Snooker player commits most bizarre foul you're ever likely to see at UK Championships
Spare a thought for poor David Lilley, as he missed his chance to make a comeback at the UK Championship after committing a bizarre foul.
Lilley was 3-1 down against Elliot Slessor at the Morningside Arena in a first-to-six, and hoping to get back in the swing of things with a chance to win the fifth frame.
Those hopes were dashed, smashed and positively trashed after he committed the strangest foul you're ever likely to see occur on a snooker table.
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Lilley had to lean across the table when lining up a shot to pot the green and he duly sunk it for three points, but then disaster struck in a freak accident.
The 48-year-old's chalk slipped out of his pocket and onto the table as he stood back up, and to make matters worse, he'd struck the cue ball into the green so directly that it was rolling right back towards him.
As the green went into the corner pocket, the cue ball rolled to Lilley and right over the chunk of chalk which had slipped out of his waistcoat.
The snooker player could do nothing but watch disaster unfold, pointing towards the chalk on the table before picking it back up and putting it on the side.
All he could do then was bow his head and accept his bizarre fate, knowing he'd just committed a foul.
His opponent went on to win 6-3, and snooker fans couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Someone suggested that Lilley should 'buy a chalk clip' to make sure his doesn't slip out of his pocket again, while a second said he ought to 'pop it on the rail out of the way then this won't happen'.
Another fan joked that Lilley should 'chalk it up to experience', and had probably been waiting for ever to use a pun as good as that.
One fan who was feeling critical about the player's technique said that the 48-year-old 'stayed down way too long', and suggested if he'd stood up sooner he could have picked up the chalk before the cue ball rolled right over it.
There are occasionally some bizarre problems in snooker, as earlier this year former player turned commentator, Neal Foulds, complained that one of the tables at the World Snooker Championships 'played easy'.
At the time, quite a few fans agreed with his assessment that the table pockets were just a bit too big.
Joe Harker