KIERNAN’S PLANNING TO POCKET THE BLUES

KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL will be in the pink if the Foxes beat the Blues today.

It will lift the black clouds after conceding a late leveller during last Monday’s draw with Ipswich and prove Enzo Maresca’s boys are on the white track.

That’s the cue to ditch the snooker puns and explain that the midfielder had a whirlwind of a time at the Grand Prix in his home city last week as he met the city’s own Jester from Leicester, Mark Selby (right).

Dewsbury-hall is no mean player himself but even he was privileged to get up close and personal with the stars of the baize.

He said: “I love the sport and it was great to have a knockabout with Mark and watch some snooker.

“I got on the table with him. He makes the game look so easy. And I know it’s not. When you get that close you can see exactly how good he is.

“The tour came to Leicester so I got to spend three hours there. We bumped into Ronnie O’sullivan as well.

“But he was in the zone, just before his game. I didn’t want to interrupt him because I know that you don’t want anyone bothering you. And it obviously didn’t – because he went on to win it!” Dewsbury-hall (top) started his love affair with snooker as a child and it has progressed over the years.

A few hobbyists will be nodding their head in acknowledgement of his best break, too.

“It’s 48,” he said, “I’ll take that for an amateur. I don’t think that’s too bad.

“I started off playing as a kid and now I’ve got a snooker table at home – I play sometimes when my mates come round.

“At the moment I pick up my cue once every couple of weeks.

“When I first got the table it was once every couple of days but you get bored eventually when you’re doing it on your own.”

Dewsbury-hall has been one of the stand-out performers for Maresca this season.

The Championship leaders might have had a wobble recently – losing to neighbours Coventry City and drawing with Kieran Mckenna’s side – but remain favourites to progress against Birmingham.

The playmaker said: “Our main focus is the league but it never hurts to do well in the cup as well.

“If we could get through maybe we could come up against Premier League opposition again and it would be good to see where we are at.

“The number of Premier League teams is getting lower and lower with every round, so you never know.”