A
few weeks ago we were contacted by Doron with a query about
my habit of sighting with only one eye, commenting in fact
that I am the only player he could remember doing so.
This immediately brought to mind the former world championship
runner up, Graham Miles. Graham was the man who, when cuing
up, leaned his head right across the cue so it looked as
if he was sighting out of his left ear.
In the mid seventies Graham won the "Pot Black"
trophy on BBC television two years running and became a
household name. From Birmingham, Graham was a great player
with a personality to match. Although sometimes Ii felt
he was a little too laid back for his own good. This proved
to be his downfall at one tournament in particular, after
having driven 200 miles to a venue, he opened his boot to
discover he had forgotten his cue. I can't think of too
many players who have made this mistake.
If Graham had a weakness in his game it was probably his
long potting, however, when he was in the balls his touch
and break building was as good as anyone around at that
time. It was his long game that stopped him reaching the
very top.
This returns me to the original query about one-eyed sighting.
I feel that this encourages a player to hit across the ball.
It seems to me that everything else is in line except your
head. Not quite hitting the cue ball in the middle is not
too disastrous when you are close to the object ball, however,
it is essential for accuracy when playing a long shot. This
is now why I prefer, when playing a long shot, to look at
the cue ball last. I know this goes against most people's
rules but my long potting has definitely become more consistent.
Graham, like myself, has retired. I last saw him a couple
of years ago and he was his usual cheerful self. He is now
running a snooker club in the midlands and doing what he
loves best - playing cards.
