Controversial Darrell Hair caught up in walkout

By ICF Staff
August 20 2006

Controversial Aussie umpire Darrell Hair has caused another walkout in a Test match, again by a subcontinental team, as he accuses them of cheating.

What's with Darrell Hair and subcontinental teams?

The combative Australian umpire has time and again made unprecedented decisions against them on the field that have caused anger and consternation in the cricketing fraternity.

In 1995, before neutral umpires were required to officiate in Tests, Hair called "no-ball" on bowling great Muthiah Muralitharan seven times for bowling with an illegal action in Melbourne during a Sri Lanka-Australia match. Hair had called Murali from the non-striker's end without input from the square leg umpire, who had no problem with the action. Since then, Australia's own biomechanic experts have proven no less than three times that Murali's action is completely legal.

On that occasion, Donald Bradman stated that was the "worst example of umpiring that [he had] witnessed, and against everything the game stands for. Clearly Murali does not throw the ball." He was also reprimanded privately by the ICC.

Captain Arjuna Ranatunga led the Sri Lankan team off the field in protest against Hair's umpiring. By agreement between Sri Lankan and Australian cricket boards, Hair was not allowed to umpire in any more games involving Sri Lanka for the rest of the season.

Last year, Hair accused Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi for scuffing the pitch deliberately with his shoes, and persuaded the match referee to punish the allrounder with a 3-match ban.

Today, Hair has triggered another controversy by accusing the Pakistani team of tampering with the ball after they appeared to be on the verge of winning against England by an innings at the Oval.

Without any camera evidence supporting his claims, Hair unilaterally decided that there was a change to the 64-over old ball caused artifically by bowlers, and without intimating the Pakistan captain or team management, ordered a 5-run penalty and and changed the ball. To add insult to injury, Hair asked the English batsmen Pietersen and Collingwood to select the replacement ball.

This is the first time an umpire has taken such an action without informing the team involved, and the first time the 5-run penalty has been invoked. Last year, when England defeated Australia amid suspicious reverse swing that came about after as few as 10 overs, there was no action taken by umpires, although the reverse swing mysteriously failed to show up in the last couple of matches.

The Pakistan team protested by refusing to come back out after tea as the umpires and batsmen waited in the middle. Later, when they did come out, Hair refused to walk back out, saying that if Pakistan took the field he was not going to officiate.

Aside from such disgraceful controversies, Hair is also unknown to make routinely biased umpiring decisions, and has given more than his fair share in the current series in England's favor.

It is beyond time Darrell Hair was fired from the umpiring panel. He should never have been inducted into the panel after his past record, and another controversy was waiting to happen.

It is ironical that this should happen to Pakistan so soon after that country's board refused to join hands with teams who asked for an appeal system to overrule poor umpiring decisions. One could say that Pakistan fully deserve Hair. ICC must revisit their decision in this matter of appeals against poor umpiring.