He towers over the rest

With Stephen Hendry's skills hardly blunted with age and his desire burning as brightly as ever, there is no reason why he should not fulfill his ambition, writes MICHAEL FERREIRA.

THE RAGING cricket controversy has provided copious grist for the journalist mill for the last several weeks. In the process, it has become difficult to focus on the fact that life goes on and that other sports still exist, thankfully without the stench that presently permeates the entire cricket establishment. So, with an effort of will, I have torn my mind from cricket and got down to a piece on the greatest snooker player of all time. I refer of course to seven times World champion Stephen Hendry.

The only other names that come up for contention for the supreme accolade are Joe Davis and his unrelated namesake Steve Davis, both from different eras. There is no question that both were wonderful players (Steve still can upend anyone who takes him for granted) but as one commentator said, there is a difference between great and greatest. If you discard sentiment and rely on hard facts and statistics, it is difficult to arrive at any other conclusion.

It is an amazing fact that Joe Davis remained undefeated in the World championship from its inception in 1927 till his retirement in 1946. But when he was at his best, billiards was very much the big brother, with most professionals treating snooker as a useful fill-in between sessions of billiards. The players attempting to challenge Joe could be counted on the fingers of one hand and the overall standard was not nearly as lethal as it is today. Competition today is cut throat, with any one of several players capable of winning the World championship, leave alone the other ranking titles. Joe made a 147 only once in his career, a feat that today's teenagers regularly achieve. Even allowing for the tougher conditions under which he played, notably the less responsive balls and thicker cloths, no one can dispute that the skill factor has taken a huge leap since Joe's time. With great respect to his memory, whether he could have imposed his considerable personality on the modern professionals as he did on his contemporaries is doubtful.

Turning to Steve, the giant of the 80s, he has won the most professional tournaments - 73 at last count - by any player. This is the only area in which he leads Hendry, but he is keenly aware that this advantage will not last much longer. Steve's acknowledgement of his rival's achievements, most of which have far surpassed his own, has been gracious. When Hendry beat Mark Williams in 1999 to notch up a modern day record of seven World titles, (Steve himself held the previous record of six along with Ray Reardon), he was moved to say, ``What Stephen has done is phenomenal. Great is an overused word in sport but it definitely applies to him''.

In terms of prize money, Hendry towers over his colleagues. He has won more than 6.5 million pounds since 1985. Steve Davis, next on the list, almost limps behind at about 2 million less. Even taking into account the rapid increase in prize money since Steve's best days, the difference is remarkable, especially in view of the fact that the latter had a seven- year head start in the professional ranks. Of course, endorsements are the icing on the cake and must be several times more than his prize money.

But money, expensive cars and other symbols of success lavished on him by sponsors are almost meaningless to a man to whom fierce pride of performance is the definitive spur. That pride of performance shines through in two crucial areas of the game - his unmatched breakbuilding and his phenomenal ability of coming back from seemingly hopeless positions.

As to the first, the 31-year-old Scot has already crossed the 500-century break mark in professional competition. Steve Davis, next on the list, again limps behind with a tally well short of 300. Stars like Jimmy White, Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins are the others around the 200 mark. The manner in which the seven times World champion can manufacture gold out of dross is simply beyond belief. I have lost count of the number of times he has nailed crucial frames with clearances in the 60 to 70 point range after winkling out several reds from virtually impossible positions. Hendry has made seven 147s in competition; O'Sullivan and James Wattana are next with three each. Only two 147s have been constructed in the course of a final and fittingly, Hendry has been responsible for both - at the 1997 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge (in the deciding frame!) and in the 1999 British Open. In the 1994 U.K. Championship, he had seven centuries in a 10-6 win over Ken Doherty in the final; the following year he had five in eight frames against John Parrott in the semifinal. In the 1996 Masters, he compiled an amazing 487 points without his opponent potting a ball. Jimmy White was the unfortunate victim.

Astonishing as these figures are, when it comes to matching Harry Houdini in escaping from hopeless situations, his performances are even more jaw dropping. Perhaps the most frequently quoted one was in 1992 when he trailed Jimmy White 8-14 in the best-of- 35-frames world championship final. White, already a three-time finalist, seemed destined at last to break the jinx. But Hendry spoiled the party with a magical 10- frame streak to snatch the title from the Whirlwind's despairing grasp. It was against White in 1990 that he won his first World title at the age of 20 years 9 months, making him the youngest World champion ever, a distinction that he holds to this day.

In 1987, Hendry rallied from 0-7 and 2-8 to edge past Mike Hallett 9-8 for the third of his unmatched six Masters titles. In 1994, he won his fourth World title despite suffering a fractured elbow a few days before the semifinal against Steve Davis. Unable to practise for the last ten days of the championship, he beat his arch-rival 16-9 and followed that up with a 18-17 win over White.

The luckless Londoner was poised to win, but a promising break of 24 ended with a missed two foot black off the spot. Hendry held his composure to finish off the match with a 56 clearance, yet another example of his outstanding self-belief.

It is ironical that this tribute to the Super Scot should follow his unbelievable first round loss to the World No. 92 Stuart Bingham. He has gone on record that he can win the World championship a couple more times. With his skills hardly blunted with age, with his desire burning as brightly as ever, and with his support system of family, manager and coach solidly round him, there is no reason why he should not fulfill his ambition. But even if he does not, his will be a class act which will be impossible to follow. The only player who excelled him on the table, but in billiards, was Walter Lindrum - but that is another story!

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