At the time of the year when the tap of the billiard cue is somewhat less frequent, the tap of the croquet mallet is increasingly heard in the land. There is, probably, at present, greater affinity between billiards and croquet than there is between any other games that are played from a stationary ball, and these two games are, furthermore, the only ones in which" breaks "are an essential feature if any degree of success is to be obtained.
There are many other points of affinity and the fact need not, at any rate, be much more than asserted that a good billiard player who takes up croquet is far more likely to achieve distinction in that game than one who has little or no billiard knowledge. We are not sure that the proposition might not be inverted with equal, or even greater, truth, for to attain even moderate success at croquet the disposition of both the striker's and the opponent's ball must be equally considered, whereas there are billiard players who continue, year in and year out, without giving a thought, when potting, to the after course of their own ball, when playing in-off to the after course of the object ball, or when cannoning to the after course of any ball.
In croquet play the absolute necessity of controlling at least two balls at a time is forced upon the player from the outset, and there may be occasions, in close play near a hoop, when it is advisable that he should make what, in billiard parlance, would be termed a cannon, and make it on selected sides of both the object and a second object ball.
A good billiard player, watching a croquet novice place the two balls together prior to making a stroke knows at a glance whether the direction in which the mallet head is aligned is the correct one or not for the purpose aimed at and whether the amount of swing and strength employed are more or less than the stroke demands. The throw-off angle of croquet balls as compared with billiard balls is less in the degree of their lesser density, but the mind quickly becomes accommodated to this difference and the rules governing aim and contact in billiards then apply with equal force to croquet. If, for example, it be desired to drive both balls in a somewhat similar direction and to any distance, considerable strength must be applied, but if the idea is to cut one's opponent away to the side the long shot towards one's own objective may be made with very little strength. So that the old billiard rule: The fuller the contact the more the strength; the thinner the contact the less the strength" applies equally to the sister outdoor game.
The affinities between the two games are, indeed, almost endless. Take the style in swinging, for instance. In billiards there is only one correct style. The projection of the cue must be at a point below and between the eyes.
In croquet three styles are practised, but the most scientific and effective, if not the most elegant, is what is known as centre play. The nearest akin to this is front play, which is essential for lady players, but it is difficult to get the face at right angles with the stroke or to regulate the swing of the mallet when playing outside both feet, and how any approach to accuracy is maintained with the still more elusive and curving side stroke can only be known to those —and there are many of them—who are fine players in spite of such a manifest handicap.
In addition to the alignment in aim both in croquet and billiards there is the "swing," and this is at its freest and loosest in the central hold.
Other affinities between billiards and croquet are to be found in the cue and mallet contacts, such as the true central horizontal stroke for reliability and general effectiveness and the stroke (called in croquet "hitting up" and in billiards "follow") which makes contact with the ball above its centre and thereby imparts to it greater rotation and vitality.