text: if you are playing 9-ball....? and you shoot, ball (say the 4 for eg) gets to edge but doesn't drop, then you opponent is lining up his shot and the 4 drops before he shoots. who's shot is it next? there's a couple of things to be clarified here.  first, did the cue ball or the object ball contact a cushion after initial contact?  if not, then your opponent would get ball in hand for the foul under bca rule 3.19.  rule 3.31 completely answers your question, though.  if the object ball remains motionless for more than 5 seconds and then drops into the pocket so that the cue ball passes over the spot where the object ball was, then both the object ball and the cue ball will be replaced as close as possible to their original positions with your opponent shooting again.  it doesn't happen very often, but it's a good rule to know.  m.d.-bca instructor/referee.