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Michael Vaughan has raised the possibility that he may be fit to play some part in England’s defence of the Ashes this winter.

Vaughan underwent surgery on his troublesome right knee seven weeks ago and it had been thought almost certain that he would play no part Down Under. But he believes that there is a slim chance he could return at some stage, most likely during one-day triangular cricket series that follows New Year Test in Sydney.

The forfeiture of the fourth test between England and Pakistan at the Oval on Sunday and his offer to quit in return for $500,000 were the latest controversial chapters in the career of 53-year-old Australian umpire Darrell Hair. Following are the major incidents in which he has been involved since making his debut as a first-class umpire in 1988.

* A year after standing in his first test, Hair gave Craig McDermott out with a contentious caught behind decision off Courtney Walsh’s bowling to give the West Indies a one-run
victory in the fourth Test in Adelaide on Jan. 25, 1993. McDermott and Tim May had added 40 for the final wicket when Hair deemed the delivery to have brushed the fast bowler’s glove contrary to the evidence of TV footage.

Inzamam wins his case, at least morally for now, after Darrell Hair’s email to ICC surfaced in which he has offered to resign from ICC’s panel of umpires, for a sum of $500,000. Apparently, ICC was not interested, they have made up their minds and it seems that they gave some assurances to PCB after which the board and players decided to resume the tour.

The family of former Test star Wasim Raja wants to bury him in England but it would only happen in a few days as local authorities are insisting on a post-mortem.

Raja, who apparently died of a heart attack while playing for Surrey Over 50s at Marlow in Buckinghamshire, is survived by his English wife Anne, and sons, Ali and Ahmed. His family wants a proper Islamic burial in London, a city which Raja made his home as soon as possible, but authorities have told them that a post-mortem is necessary since he died on the cricket field.

Friends and colleagues of former Pakistan batsman Wasim Raja expressed shock on Thursday after his sudden death while playing in England. Raja, 54, collapsed during a match for Surrey Over-50s after suffering a major heart-attack.

“The news was shocking for me and he died as a cricketer while playing a match which showed his love for cricket,” former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad told.

“He was a natural cricketer, a very fine all-rounder and very few cricketers in the world

have played so well against the West Indies like Wasim,” he remarked.

Pakistani Members of the Parliament (MPs) on Thursday backed embattled cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and his team in their ball-tampering row with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Australian umpire Darrell Hair.

Members of the Parliament called on the government to intervene in the controversy that erupted on Sunday when Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove imposed a five-run penalty on Pakistan for ball tampering in the fourth and final Test against England. Inzamam and his men then refused to resume play after tea at The Oval.

While Pakistani players have agreed to play the twenty20 and ODI series, the ECB has made contingency plans to play against an International XI should Pakistan pull out of Monday’s Twenty20 International at Bristol. It is also in discussions with a major nation, believed to be South Africa, with a view to replacing Pakistan for the NatWest Series if the need arises.

Pakistan’s one-day tour match against county team Middlesex at Uxbridge on Thursday was abandoned due to wet conditions.

The tourists’ only warm-up game ahead of the one-day series against England that gets underway with a Twenty20 game at Bristol next Monday had to be called off without any play as overnight rains left the field too wet.

The side game was in jeopardy earlier this week as the Pakistanis threatened to pull out if it over ball tampering allegations levelled against them by umpires in the fourth Test against England at The Oval last Sunday.

The father of Pakistan cricket team’s captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is praying his son will be cleared when he faces a disciplinary hearing, a newspaper report said on Thursday.

Ageing Intizam-ul-Haq, a Muslim spiritual leader, told the Urdu-language Daily Express that his son was innocent of charges of ball tampering and bringing cricket into disrepute.

“I am hopeful that Allah The All Mighty will bring my son successfully out of this crisis,” it quoted Inzamam’s father as saying. “I have made special prayers for my son for the success of my son and for the glory of my nation during the Shab-e-Mairaj,” he said, referring to a Muslim holy day.