Opponent miss & ball enters pocket

[CueInAction]

Just looking for a rule clarification as I have used several different sources & could not find an answer in the rules...

My opponent aimed for a thin in off, but missed the contact with the ball and his cue ball was pocketed without tocuhing either object ball. What would the normal course of action be in this situation as I thought I could have the balls replaced to the spots with ball in hand as my opponent had missed/fouled. My opponent said i am awarded the foul, but his ball stays off the table and I play from where the balls lie.

[The Statman]

You're right, it's a foul and, as with any foul (*), you can have the balls spotted and play from hand.

(*) Of course there is one time when you cannot have the balls replaced after your opponent has given you two points. That is if he has come to the table and is playing from hand but is double-baulked. If he fails to hit either object ball, in this specific scenario it is a Miss rather than a Foul. You still get the two-point penalty, but you cannot have the balls spotted - because it isn't a Foul, it's a Miss.

You have to bear in mind that, unlike in snooker where the term 'Miss' means that you have more options than 'Foul', in billiards it means you have fewer options!

[CueInAction]

Cheers for clarifying Statman. Yeah i knew the rule about being double baulked and was sure that was the only time you couldn't have them replaced so thats why I took my stance.

In the match I conceded to my opponents opinion as we couldn't find the actual rule, then went on to win by a single point so that incorrect decision could have proved costly