Shaun Murphy startled as BBC commentator demands Crucible action | Other | Sport
Shaun Murphy was left stunned by an audience member who yelled out just before his break, causing Dennis Taylor to slam the fan’s actions. The Englishman is continuing his battle with John Higgins in the World Snooker Championship semi-final.
However, as Murphy was just about to break with the scores tied at 11-11, one fan shouted out: “Come on John!” Pundit Taylor was left less than impressed as he said: “What are they shouting about? Just get them out of the Crucible, we don’t need that in our game.” The 43-year-old continued on after the minor break in play.
The battle between Higgins and Murphy has been an impressive one to follow, with both players pulling level with one another on multiple occasions. Murphy’s skills have consistently been praised by the pundits throughout the session, with Stephen Hendry admitting “damage” will be done if he continues this form.
Hendry said: “Shaun Murphy, along with Neil Robertson, are probably the two consistently best long potters the game has seen, really. A long red is almost like a black off the spot for Shaun, the way he cues.
“You can’t afford to let him see them off the break-off – he’s going to do damage.”
However, the game has been decided on each players’ mistakes, with Joe Perry admitting Higgins could be winning frames in one go without blunders. He said: “John Higgins should have won that in one visit then an uncharacteristic positional shot.
“It’s been the story of the match – players get on a roll and win the frame in one visit but let their opponent back in.”
Higgins and Murphy will continue their semi-final tonight with another session on Saturday at 2:30pm.
