John Higgins lamented his own ‘criminal’ errors in the closing stages of his defeat to Murphy in the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship.

The veteran Scot had high hopes of securing a fifth Crucible triumph but fell at the penultimate hurdle. He found himself on the wrong end of a 17-15 scoreline as Murphy dug deep to book his place in snooker’s showpiece match.

Higgins went into the final day of the match with a 13-11 lead but crumbled under pressure as Murphy took control. In a nerve-shredding final frame, he broke down on 50 with a missed black which allowed his rival to finish the job. Speaking afterwards, a frustrated Higgins reflected on the missed opportunities that saw him miss out on a place in the final.

“My shot on the black on the frame at the end there was very weak,” said Higgins, speaking to BBC Sport. “I know the pressure was on but when you look at the final session Shaun was punching and really going for it. I got lost a little bit towards the end there.

“I shouldn’t have been below that black. It was criminal the way I played the shot. But the way Shaun hit the ball in that last session, you cannot hit it better than that.

“It was incredible, it really was. He just hits it like God. I am disappointed, but what can you do?”