He's a man in 649,740 (From This is Hampshire)

He's a man in 649,740

6:00am Saturday 19th November 2011

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IT’S a 649,740-to-one chance that most cribbage players never see before they peg out.

Of course it was a “pure fluke”. But ask any player who has been dealt an extremely rare 29-point hand and they remember every last detail.

Terry Cooper, who plays for Totton Recreation Club B, picked up the only maximum recorded in the Southampton & District Social Clubs League between 1997 and 2009.

In fact, it was one of only 14 since 1984.

It came when Cooper was partnering Ken Vine in a league match, which they lost, at Locks Heath WMC in the 2002/03 season.

“They dealt me three fives and two jacks,” recalled the 74-year-old, who discarded one of the jacks.

“I had to cut the cards and I cut the five to give me the 29.

“It was pure fluke, of course. You can’t believe it when you see it.

“But then we lost the other two legs.”

Totton Rec B’s fortunes have a reputation for nose-diving after Christmas, although the records don’t paint that bad a picture.

They currently lead Division 2.

Cooper said: “We do all right up until the break. Then we go downhill fast.”

And team captain Vine warned: “We’ve been in a position like this once before and then all of a sudden we lost about seven or eight on the trot and we were fighting relegation.”

Since winning the Division 3 championship in 2008/09, Totton Rec B finished 11th of 12 in 2009/10 after lying ninth at Christmas. Last season, they were sixth at the halfway point and slipped to ninth.

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