Swaffield “will win” South Wilts
RICHARD Swaffield will win this season’s Cuestars South Wilts Snooker League, insisted his latest victim.
Simon Peacock (Winterbourne Gunner) managed to salvage the last two frames of a 3-2 defeat by the league leader at Salisbury Snooker Club.
But ‘The Tornado’ admitted he was “left scratching my head on many occasions”.
He added: “The ball is never safe. His knowledge of trick shots and plants and doubles is something he has over anyone else in our league. He must have picked this up from his years of playing pool.
“Richard is a very tough opponent with a great all-round game and that is why he is top of the league. I think Richard will win this year’s South Wilts.”
The previous week, Swaffield made his debut on the EASB Masters (40+) South Tour at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club. He compiled an 80 break in his first group-stage match, qualified for the knockout but went out in the quarter-finals.
“The conclusion from the day was, at that level, my safety play needs to improve,” said the 43-year-old from Salisbury.
Meanwhile David Rice beat Paul Burt 3-2 and had a sniff of a shock result over nine-time champion John Hunter.
The 21-year-old from Fordingbridge pinched the first frame against Burt with a 39 clearance.
Burt (Britford) said he was unable to bring his practice game to the match – but admitted that he is not actually practising.
“All in all, it was a fair result,” he added. “I enjoyed it.”
At 1-1 and on a run of 32 against Hunter (Andover), Rice rushed and missed a red. His opponent sealed the frame with a 58 and went on to win 4-1.
“John’s experience shined through in the third frame,” said Rice. “I enjoyed the match a lot and learned a few valuable lessons.”
And Trevor Pittman knocked in a break of 57 in the second frame of a 4-1 victory over Richard Arnold.
Callum McDonald will not complete the rest of the season and all his results have been removed from the league table.
Results: Richard Swaffield 3 Simon Peacock 2, David Rice 3 Paul Burt 2, Trevor Pittman 4 Richard Arnold 1, John Hunter 4 David Rice 1, Richard Arnold P Paul Burt P, Steve Ashton P Trevor Pittman
Report by Tim Dunkley.