And then there was two

JOHN Hunter refuses to accept that the race for the Cuestars South Wilts Snooker League title is over as rival Richard Swaffield hits century-breaking form.

Hunter takes a slim two-point lead into the final three matches after ending Neil Herd’s bid for top spot with a 5-0 whitewash at Salisbury Snooker Club.

“It’s in my hands, which is good,” said the Andover cueman. “But as there are still three matches left to play, I won’t be counting my chickens just yet.”

Herd (Frome, Somerset) said: “I was probably unlucky not to have got two frames out of the evening but John deserved to win.”

Meanwhile, Swaffield was knocking in centuries for fun.

The 42-year-old from Salisbury chalked up a 108 clearance in the fourth frame of a 5-0 victory over Ally Pollard. It was his highest competitive break and the first time he’d hit three figures for nearly seven years.

“It’s also my first ton since returning to snooker after a four-year break playing pool,” he said. “I’m delighted that it was in a match in Graham’s (Lee) memory.”

Four days later, Swaffield compiled a 118 in a practice match against Anthony Rice and followed that with a “slightly better run of the balls” in a 5-0 win against Alex Thorn (Shrewton).

Bottom-of-the-table Pollard (Alderholt) described Swaffield as a “class act” and, despite also going down 5-0 to Rice (Fordingbridge), the 18-year-old insisted: “It’s got to be the best I’ve played all season.”

Rice agreed: “Ally played well in the first three frames and I watched him play some good stuff against (Swaffield).”

Elsewhere, Richard Arnold (Salisbury) endured something of a rollercoaster ride in a 3-2 defeat by Martin Hill (Durrington).

Hill was on fire early on and raced to a 2-0 lead. Arnold ground out the third frame to get a foothold in the match and consecutive runs of 28 and 32 helped level at 2-2.

A twitchy black-ball decider ended with Martin playing the final ball into the jaws of the corner pocket only to see it disappear in the opposite diagonal yellow pocket.

“Note to self,” said Arnold (pictured). “B*****.”

Results: Richard Arnold 2 Martin Hill 3, Alex Thorn 0 Richard Swaffield 5, Trevor Pittman 3 Steve Ashton 2, Paul Burt 3 Callum McDonald 2, John Hunter 5 Neil Herd 0, Richard Swaffield 5 Ally Pollard 0, Anthony Rice 5 Ally Pollard 0.

Report by Tim Dunkley.