I have had many a game of billiards with Norman Dagley. It has always been a pleasure to play him - or rather to do the fielding for him - and the last occasion on which I had a game with him was at the Atack Snooker Centre, Nuneaton, last May.
He brought along a set of the new balls (yellow, white, red) and it was immediately noticeable that they were heavier. Apart from this, the other factor that made the game remarkable was the fact that he knocked up a break of 217. Evidently the slightly different weight/size had not affected his play adversely. On parting he said to me, "Here's a little present for you", and he gave me a set of the new balls.
Being of an inquisitive nature, I visited an engineering firm in Mere where they have electronic scales and micrometers. They kindly weighed and measured the halls and compared them with a set of the old balls, the results are interesting.
| Old balls | New Balls | ||||
| Spot: | 2.060 inches | 140 grams | Yellow: | 2.065 inches | 142 grams |
| Plain: | 2.060 inches | 140 grams | White: | 2.065 inches | 142 grams |
| Red: | 2.063 inches | 140.5 grams | Red: | 2.065 inches | 142 grams |
Not much difference you might think, but, you know, the slight increase in weight does tend to make them roll on a bit more. Trust this information is of use to you.
Thanks Colin. Well, at least, now we know.