Ball In Hand question

cue fouls

blackda said:

So player A scratches, giving player B BIH. Player B places ball near side pocket . In positioning the CB with the shaft of his stick, player B accidentally knocks the CB in the side pocket. Does player A now have BIH? Or because player B accidentally knocked it in "without forward contact with the tip" retain BIH? Player B was clearly trying to position the cue ball.

I said it was player B's responsiblity to control the cue ball and his equipment. I ruled BIH for player A, because of the inadvertent scratch.

Click to expand...

It is not a foul unless the shooter is in the act of shooting.

There are exceptions. Some tournaments say that if the cue is used to position the cue ball at all (with BIH) it's a foul. Allison Fisher was called for this, I believe in one of the IPT events. That's going way to far.

It makes sense it is not a foul until the player is in the act of shooting otherwise when is the ball considered "in play"? For example, you have BIH and put the CB down then decide on another shot and pick it up to position it elsewhere. If it was like golf that as soon as you drop it or place it it is in play, then that would be a foul.

Under CSI/BCAPL/USAPL rules, when you have BIH the CB, by definition, remains in hand until a shot occurs. The only way to foul with CB in hand is to touch a ball in play while placing the CB.

CSI Applied Ruling 1-38 Situation 1 applies:

"Situation: Player A, with ball in hand, drops the cue ball into a pocket or knocks it into a pocket before executing a stroke.

Ruling: Player A still has ball in hand."

In WSR, the specific situation is not addressed. The closest reference is General Rule 1.5:

"When the cue ball is in hand, the shooter may place the cue ball anywhere on the playing surface...and may continue to move the cue ball until he executes a shot." (emphasis added)

Without a specific reference to the situation a TD/ref might have to improvise, but defending a foul call under WSR could be a little tough. The rationale behind not calling a foul is too long to go into here, but it falls into the category of "whatever is not specified as illegal is legal (outside of UC, of course).

Can't answer for other rule sets.

Buddy