to 19-5.

Jimmy Chambers collected the “Kingsman” trophy on behalf of his England colleagues, which was presented by Mike Russell.