Steve Davis has revealed he is to finally stop playing snooker 35 years after winning his first World Championship crown. The 58-year-old from Essex, nicknamed the Nugget, lost to Fergal OBrien in the first round of qualifying for this years tournament at the Crucible, and decided that would be his final match.That was my last match as a professional, Davis told the BBC. So Im calling it a day. I phoned up Barry [Hearn, his long-time manager] and told him it was on my mind to enter the World Championship and make that the last. I said, Barry, I think its time to retire from professional snooker.And he said, Steve, you retired 10 years ago we just didnt have the heart to tell you. Champion Bingham crashes out Defending champion Stuart Bingham has been knocked out of the World Championship in the first round An emotional Davis took a bow in front of the Crucible crowds with the World Championship trophy on Sunday.Davis began his career in 1978 and was almost unbeatable during the 1980s when he secured six world titles and was world No 1 from 1983 to 1990.He picked up 53 non-ranking titles and 28 ranking titles, which has him joint second on the all-time list with Ronnie OSullivan and John Higgins. Only Stephen Hendry (7) has won more World titles than Davis Davis, who now spends time as a music DJ, added: The Fergal OBrien match was my last and I told [World Snooker chairman] Barry Hearn it was time to call it a day. My father passed away recently and it was natural time to stop playing.I should have done it ages ago, I played a bit for my father. I am delighted to have such a great time in the game, I was lucky to have a hobby as my profession.It has been a fantastic. The game will move on to other places but I feel like the grandfather of the sport. Also See: World Snooker Photos Bet ￡5 Get ￡20 free Get Sky Sports Wholesale Air Max Australia . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. White Air Max Australia . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. http://www.shopairmaxaustralia.com/ ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Air Max Australia Free Shipping . 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It may be a friendly game, but when the batsman is caught flat-footed and back in the crease as the ball raps the pad, plumb as plumb can be, and is yet again given not out, tempers can begin to fray.But then again, any lbw decision is always a travesty so far as one side is concerned: for the bowler, its always out; for the batsman, never. In between these two certainties is the grey area of discretion in which the poor and increasingly beleaguered umpire must wallow, knowing full well that while one side will congratulate them on an excellent decision, the other will scowl and mutter vague imprecations. Not only this but their decision will continue to be questioned during tea, over a pint, the breakfast table, even the end-of-season dinner.At school, maybe (oh lordy) 40-odd years ago, I was told, The umpire is right whether hes right or wrong, but the times they are a-changin. Not only has master Zimmerman become a Nobel Laureate, players now challenge decisions as a matter of course, there are plans afoot for a red-card system, and apparently they even let women umpire now.There has been much criticism of the spurious appeals made during the most recent Test match between England and India. Some armchair commentators have gone so far as to call such behaviour cheating, which it plainly isnt - gamesmanship, yes - but the umpires are pretty much on top of things (Bruce Oxenfords reaction to Jonny Bairstows ultimately successful review in the fourth Test notwithstanding).According to Charles Davis, some 77% of appeals in Tests over the past 16 years have been for the humble lbw, of which 19% have been successful. As he suggests, the low success of lbw appeals can be put down to optimistic bowlers and the complexity of the law: even when bowling teams are confident enough to review under the DRS system, only 20% of not out lbws were overturned.Of course, it is only in internationals that the DRS is available - or so youd think. We have it in club cricket too, it just isnt binding. This second opinion is sought to provide a sort of moral arbitration, a justification after the fact to countermand perceived injustice. And its sought after practically every decision: its a rare batsman who returns to the pavilion mouthing the words I was plumb. Whether or not the batsman is given out, the question How did that look to you? is invariably put to those two players on whose advice, at the highest level, the review is either invoked or forsaken: the non-striker and the keeper. And both involve great dollops of confirmation bias; that is, only seeing that which accords with the outcome we desire.Now I know this will stick in the craw, but other than in the case of travesties of judgement that occasionally manifest themselves, neither keeper nor non-striker reeally has a clue.dddddddddddd. The umpire really does have the best view in the house.First lets take the honest stumper. The only thing you can be sure of from behind the stumps following an lbw appeal is that the ball hit something. You can have a reasonable idea that it wasnt the bat from the noise, but this isnt infallible. When it comes to the line, keepers mostly take their stance outside the line of the off stump, only moving in line if the ball looks to be going down the leg side. Think about it. To be lbw, the ball has to hit your pads in line with the stumps and be going on to hit them (and not have pitched outside leg). As a stumper, you can only ever make an intelligent guess at either of these because - wait for it - when youre in line, you cant see exactly where the ball collided with the pads because theres one of them there batsmen in the way. So much for the keeper. And yes, they may know when its pitched way outside leg, but theyre hardly likely to let on. As for the non-striker, most of the time (and Joe Root at the Mohali Test was a conspicuous exception to this) they are to be found standing outside the return crease as the bowler delivers the ball. Thats about four feet to the right of middle stump. The ball is 20 yards away from them when it hits the pad. The non-striker is therefore at least four degrees off from the line of the ball. Those four degrees equate to approximately four inches: the non-strikers line of sight to the point of impact is at an angle of about four inches to the right of the strikers middle stump. Or, put another way, a ball appearing to strike the pad in front of middle stump is actually shaving the leg stump. If its gun-barrel straight. The non-striker must therefore adjust what they see to take account of their margin of error if theyre to have a hope. And thats before considering angle of delivery or movement, whether its seam, swing or spin, the probability that they werent really paying attention... Oh, it appears that the non-striker doesnt have a clue either.I managed to squeeze a few words from the excellent Fiona Richards, a Sussex Premier League panel umpire (I know shes excellent because shes never given me out lbw). This was what she had to say on the subject: The umpire can only make a decision based on the information at hand. While a DRS retrospective might find that not all decisions were accurate, you cant say that 100 umpires in the same position would not have made the same decision, and that is both the failing and beauty of a human game. Be supportive of your umpires, many of whom are unpaid volunteers. They have been thoroughly trained in how to apply the laws and usually have a lot of experience. Just as you, the players, are out there playing the best cricket you can, they are making the best decisions available.We owe it to the game to respect the umpires role, and their decisions, whether were batting, bowling, in the field or standing. Its not only what crickets about, it actually makes sense. ' ' '