Cricket bosses bid to save Test

Top cricket officials were locked in talks to try to save the fourth Test between England and Pakistan after it descended into chaos on day four.

 

Pakistan initially refused to take to the field after tea in protest at being penalised for ball-tampering.

 

But after Pakistan made a u-turn, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove then threw the match into total confusion by staying in the pavilion.

 

There are hopes the match at The Oval in London will continue on Monday.

 

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan told the BBC: "We simply said we would stay indoors for a few minutes then go out and play. We want to play but the umpires do not."

 

The row began when the umpires stopped play to look at the condition of the ball after 56 overs with England on 230-3. It had begun to reverse-swing and they declared it had been altered artificially.

 

They penalised Pakistan five runs and allowed England batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood to select another ball.

 

Pakistan captain Inzaman-ul-Haq was clearly upset and annoyed at the decision but play continued without further incident until tea.

 

After tea however, Pakistan refused to come out and the umpires removed the bails after walking onto the pitch for a second time.

 

Thirty minutes later Pakistan emerged and walked on to The Oval pitch but were told to head back to the dressing room.

 

Khan said the team had been insulted by the accusation.

 

"The umpires have concluded the ball was deliberately scuffed and we are absolutely 100% sure that is not the case," he said.

 

"What we feel very resentful about is that the captain was not informed something was going wrong with the ball and told to contain it.

 

"Umpires are within their rights to decide without consulting but there was no consultation with anyone and no evidence seems to have been given.

 

"One or two of the management staff have had a look and are convinced this is a ball which has been hit about for 56 overs, several sixes have been hit and the ball has landed on concrete.

 

"We think it's the kind of ball you'd expect to see and there is no evidence of deliberate scuffing. We hope the ball will be showed so people can make up own minds about it."

 

Play officially ended for the day with England on 298-4, 33 runs behind Pakistan.

 

England have already won the series.

 

Story from BBC SPORT:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/cricket/england/5268886.stm

It was a total farce.:rolleyes:

Test abandoned after ball dispute

 

Pakistan forfeited the fourth Test against England after the match descended into chaos when the tourists were penalised for ball-tampering.

 

Pakistan were penalised five runs by the umpires and refused to take to the field after tea in protest.

 

The tourists later made a U-turn, but umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove would not return to the field of play.

 

Officials spent several hours trying to find a resolution but the match was eventually awarded to England.

 

A joint statement from the ICC, England and Wales Cricket Board and Pakistan Cricket Board read: "After lengthy negotiations which resulted in agreement between the teams, the match referee and both the ECB and PCB to resume the fourth Test tomorrow, it was concluded that with regret there will be no play on the fifth day.

 

"The award of those penalty runs for alleged interference with the ball is under review by the ICC match referee Mike Proctor

Joint statement from ICC, ECB, PCB"

 

"The fourth Test has therefore been forfeited with the match being awarded to England.

 

"In accordance with the laws of cricket, it was noted that the umpires had correctly deemed that Pakistan had forfeited the match and awarded the Test to England.

 

"The Pakistan team was aggrieved by the award of five penalty runs to England.

 

"The award of those penalty runs for alleged interference with the ball is under review by the ICC match referee Mike Proctor, whose report will be considered in due course.

 

"ICC will be issuing a separate report concerning action which may be taken in relation to the forfeiture of the match by Pakistan."

 

England therefore took the series 3-0, but chief executive David Collier said the ECB expressed regret that "spectators, television viewers, and radio listeners [had been] deprived of play".

 

He added that there would be a 40% refund for fourth-day tickets and a full refund for those holding tickets for Monday's play.

 

Earlier Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan explained to the BBC why the team had chosen to make their protest.

 

"We simply said we would stay indoors for a few minutes then go out and play."

 

The row began when Hair and Doctrove stopped play to look at the condition of the ball after 56 overs with England on 230-3. It had begun to reverse-swing and they declared it had been altered artificially.

 

"Pakistan felt a grave accusation had been made against the team and country, and felt deeply insulted

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan"

 

They penalised Pakistan five runs and allowed England batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood to select another ball.

 

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was clearly upset and annoyed at the decision but play continued without further incident until tea.

 

After the interval, however, Pakistan failed to come out and the umpires removed the bails after walking onto the pitch for a second time.

 

Thirty minutes later Pakistan emerged and walked onto the pitch but were told to head back to the dressing room because the umpires would not be coming out.

 

Khan said the team had been insulted by the accusation of cheating.

 

"The umpires have concluded the ball was deliberately scuffed and we are absolutely 100% sure that is not the case," he said.

 

"What we feel very resentful about is that the captain was not informed something was going wrong with the ball and told to contain it.

 

"Umpires are within their rights to decide without consulting but there was no consultation with anyone and no evidence seems to have been given.

 

"One or two of the management staff have had a look and are convinced this is a ball which has been hit about for 56 overs.

 

"We think it's the kind of ball you'd expect to see and there is no evidence of deliberate scuffing. We hope the ball will be showed so people can make up their own minds about it."

 

Play officially ended for the day at 1813 BST with England - who had already won the series - on 298-4, 33 runs behind Pakistan.

 

Australian Hair is no stranger to controversy, having famously no-balled Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing in the Melbourne Test of 1995.

 

He also reported Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi for scuffing the pitch with his boots in the second Test against England last winter.

 

Story from BBC SPORT:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/cricket/england/5268886.stm

 

It just ain't cricket

Who cares we won!

 

What a comeback eh?

 

Seriously thou...its just not cricket

its bang out of order this....

It's not the first time Pakistan have done this.

Hair offered to resign for cash

 

 

Umpire Darrell Hair offered to quit in exchange for $500,000 (£266,000), the International Cricket Council has said. The Australian, 53, made his offer in an e-mail to the game's governing body after Sunday's ball-tampering row which ended the fourth Test at The Oval.

 

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told a news conference in London that the umpire had been under great stress.

 

And he said he was satisfied Hair had not made the offer with any "dishonest, underhand or malicious intent".

 

Speed added: "He was seeking to find a solution that was in the interests of the game."

 

Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove penalised the tourists five runs and allowed England to choose a replacement ball after deciding that Pakistan had tampered with the one which had suddenly started reverse-swinging after 56 overs.

 

When Pakistan initially refused to re-emerge after tea in protest, the two officials ruled that they had forfeited the game. Speed urged the media not to question Hair's motives even though he himself was "extremely surprised by the content" of Hair's e-mail on Tuesday to Doug Cowie, the ICC umpires and referees manager, in which he made his offer.

 

Hair later revoked the message, in which he asked for compensation for loss of future earnings.

 

The ICC's lawyers advised the organisation to disclose the contents of Hair's message to the Pakistan Cricket Board as they were relevant to the disciplinary case brought against captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. Having informed the PCB, Speed then felt compelled to make the documents public in case they were leaked anyway.

 

Hair is hoping to continue officiating, saying in a statement: "This correspondence was composed after a very difficult time and was revoked by myself two days later after a period of serious consideration. There was no malicious intent behind this communication with the ICC. 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."

 

Pakistan complained about Hair's performances earlier in the series but the Australian has denied being biased against Asian countries. He famously reported Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for having a suspect bowling action in 1995. Pakistan have already said they do not want him to umpire any of their games in the future. And Speed refused to offer any assurances about his future in the game.

 

"Darrell Hair has been in a difficult position since Sunday and as a result of this disclosure that position has been made more difficult," the ICC chief executive said.

 

"I have said to him that he is not sacked, he is not suspended, and he has not been charged. I also said to him that I didn't guarantee that each of those three positions would be maintained indefinitely."

 

Hair is on the ICC's Elite Panel of umpires, a list which is reviewed on an annual basis.

 

The affair will be discussed next week at an ICC meeting and former England captain Mike Atherton can see no way back for him. "Darrell Hair, after these extraordinary letters, finds himself under no charge whatsoever," he said. "It is hard to see how he can umpire at any future international match. They have made his position untenable now."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/5286690.stm