• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Ball-Tampering Hearing

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
Indian Board opposes Hair standing

From the article:

An ICC spokesman told Cricinfo last Wednesday that the names of officials would be revealed "within 24 hours". But with India, the host nation and cricket's commercial powerhouse, formally backing Pakistan's demand that Hair be barred from officiating at the tournament it looks unlikely that the ICC will choose appoint him.

....

Given the way that the ICC board members usually operate, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zimbabwe will, in all probability, support India and Pakistan should it come down to an executive vote, and it is therefore hard to see how the ICC could name Hair without there being extremely se
 

social

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I can only assume that Doctrove has been ruled out as well now that the evidence is out that he supported Hair
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
social said:
I can only assume that Doctrove has been ruled out as well now that the evidence is out that he supported Hair
I think Hair is more or less on trial for his past behavior as well. And the fact that there was an initial disagreement (though later they both agreed), will play into Pakistan's favor.

We'll see though. I hope this gets resolved very quickly either way.
 

_TiGeR-ToWn_

U19 Debutant
silentstriker said:
I think Hair is more or less on trial for his past behavior as well. And the fact that there was an initial disagreement (though later they both agreed), will play into Pakistan's favor.

We'll see though. I hope this gets resolved very quickly either way.
How can he be trialed for past umpiring decisions? Pretty ridiculous statement ss, if the ICC felt something was wrong back then when these 'decisions" were made then he would be tried back then. Not years later.

And agree with Social, so Doctrove is not going to be picked for the champions trophy either?
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
_TiGeR-ToWn_ said:
How can he be trialed for past umpiring decisions? Pretty ridiculous statement ss, if the ICC felt something was wrong back then when these 'decisions" were made then he would be tried back then.

Errr, I'm not saying its right. I'm saying thats how it is. He is really on trial for his past history and attitude towards subcontinental teams.

If you don't think so, you're kidding yourself.
 

Shabash Tapash

Cricket Spectator
Surely the ball tampering would have been very quiet if not silent so i dont know how they could hear it

Its a ridiculous enquiry anyway - theres nothing wrong with tampering. Batsmen get to choose the condition of their bats so bowlers should be able to alter the condition of the ball
 
Last edited:

social

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Australian tv is reporting that the BCCI has taken it's stance because "they cannot guarantee Hair's safety" and "are concerned at crowd's reaction to his presence."

As unfortunate as this may be, I can understand their stance in this regard.

During the Oval Test and its aftermath, I was in Dubai (large population from sub-continent and excellent cricket coverage), Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

Whilst some of the reporting was fair and balanced, others were downright inflammatory.

If I was Hair, there's no way I'd feel 100% safe going into that environment IF a similar mood prevails amongst sections of the populace as was protrayed by certain journalists.
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
social said:
Australian tv is reporting that the BCCI has taken it's stance because "they cannot guarantee Hair's safety" and "are concerned at crowd's reaction to his presence."

As unfortunate as this may be, I can understand their stance in this regard.

During the Oval Test and its aftermath, I was in Dubai (large population from sub-continent and excellent cricket coverage), Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

Whilst some of the reporting was fair and balanced, others were downright inflammatory.

If I was Hair, there's no way I'd feel 100% safe going into that environment IF a similar mood prevails amongst sections of the populace as was protrayed by certain journalists.

Violence is never appropriate - especially when in response to something as trivial as sports.

I think Hair should never umpire again, but I am saddened that some people will resort to violence over a sporting issue. I think, just to spite them, I'd have Hair umpire matches in India. You can't give into violence threats.
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
With that said, I still feel Hair's reaction was out of line and not in conjuction with the 'spirit' of the game. However, with that said, I've been doing a lot of thinking and I am now on the side of most Australian/English posters on this board, in that Pakistan should not have ceased playing the match.

Thinking with a clear head, even though the umpire might be racist, and his actions inappropriate, you should have enough respect for the game and finish it. Then you can refuse to play for that umpire in the future, and do whatever you need to.

So, my earlier emotional defence of Pakistan was in error, I think. I still understand why they did it, because I felt the same way at the time....but thinking with a clear head, its obvious to me that the integrity and respect for the game should come first.
 

Legglancer

State Regular
Controversy and Darrel Hair – two sides of a coin



It seems Darrel Hair ,Australian umpire who generally likes to be involved with cricket controversy especially with Asian teams like Pakistan, SriLanka and India. The Oval test fiasco when Darrel Hair accused Pakistan team of ball tampering and awarded England with 5 extra runs and later awarded England the match as Pakistan forfeited the match when they didn’t turn up after tea which is first such case in the history of test cricket.

Later Pakistan Captain Inzamam Ul Haq was charged with “bringing the game it to disrepute”. In fact there was no evidence about ball tampering by the 26 cameras in the field and the ball was more than 50 overs old.



As there was no conclusive evidence how can the umpire accuse some team on ball tampering ,just by his sheer instinct. If it is by Darrel Hair’s instinct, then it is absolutely wrong decision as far as the umpire is concerned. History shows that Darrel and controversy are the integral parts of a coin. It has happened with Muralidharan in Australia when he called NO balls to Murali as chucking the ball. No asian cricket teams are happy with Darrel Hair. When the umpire has 26 cameras at his disposal, he should have found out before giving a verdict of such a nature. He could have given them a warning if he feels there is something of this nature. Latest reports says Duncan Flecher may have triggered the ball tampering issue on the previous day. Whatever it is, Umpires are responsible for their decision. Mr. Darrel Hair has done this time and again. He must be liking to be in the centre of controversies. As the Australian media says him as really brave. This short of decision will open lot of controversy. Can Mr. Hair substantiate his allegations and accusations. I think the answer is “No”. In such a scenario, how will he rule the Pakistani team with ball tampering. It clearly shows Mr Hair has the habbit of being partial towards teams like Australia, England etc. ICC should take note of that. There are young Australian umpires who are doing very well on the field. Those umpires who are consistent in their decision making they should be given such important responsibility. They can n’t be treated as “God” and they cann’t bring the game to disrepute without any base or evidence. If they are God, then the selection system should be foolproof and track record of an umpire should be taken into consideration and requires to be reviewed from time to time.



Inzamam warned to clear him or else the tour of England is off. Such umpires should be sacked immediately and new umpires are required to be appointed.This particular controversy may not die down easily. It will take a while.



By



Capt. T. K. Panda
 

Legglancer

State Regular
The recent Pakistan ala ball tampering issue has given the cricket gurus a lot to think about. If one has been closely following the issue in the papers then they will know that there is this big debate about the spirit of the game versus the laws of the game that has been thrown open. Personally I feel that this a whole lot of cod’s wallop and it’s high time that we get some real perspective on the issue. Let me make it clear right at the beginning that if I were Inzamam then I too would forfeit the match in protest. I really feel for the Pakistani captain who I believe is perhaps the only innocent guy in this entire mess. Even if the Pakistanis were ball tampering I am a 100% sure that it was without his knowledge. I honestly feel that Darrell Hair needs a boot where the sun don’t shine. He should have got the sack during the Muralitharan incident itself and so in a way this is all ICC’s doing that they did not take action then. During the course of this article I shall try and address two issues. Firstly, why Darrell Hair should be sacked and secondly why cricket is anything but just another game and why this entire ball tampering issue should be looked afresh. Now coming back to Darrell Hair, he needs to go straight away. I don’t know whether the man is an out and out racist but he is definitely prejudiced against Asian teams. How else do you explain that he kept no balling Muralitharan in spite of the fact that he had been specifically cleared by the ICC? Darrell Hair has been there for quite a while and he has never had any problems whatsoever with any cricketer from outside the subcontinent even though there were many of them that did have suspect actions. Yet he chose to single out Murali even though he had already been given the green signal. An important point that I would like to make here is that I don’t blame Hair for having an opinion about Murali’s action, after all any umpire is free to have an opinion about something like this. But the point is that even if you feel that he is chucking, you know that this man has just had his action cleared by the ICC, so if you really want to do something about it then simply report it and the ICC will then be forced to investigate it again. So clearly there was a much easier, less volatile way of handling the same situation. But knowing that fully well if you still go ahead and repeatedly no ball him, then you are simply asking for trouble. I really don’t know what he expected the Sri Lankans to do in that situation. Ranatunga on that occasion had every right to defend his ace bowler and walk out. If Hair thought that he would simply throw the ball to someone else, then there is something seriously wrong with the man. There are no two ways about it. He provoked the Lankans, took a hasty decision and was solely responsible for that entire episode turning into a real fiasco.

Lets fast forward to the test match at Oval. That was another classic example of a situation that could have been handled better but wasn’t, just because of the thick headedness of a particular umpire. Why o why did Hair have to take a hasty decision and dock Pakistan 5 runs for ball tampering without any concrete evidences to support his claim? If he felt that the ball was being tampered with then he should have talked to Inzamam. Did he do that? No. Now if you are Inzamam and all of a sudden in the middle of a match you are told that your team is being docked 5 runs for ball tampering then obviously you will blow your lid. It is a serious accusation that implicates him, his team and his entire nation. This is where I would like to shatter the myth about cricket being a just another game. If you think that people in Pakistan should not take this personally then you are really not aware of what the game means to its fans, especially in this part of the world. Yesterday Ajay Jadeja in the NDTV cricket program called ‘Cricket Controversies’ said that people should not look upon cricketers playing for their country as ambassadors. I thoroughly disagree with this statement. In fact that is exactly what you are if you are playing the game at the highest level for your country. You are ambassadors for your nation and represent the hopes and aspirations of thousands of your own people. The way you conduct yourself on the field is definitely reflective of this. So if someone calls you a cheat without any hard evidence then you have every right to feel offended because that person is not only implicating you but your entire nation. So the message is don’t do anything that will implicate you and your nation in that manner. You just cannot molly coddle the issue and say ‘I am sorry, I made a mistake.’ If that be the case then you have no business representing your country and should stick to gully cricket. So it’s just as well that Ajay Jadeja is not in the team.

Anyway, coming back to the controversy at hand, Darrell Hair should definitely go. There are no two ways about it. It’s not the decision but the way he took it is what makes him a substandard umpire unworthy of adjudicating at the international level. Clearly he hasn’t grasped what the game has become and what it has come to represent and he should know better than to take these hasty decisions, which can potentially divide the known cricketing world. If that ever happens then we know who is responsible. Plus I don’t really know how exactly you judge a ball to be tampered when there are twenty-two cameras on field and none of them have picked up anything suspicious.

What is worse is that on top of all this the man is clearly prejudiced against Asians. How else do you explain that all his hasty decisions come only when Asian teams are playing? This is too much of a coincidence. And what convinces me of this even further is that when the English bowlers were reverse swinging the ball Darrell Hair termed it as the art of reverse swinging. And when the Pakistanis were doing the same he all of a sudden became suspicious and started checking the ball for signs of tampering.

Lastly I would like to end by suggesting that the ICC better get their act together before it’s too late. They need better laws to govern situations of ball tampering and really need to implement them. Plus I also feel that there should be some kind of a mechanism in place to check umpires like Hair so that incidents like this one are never repeated again. Lets face it, at the end of the day it is they who stand to lose the most by all of this and if they are not careful, they stand to lose the entire South Asian cricketing world as a whole.

-Rudroneel Ghosh , India eNews
 

Top