PAKISTAN: CRICKET - Pakistan cricket legend and former Test captain Imran Khan condemns umpire Darrell Hair for his allegation of ball tampering against the Pakistan team currently touring England

Pakistan cricket legend and former Test captain Imran Khan flayed umpire Darrell Hair for his allegation of ball tampering against the Pakistan team currently touring England on Monday (August 21). Pakistan refused to take the field following tea on the fourth day of the final test on Sunday after they were docked five runs for ball-tampering by the umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove. They again remained in the changing room when the umpires went out a second time 15 minutes later. The team belatedly took to the field but the umpires ruled that the match was already abandoned and after a lengthy meeting it was awarded to England. "I thought it was very unfair the way the umpire dealt with the Pakistan team," Khan told reporters in Islamabad. "Its a very sensitive subject about ball tampering; Pakistan has faced this before. The team has been accused of cheating in the past because no one understood reverse swing. "And so for Darrel Hair, the way he changed the ball and obviously accused Pakistan of cheating, I thought the Pakistan team should have protested right at the time when the ball was being changed. I disagreed with the way they protested; I think there was a much better way of protesting rather than staying in the dressing room and then coming out once the umpires were back in the pavilion. I didn't understand who advised them to protest in that way. But I certainly agreed with the Pakistan captain that there should have been a very strong protest in the way Darrel Hair treated the team," he added. Darrell Hair, 53, the burly Australian at the centre of the ball tampering row which led to Pakistan forfeiting the fourth test against England, has endured a fraught relationship with Asian teams throughout his 14 years as a test umpire. He no-balled Sri Lanka off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan seven times for throwing in three overs on the opening day of the second test against Australia in Melbourne in 1995. Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga responded by leading his team off the field. When they finally returned, Ranatunga switched Muralitharan to the other end where he was not called by Steve Dunne. Hair received death threats and did not stand in the 1996 World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In the following year the India team in England were unhappy at some of his decisions and three years later Hair had an altercation with then India coach Kapil Dev during a match against New South Wales. He also no-balled part-time Zimbabwe left-armer Grant Flower three times for throwing in 2000 and the controversies must have contributed to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to leave him off their initial elite umpires' panel in 2002. In 2004 Hair and fellow umpire Billy Bowden reported Pakistan fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed for a suspect bowling action. Controversy involving Pakistan flared again late last year in the second test against England at Faisalabad, when Hair called a dead ball because Salman Butt had run on the pitch. After two earlier incidents involving the Australian, coupled with anger at what the Pakistan team considered Hair's officiousness, the team management reported their concerns to the ICC. A PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) source confirmed that Pakistan had in early 2005 sent emails to the ICC asking them to not post Hair in any of their matches as their players did not feel comfortable with him. Relations between the Pakistani players and Hair came to a head last winter when Hair and fellow Australian umpire Simon Taufel were blamed for being ignorant of the laws in giving captain Inzamam run-out in the second test against England. Inzamam was declared out after England's Steve Harmison, the bowler, knocked down the stumps at the striker's end when it seemed Inzamam was not attempting a run. Sunday's furore, when Hair penalised Pakistan five runs and ordered a ball change, was the final straw for Pakistan who were adjudged to have forfeited the match when they failed to take the field in time after tea. "I think this should be taken up with the ICC. You know there is a strong case, Pakistan has a strong case. Unless Darrell Hair can give concrete proof of ball tampering, I think he should be struck off the list of international panel because the game has suffered because of his action," Khan said, adding: "Apart from anything else, I think Pakistan has been defamed. I think the team should take him to court, they should have a defamation suit filed against him because this is a very serious allegation tainting the team for cheating." Hair, who has officiated in 76 tests and 124 one-day internationals, is the fourth most experienced umpire ever behind Steve Bucknor (West Indies), David Shepherd (England) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa). Whether he adds to those tallies may now be out his hands.

ITN Source | August 22, 2006

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