Strong winds caused havoc across the district at the weekend and Sunday night saw a Whirlwind enter Bradford as Jimmy White MBE officially opened the refurbished Cuedos Snooker Centre.

The Peoples’ Champion, winner of ten world ranking events and 27 invitational tournaments, made a guest appearance at the club on Bullroyd Lane in Allerton to mark a new era for the venue.

Over the years there has been a host of top-quality players who have played there and none more famous than Joe Johnson.

The former world champion practised at the club in his title-winning year of 1986. James Wattana, who rose to a world ranking of three during the early 1990s, was also a regular visitor.

The refurbishment was a necessity as the club had deteriorated and membership had dropped.

But with new owner Imdad Hussain and manager Ilyas Khan now running the business, the pair are confident the good days can return.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into this refurbishment and to have a legend such as Jimmy White opening the New Cuedos is fantastic for everyone involved,” they said.

“The club is a nice place to come and have a game of snooker, with high-quality cloth fitted to all tables. There are comfortable seating areas, a unique snooker-themed lighting system and a completely new restaurant which will seat 60.”

Hussain himself was the first player to take on White and the large audience were quickly reminded what a great player the Whirlwind has always been.

A break of 94 quickly ended the first frame, White missing the brown on his way towards a century.

Next up was the host club’s sponsored professional, eight times Bradford and three times Yorkshire champion Wayne Cooper, who, like White, must contest qualifying matches for all the major events.

This was a keenly contested frame, with Cooper edging it thanks to a decisive break of 40.

Bradford player Sajid Khan built up a 30-point lead only for White to steal the frame with a clearance of 35, after which a break of 71 against Ilyas Khan showed all the qualities White had been renowned for.

Local star of the night was undoubtedly Ilyas’ four-year-old son Amar, who potted some amazing balls for his age to beat White 28-26 on a black ball decider.

The youngster impressed everyone – including White, who gave the youngster his cufflinks at the end in what was a nice touch.

Anis Hussain, aged 12, also won a black ball frame before twice world eight-ball pool champion Chris Melling took on the Whirlwind.

Melling had little opportunity to impress as White made a 75 break, while Shafiq Bashir made an excellent 45 to lead 52-0 only for White to clear up and pinch the frame with a 45 of his own.

As for White himself, he is just looking to recapture the electric form which has made him one of the most popular figures in the history of British sport.

Having suffered a serious drop in the rankings over the last two seasons, the Whirlwind is still confident of performing at the major tournaments.

He said: “My form in practice is excellent. I’m hitting the ball really well and making good breaks but finding I’m not performing to the same standard consistently during the qualifying events.

“If I can take my practice game into the qualifiers then I’m hopeful of better results.”