A cavalier up against the purist
IN the 1990s you were either Oasis or Blur, Coronation Street or Eastenders, Stephen
Hendry or Jimmy White.
Hendry was the stonyfaced Scot loved by the snooker purists, White the Cockney cavalier who found support in the smoky clubs and betting shops from where he came.
The big occasion suited Hendry better than White. Four times they met in World Championship finals between 1990 and 1994 – and four times Hendry won.
Over the next couple of days, sports fans, not just snooker fans, will ask a question that hasn’t been asked for more than two decades. Who won the big match – Hendry or White?
Because tomorrow night, Hendry and White meet in the first qualifying round of the World Championship at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The match won’t decide who is the world’s best, but there’s a definite joy to this green-baize reunion.
This isn’t snooker’s equivalent of a pair of old prizefighters dragging themselves out of retirement for one last payday. White and Hendry both still play snooker because they love it.
White has said: “As long as I can hold a cue and don’t have any problems with my eyes, I will carry on,” and coach Steve Feeney says Hendry is playing with a smile on his face – and playing well.
“Can Stephen win another world title? I believe he can,” he said.
“People may think I’m stupid, but I said the same about Ronnie O’sullivan, Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham and I was right about them.”
Hendry made a century break in his comeback match, a 4-1 loss to Matt Selt in the Gibraltar Open, but White’s form is better.
Only three weeks ago he made a break of 140 – his best for 11 years – in a World Snooker Tour Pro Series group match.
His skills had been sharpened by playing money matches...against a certain Stephen Hendry!