Oh dear. Mighty Pakistan defeat Ireland at Snooker World Cup

An Irish team containing Ken Doherty and Fergal O’Brien lost out to Pakistan at the Snooker World Cup, despite their opponents managing a paltry 25 as their highest break.

To make matters worse, both Doherty and O’Brien managed century breaks (Doherty 111 in the first frame, O’Brien 101 in the fifth frame) in the 3-2 group stage defeat to Pakistani duo Muhammad Sajjad and Sahid Aftab at the Convention Centre in Bangkok.

Doherty and O’Brien still have a chance to save their blushes and qualify from the group, but they must overcome a significant obstacle in the shape of eh, Egypt (widely known for their snooker prowess of course), in their next clash on Wednesday.

If Ireland do fail to qualify, it will represent a massive fall from grace for Doherty and O’Brien, who were both part of what was then a three man Irish team that made the final in 1996 and the last time the event was staged in 2001.

On both occasions, Ireland were defeated by a formidable Scottish team consisting of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Alan McManus.

"We're very disappointed to lose but it's amazing that we both made a century break each but lost the match 3-2," Doherty told World Snooker.

"There will be a lot of shocks and surprises and it's very hard to get into rhythm, especially with the doubles match.

"It's a disappointing start but every frame counts so that's a good thing so if we beat Germany or Egypt 4-1 or 5-0 then we're right back in it.

"Pakistan and India always have good cueists and they have a tradition of producing good players over the years," Doherty added rather unconvincingly.

O'Brien also admitted his frustration at defeat, but was keen to highlight the impressive performance of Ireland’s opponents, particularly Sahid Aftab.

"To lose the first game is a disappointing start but if we had won the doubles and won 3-2 we would've been satisfied," he said.

"But the fellow (Aftab) that beat us both played really well so as the week progresses losing 3-2 might not look that bad."