DISAPPOINTMENT FOR DING SENIOR

There was plenty of disappointment for Ding Junhui over his first-round exit to Michael Wasley at the Dafabet World Championship…and disappointment also for father Ding Wenjun.

Ding senior had come over to Sheffield to watch his son for the very first time in action at the Crucible, and watched from the media centre with everything crossed that the man of the season could replicate that form on the biggest stage – but again Ding junior came up short.

Back home in Yixing his father produces and sells clay tea-pots as well as being involved with the powerful Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association on the coaching front. With CBSA officials present in Sheffield, there was business to be done returning to China.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS SNUBS WARBLING NAMESAKE

ROBBIE Williams must be sick of people making references to his more famous and warbling namesake – so if this year’s Indian Open semi-finalist is still reading it is probably time to look away now, as they say on the Saturday night news sports bulletin.

Almost inevitably the 27-year from Wallasey was asked about his choice of walk-on music for his Crucible debut against world No1 Neil Robertson, questions that could have not have been more leading if they been lit up in neon in letters spelling out ‘This is a question about the bloke who used to be in Take That’.

With patient good humour the world No68 explained: “It’s not going to be Robbie Williams. I have gone for a song ‘Feeling’ by the La’s, a Liverpool band, a local band for me. A lot of people have said I should use Robbie Williams, but it’s not for me. If there are people who think I should be coming out to ‘Let Me Entertain You’, I’m afraid he’s not really my cup of tea.”

WASLEY LEAVES WHITE SWEATING

The Michael Wasley win was a terrific story for just about everyone except Ding Junhui…and Jimmy White.

The Whirlwind’s place on tour looked all but safe just a fortnight ago before the qualifiers for the Dafabet World Championship. It required some extraordinary performances and an unlikely combination of results to deny him a place by right, even though there is controversial talk of a wild-card should he need one.

But Wasley and Kyren Wilson each won four times to reach the latter stages, and if either one of them were to reach the quarter-finals White would be the man to suffer.

Wilson, of course, trailed Ricky Walden 6-3 after Monday’s play but fellow debutant Wasley now faces a best-of-25 frame match against either Mark Davis or Dominic Dale to end White’s 34-year run on tour.

WASLEY AND DING HAULED OFF

BEING hauled off at a crucial stage of any match, let alone your Crucible debut, is tough to take and Michael Wasley appeared extremely reluctant to leave the arena at around 6.30pm trailing Ding Junhui 9-8 in their first-round Dafabet World Championship clash.

But there were no histrionics as referee Terry Camilleri explained the unfortunate situation to a qualifier who had quite simply not been in that position before on the biggest stage.

Wasley had of course done himself proud by hauling himself level at 8-8 from 6-3 down over night before losing the 17th frame and dropping one behind with two to play.

Ding had looked ill at ease for much of the match, not the relaxed figure of all season and lending weight to the view that the venue does get to him. There were frustrated gestures in the arena, and door-banging in the corridor during toilet breaks.

In such situations, though, it is not just the players who are inconvenienced. Bear in mind that some fans had bought tickets to see the conclusion of this match, with many Chinese supporters in the audience supporting Ding.

They were not entitled to see the finale late on Monday night, with that conclusion tagged on the end for those holding evening session tickets.

And it did not stop there, with even players’ guests concerned about getting back in to see the end of the match, but some understanding from the retinues of those playing from 7pm to swiftly vacate their seats and allow others back in solved that mini-crisis.

BELTING FIRST SESSION FROM MCMANUS

ALAN McManus is a proud Scot, having once emerged for a Crucible semi-final against compatriot Stephen Hendry to the sounds of a piper.

So it was perhaps not a complete surprise when he came out for his first-round match with close friend John Higgins resplendent in Mackenzie tartan trousers and matching bow tie.

What was more unexpected was to see a World Snooker official dashing in to the media centre after the first frame of the afternoon, won by Higgins, and asking if anyone could lend the world No35 a belt as his strides were too loose for comfort on their debut showing.

A potentially embarrassing incident on live television was avoided when scoreboard operator Geraint Phillips obliged, and armed with the lucky accessory McManus embarked on a winning streak of six frames to take control of the match before Higgins closed to 6-3.

The 43-year-old McManus said: “I am very patriotic, and to be honest it was a bit of a dare between me and Anthony McGill if either or both of us got to the Crucible.

“It is Mackenzie tartan – but they were a bit loose as I forgot to bring my belt with me. My shirt was coming out, and that can happen with new trousers you have never played in.

“I suppose they could have fallen down, I don’t think so but you never know what could have happened out there in the arena.”

ONE DIRECTION STAR LOUIS CAUSES A STIR

COVERING snooker for any length of time sees you asked to obtain quotes from a fairly eclectic mix of visiting celebrities – and on Saturday it was Louis Tomlinson, a singer with boy-band One Direction, that was even interesting the showbiz editors. The presence of the 22-year-old, spirited in covertly to watch Ronnie O’Sullivan to presumably avoid being mobbed by teenage girl fans outside, will have pleased World Snooker with one eye on trying to attract a younger audience and have the game seen as ‘cool’ by a wider cross-section of society. Tomlinson declined any set-piece interviews with the BBC or written press, managing to escape with a couple of autographs and photos for the events team, but spoke to various officials before and after the Rocket’s 10-4 win over Robin Hull having arrived with a director of Doncaster Rovers Football Club. Tomlinson made his debut for home town club Doncaster’s reserves in February, a match that attracted a record club crowd for that level of competition. The singer had never been to the Crucible, a professional snooker match or met O’Sullivan before but by all accounts hugely enjoyed the experience. O’Sullivan’s balcony guests that night included not only Tomlinson but artist Damien Hirst and sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, as unlikely a trio of guests as you could find. The singer is reportedly worth £20million and is off to Colombia next on tour. It might be a while before we are saying that about a snooker player.