White scraps home

JIMMY WHITE had to go to wire to beat 500 to 1 outsider Euan Henderson in the first round of the Embassy World Championships at the Crucible last night. White scraped home 10-9 to clinch his place in the top 16 for another season and earn a second-round match with Peter Ebdon.

Henderson, the world number 90 and the lowest ranked player at the tournament, threatened to score a major upset. With White 9-6 in front, the Scotsman pulled back with breaks of 66, 50 and 58 to set up a tense decider.

He then had a couple of half chances to complete a second successive 10-9 win, having edged out Joe Swail in the final qualifying round. But Henderson missed a green in the early part of the frame and then broke down again on the yellow after potting a red with the score at 25-13. White laid a magnificent snooker behind the blue to open the way for a winning clearance of 56.

Afterwards, White expressed a deep sense of relief. "My game has been a nightmare and I am just delighted to have got through this match. Hopefully now I can enjoy the rest of the tournament. I was prepared for it to go 9-9 when I was 5-4 down after the first session. But when I went 9-6 up I felt, I might get a chance to nip one.

Earlier, Ronnie O'Sullivan produced a crowd-pleasing display and there wasn't a left-handed shot to be seen. O'Sullivan was on his best behaviour for the opening session of his second-round match against Tony Drago. He opted to play straight after he was criticised for being `disrespectful' by Alain Robidoux in the previous round.

That was bad news for Drago, who still contributed to an entertaining afternoon particularly with a 144 break in the 83 minute session's fourth frame.

O'Sullivan, the world number three, finished with a 6-2 advantage including back-to-back century breaks to put him on course for the quarter-finals. It took him less than seven minutes to notch exactly 100 in frame seven and under five to knock in a 120 in the eighth.

Meanwhile, John Spencer has refused to comment further on reports suggesting he has placed bets for players. Spencer, the chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, is said to have acted as a go-between with the bookmakers to get the best odds for players wishing to ensure against the risk of their high breaks being beaten.

There is no suggestion the former world champion has broken any rules. But the wisdom of his involvement in gambling considering his position in the sport is open to question.