OSULLIVAN SECURES WIN WITH MAXIMUM BREAK

Ronnie O’Sullivan made a remarkable 147 break in the third round of snooker’s World Open to beat Mark King 3-0 and book a place in the last 32 where he will face Jimmy White.
O’Sullivan took a 2-0 lead in the match despite seeming to lose the plot a little in the second frame of the match, then when King missed a simple red at the beginning of the third frame O’Sullivan was left in amongst the balls. What happened next was quite remarkable.
After potting just one red and one black The Rocket stopped to ask the referee what the prize money for a 147 break was. There was then a slight pause in proceedings whilst the referee tried to find out, Ronnie then continued with his break and a few minutes later was informed that there was no extra incentive for a 147, then, undeterred, he gave a nonchalant roll of the eyes and proceeded to clear up the remaining reds followed by blacks and all the colours up to and including the pink.
The drama didn’t end there though as Ronnie looked set to leave the final black on the table before referee Jan Verhaas prompted him to finish off his tenth maximum break of his career. O’Sullivan had previously jointly held the record for the number of professional breaks alongside Stephen Hendry.
O’Sullivan can be backed at odds of 7/2, with Skybet, to go on and win the World Open.
In cricket, Ryan Sidebottom has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. The pace bowler was an integral part of the England team that won the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean this summer and has also played a big part in England’s climb up the ODI rankings.
After helping his side Nottinghamshire win the County Championship title Sidebottom also announced that he would be looking for a new county in the winter. The 32-year-old said that he believes it is time to hand the ball on to “those a little younger.”