Darrell Hair speaks out
The fourth test between England and Pakistan at the Oval in 2006 was left abandoned due to the controversial accusation of ball-tampering by Darrell Hair on the Pakistani team. Hair, the controversial Australian umpire has finally comes out of his hibernation regarding the event. He believes that it was politics which led to the eruption of the entire decision.
The Aussie umpire remembers the dramatic fourth test which resulted in the match being awarded to the English, as former test Captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Inzamam-ul-Haq-c64383 refused to bring his team out to play once the tea interval came to an end. The game was declared to be over six hours after the last ball had been bowled. Four years later, the two teams meet at the same venue without Inzamam or Hair at the centre
As opportune as it could have been, Darrell Hair said, “We played on until tea [so] I suppose you could say by playing on [the players] accepted what happened,” he said. He further added, “It wasn’t until they got back into the dressing room that politics got involved. Too many people got involved from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 and from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as well.”
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Darrell-Bruce-Hair-c52421 has officiated in 78 test matches with a healthy number of 135 One Day Internationals (ODI). Hair believes that the entire matter inflamed as the Pakistani team went in the dressing room. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had allies who assisted them. On a question regarding who was involved, Hair responded with “not yet” but committed that he would surely mention the incident with all the details in his book. The 57-year-old is expected to spill the beans when he publishes his book on umpiring.
Ever since the event has occurred, the general perception of the masses is that Hair took a biased decision. But in reality, only when the two umpires agree to something can such a decision be taken. Like marriage, it takes two to be involved. Quite similarly, when it comes to giving controversial decisions, both umpires need to agree. Billy Doctrove, the other umpire was definitely consulted as he was not frog marching when the entire drama was unfolding in front of him. Hair would not have taken this decision if Billy Doctrove was fine with the condition of the ball.
After spending two years in international wilderness, Hair made his way back into the International Cricket Council (ICC) elite panel for two matches which were played between England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 in 2008. Hair feels no bitterness as to how he was treated, even though his employers chose to make public a series of emails between himself and the umpire’s manager, Doug Cowie. It was in these emails where Hair had demanded money to keep quiet and spare the ICC of anymore embarrassment.
Hair says, “I got over it many year ago, there are a couple of people who worked for the ICC who lied and I don’t have much time for them, but I got back to doing what I wanted to do and I finished umpiring a Test match at Trent Bridge. For me that was the perfect ending. I knew exactly what had happened at the time and I did my job to the best of my ability.”
Experts say that the veteran umpire might be speaking the truth, and all the drama which happened on that fateful day was actually a conspiracy against him. It is because at the end of it all, Hair was the only one who suffered from that decision. Inzamam merely suffered from a ban of a few test matches.
Only time will be a better judge of things since nature itself has the habit of unraveling information. Up till now, many cricket lovers would be of the view that Hair was being unfair and was actually targeting Pakistan because he was a racist. But experts believe that Hair himself might have been targeted by those who did not want him in international test cricket anymore.
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