Strange situation....

[dantuck_7]

Have a situation here that could have happened in a match I was playing yesterday?!!


Your opponent needs 1 snooker, pink and black are left on the table, the black is very close to a corner pocket and the pink is next to it.

Your opponent plays a delicate cannon and makes a thin contact on the pink and this pushes the white onto the black which moves onto the knuckle - the white hits the other knuckle and stops over the pocket - with the black in front of it!

It is now impossible to hit the pink. What happens?

Thankfully this didn't happen, but I'm wondering how the rules would deal with this?

[DawRef]

You must make an attempt to hit the ball on, in this case the pink (Section 3 Rule 14 - The striker shall to the best of his ability, endeavour to hit the ball on).
The old rules stated that you could, in this case, just tap the cue-ball in the pocket and that would be a fair stroke. Now, if you done that, you would be rightly called for a 'foul and miss'.
In this situation, you have no choice but to hit the black first, assuming there is no other escape route from behind the black. You will, therefore, only be penalised 7 points, but no 'miss will be called'.
This is also covered in the opening paragraph of Section 3 Rule 14:
"......it must be assumed the striker is is attempting to hit the ball on provided that he plays,directly or indirectly, in the direction of the ball on with sufficient strength, in the referee's opinion, to have reached the ball on but for the obstructing ball or balls"
Hope this makes things clear for you.

Steve