Parrott sick after early exit

John Parrott made what could be his final farewell from the Crucible Theatre as a player today after losing his 888.com World Championship first-round match 10-3 to Graeme Dott.

The 1991 champion is a shadow of the competitor he was and, with his ranking for next season likely to be in the 40s, he will need to win two qualifying matches to book a place at Sheffield again.

Given his slump in form the Liverpudlian must be long odds to do that, with a break of 63 which finally got him off the mark in frame seven his only half-century contribution against the 2004 runner up.

Trailing 7-2 overnight, Parrott only added to his tally by taking a scrappy frame, and it was all over when he played a poor safety shot on the final blue to enable Dott to complete his victory.

“The day before I came here I practised for two hours and never missed a ball, but in the match I could hardly pot one,” said the 41-year-old former Question of Sport captain.

“I’ve never felt so nervous apart from when my children were born, I think because of the expectation and added pressure due to hitting the ball so well before I came.

“I was never in control of what I was doing and never got off the ground. I was even thinking at 6-0 I could be whitewashed and it’s not a nice feeling to be given an ironic cheer when you finally win a frame.

“These days I can’t sustain my concentration for long periods and if I’m on a break of 40 or 50 I know a bad shot is coming up. I just throw people a lifeline.

“But I will keep playing next season. My ranking won’t be too bad and I’ll dust the cue off because I still love to play and compete.”

Dott, who lost in the final to Ronnie O’Sullivan two years ago, was pleased with the way he performed.

“I thought I played well in the first session and it’s given me a lot of confidence because my form had not been good in practice and I was a bit worried,” said the Scot, whose next opponent will be Stephen Hendry or Nigel Bond.

On the other table, 1997 champion Ken Doherty opened up a 3-1 lead over Barry Hawkins, a qualifier who has already secured a place in the world’s top 10 for next term.