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Chaos at England v Pakistan Cricket Match
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Posted by: forwardone
Pakistan failed to take the field after tea on the fourth day of the fourth and final test against England on Sunday after the touring side were accused of ball tampering.
The controversy began after the Pakistanis were penalised for alleged ball tampering as they pressed for victory in the fourth and final test against England at The Oval.
Umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove returned to the pavilion for further discussions, then returned to the middle a second time, this time followed by England batsmen Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell.
The bails were then removed, the covers brought on and the umpires and batsmen left the field again as the confusion continued.
Top officials from the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board then met to discuss the situation as discontent grew amongst the crowd.
Umpires have the right to award a match to the opposition if they deem a side had refused to continue playing.
Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was clearly visible reading a newspaper without his pads on as the umpires left The Oval pitch.
Earlier England were earlier given an extra five runs after the umpires ruled that the ball had been tampered with by Pakistan during the afternoon session.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq became embroiled in a heated exchange with the umpires before the England batsmen at the crease, Kevin Pietersen and Collingwood, were allowed to choose a replacement ball.
Play then continued without further incident until tea. England lead the series 2-0 but Pakistan had looked on course for a consolation victory until the controversy exploded.
At tea the home side were on 298 for four in their second innings, still 33 runs short of making Pakistan bat again.
Source:- Reuters
Posted by: forwardone
Its just been announced by the cricketing authorities that there will no further play in the 4th and final test. Pakistan forfeit the match to England who have already won the series.
Posted by: forwardone
Umpire Hair Sought $500,000 to Quit After Cricket Row
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Australian umpire Darrell Hair, who accused the Pakistan cricket team of cheating in a match against England last weekend, offered to quit in exchange for $500,000, the sport's top official said.
Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the International Cricket Council, said his organization received letters seeking the payment days after Hair accused the Pakistan team of illegally changing the surface of the ball on the fourth day of a five-day Test match. Hair, together with his colleague Billy Doctrove, later awarded the result to England, the first time a match has been forfeited in 129 years of elite international cricket.
``I was shocked. I thought it was a silly letter and I thought Darrell Hair must be under great stress,'' Speed said at a press conference in London before handing the correspondence to reporters. ``He saw it as a probably misguided way in which to assist the ICC.''
Pakistan's tour of its former colonial ruler was plunged into crisis this week when captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was charged with ball-tampering and bringing the sport into disrepute. Pakistan officials had threatened to quit the rest of the tour, scheduled to end Sept. 10, in protest. Percy Sonn, the council president who flew into London yesterday with Speed, said the one-day series that starts next week will go ahead.
Hearing Postponed
The date for a hearing into Inzamam's conduct, originally planned for today, will be set at a board meeting next week, Speed said. The Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based council, which decided to publish details of the letters in case they affected the case, may still drop the charges and will take legal advice on the matter, he said. Any hearing wouldn't be before mid- September, he said.
In a separate statement, Hair said he withdrew his offer to quit yesterday ``after a period of serious consideration.''.
``I am anxious that the code of conduct hearing takes place as soon as possible so these matters can be resolved and allow me to move on with my umpiring,'' Hair said.
He remains under contract at the council for now and has not been charged with any offence, Speed said. Under the terms of his accord, which expires March 31, 2008, Hair has no right to a payment if he resigns, he added.
The issue centers on events at The Oval in London on Aug. 20. Hair and his junior partner Doctrove penalized Pakistan for illegally changing the surface of the ball during the fourth afternoon of the final Test match, awarding England five runs and ordering the ball be changed.
Sit-In Protest
Pakistan's team remained in the locker room after the tea interval in protest at the charge, which amounts to an accusation of cheating. By the time the players retook the field, the umpires ruled they had forfeited the match.
The premature ending -- with more than a day to go -- denied as many as 40,000 fans the chance to see the conclusion of a contest between Test cricket's second and third-ranked teams.
The following day, charges were issued against Inzamam because he is the team's captain and, under the sport's rules, is responsible for their behavior.
Television cameras failed to pick up any evidence of a player tampering with the ball and the umpires didn't accuse any individual player of the offense.
The Pakistan Cricket Board called for an inquiry and described the allegations of ball-tampering as a ``slur'' against the nation. It vowed never again to play in matches officiated by Hair as cricket fans in Pakistan burned effigies of the umpire.
In 1995, Hair reported Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan for an illegal bowling technique and later referred to the off- spinner's action as ``diabolical'' in his autobiography. Last year, he gave a run out against Inzamam even though the batsman was had jumped while still inside his crease to evade a throw.
Hair this week defended his decision to penalize Pakistan, telling Brisbane's Courier Mail he had ``no problem with the subcontinent.''
``Hair has been in a difficult position since Sunday,'' Speed said. ``As a result of this disclosure, that position has been made more difficult.''
Source: Bloomberg
Posted by: forwardone
The result of a tribunal at the Oval is just in.
Inzamam has been found not guilty on the ball tampering charge, but guilty on bringing the game in to disrepute. He`s now been banned for the next four one day matches.
Posted by: forwardone
Younis Khan was asked to take over the captaincy for the next 4 ICC Trophy matches in place of Inzamam-ul-Haq who is of course suspended for the `disrepute` charge. For some reason which he won`t yet divulge Khan has refused the offer.
Posted by: forwardone
Australian umpire Darrell Hair has been barred from umpiring any international matches, declared by ICC president Percy Sonn said today.
"He shall not be appointed to officiate in any international games until the end of his contract," Sonn said in a news conference at the end of a two-day ICC meeting.
Pakistan blamed Hair when they forfeited the fourth test against England last August after they were penalised for alleged ball tampering and awarded England five runs.
Angry Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq refused to lead his team back on to the field after tea. and Inzamam's move prompted the umpires to award the match to England - the first forefiture in Test cricket's history. Later an ICC inquiry cleared Inzamam of tampering charges. The decision to remove Darrell hair from the elite panel of umpires by the ICC is the culmination of a chequered past. Hair has been involved in many controversies even before the Oval Test fiasco.
This man has always been at the centre of controversy. With 76 test matches, the fourth most experienced umpire in the world has been studded with controversies. Pakistan were upset at being accused of cheating and instead had blamed umpire Darrell Hair for being biased against teams from the Indian sub-continent.
Interestingly, before The Oval Test, Pakistan had objected to him standing in the series finale. They made strong objections saying that Hair is not acceptable as an umpire in any of future Pakistan matches. The ICC's executive board was put under severe pressure from the Asian Boards and Hair had to be dropped. Hair was one of the 10 elite umpires and had earlier been kept out of the ICC Champions Trophy citing security reasons.
Hair made his umpiring debut in 1992 and three years later he walked into the biggest controversy of his career. Hair no balled Muthiah Muralitharan seven times for throwing. Darryl Hair missed out umpiring in the 1996 World Cup for that, even though he was recognised as Australia's best umpire.
In his autobiography in 2001 Darry Hair then described Murali's action as diabolical. In 2002 the ICC left him out of the elite panel of umpires after these comments.
In 2004 it was Hair who gave Sachin Tendulkar Leg before after the ball hit his helmet. And last November, the 53-year-old umpire upset Pakistan by ruling captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq had been run out by a throw from England bowler Stephen Harmison back to the wicket-keeper during the Faisalabad Test, even though the batsman appeared to be taking evasive action.
The Darrell Hair controversy also puts a question mark on the ICC's selection of the elite panel which many believe is too small and overworked. The ICC now needs to look into this aspect of the game as the credibilty of cricket has been dealt a severe blow by this.
Source:-Timesnow.tv
Posted by: forwardone
Hair to sue ICC
Australian umpire Darrel Hair will sue the ICC and Pakistan Cricket Board for racial discrimination.
He says he has been wrongfully targeted since he cited Pakistan for ball tampering in a test against England at the Oval.
The Test was subsequently forfeited after Pakistan refused to take the field.
After the incident Hair was banned from umpiring international matches involving the ten major test playing nations, while no action was taken against the other umpire involved, Billy Doctrove.
The PCB has dismissed the news as preposterous and opportunistic.
Hair has had a frosty relationship with the subcontinent for some time.
He caused a storm of controversy in Sri Lanka for continually no-balling off-spinner Muttiah Murilatharin in previous matches for an alleged illegal action.
Sky News Online