"I thought that if I couldn't win the second framed from all the chances I had, I shouldn't be out there," he said afterwards.

"If a professional can't win with those chances, then you are not a professional. Either way I played today, it was going to go the same way."

Ticket buyers had paid to see both players trying their hardest; punters, whether in result or score forecasting, would have made the same assumption.

This was not the first time Hann had stopped trying prematurely. He has been known to concede frames after only three of four frames have been potted.

At Bournemouth last year, he conceded frames he was mathematically still able to win.

It is part of snooker's etiquette that frames are not usually conceded with an opponent in the middle of a break. To a degree, a player is expected to sit at his chair and take his punishment while his opponent remains in the limelight.

Huge potential

Hann cited homesickness as a reason for his performance at Telford although it did not prevent him trying hard enough to win his previous match that week or from returning to Britain, with an eye-catching blonde rinse, this week.

By making a century break on television when he was 13 and winning the Australian amateur title Hann revealed himself as a player of outstanding talent and huge potential.

Although he has reached a world ranking event quarter-final he has been too inconsistent to justify those hopes. He has all the qualities to be a top ten player except, it seems, the self-discipline.

John McEnroe said some terrible things about officials, but on court, never gave up. Neither did Alex Higgins, a bad boy on many off-table occasions.

Bad boys attract column inches because their antics are often easier to write about and more fun to read than bland match reports. They produce striking stories for which no specialist knowledge is required either from writer or reader. All publicity is good publicity, some would argue.

Nevertheless, the basis of any sport would soon be undermined either if match officials could be accused with impunity or if players do not put forth their best endeavours at all times.

If a player misbehaves in his private life, he brings no-one but himself into disrepute.

If he does so in the arena, it reflects on the sport.