Snooker: White edges through
Jimmy White was glad he had not withdrawn from the Totesport Grand Prix after he gained his opening win of the new season in Preston last night.
"The Whirlwind" was not at his best against Northern Ireland rival win took him to the last 32 of the £400,000 Totesport Grand Prix.
White then revealed how close he came to withdrawing from the event due to a back injury.
"I was playing Phil Taylor (the 11-times world darts champion) in a nine-ball pool exhibition in London last week," explained the 42-year-old.
"It was a fantastic night and we raised about £7,000 for charity. But in the last game of the evening I tried to break the balls and felt my back go. I had a couple of injections but I was in so much pain I didn't think I'd be able to play here this week."
White's win was his first since capturing the Players Championship title in Glasgow last April. His next match is against local favourite Ian McCulloch. The pair met recently in Swiss Open final with Lancastrian McCulloch getting the verdict.
Earlier Stephen Hendry began his new snooker campaign with a fortuitous win.
"I got out of jail," agreed the seven-times world champion after beating fellow Scot Jamie Burnett 5-4.
"I struggled all the way through," said Hendry, who feared the worst with Burnett 4-3 up and on a potential match-winning break in frame eight.
However, after potting the final red to lead by a point the world number 46 from Hamilton missed a tricky black and Hendry gratefully forced a decider.
Former world champion Peter Ebdon enjoyed a more comfortable passage against Yorkshire qualifier Simon Bedford. He knocked in breaks of 75, 61 and 56 to set up a last 32 match against Mark King or Joe Jogia.
Malta's Tony Drago gained an excellent victory over Chinese prospect Jin Long, making his first appearance in the final stages of a ranking event.
Former British Open champion and 1995 world championship runner-up Nigel Bond defeated Gerard Greene 5-2, while Marco Fu, a Grand Prix runner-up to Stephen Lee in Preston six years ago, qualified for the second round with a 5-2 win against Derby's David Roe.