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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected Pakistan’s demand not to appoint Australian umpire Darrell Hair for its future games after his role in the forfeited fourth Test against England.

The ICC also endorsed the decision by Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove to award the match to the home team at The Oval on Sunday after Pakistan stayed in the dressing room after tea on day four in a protest after being penalised for alleged ball tampering.

“It is hugely regrettable that the match did not end with a great finish in front of a full house,” the ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said on Wednesday.

He ruled out any review of the result after Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has demanded the match be declared null and void. “It is not the role of the ICC to overturn the decision of on-field umpires, the people who are enshrined in the laws of cricket as the sole judges of fair and unfair play, the ultimate arbiters of the game.

“In this instance, the decision made by Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair to award the match to England was the correct one under the laws,î Speed added.

Speed said the ICC has received a letter from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) demanding the Australian umpire should not be appointed for its future matches. “However, it remains the role of the ICC and not our members to appoint umpires to Tests and One-day Internationals (ODIs),” he said. “The appointments are made without fear or favour and are based on the performances of the umpires in international matches.”

Inzamam is set to attend an ICC hearing in London (the hearing was delayed by the ICC on Wednesday due to non-availability of match referee Ranjan Madugalle from Sri Lanka) on charges of ball-tampering and bringing the game into disrepute and faces a possible suspension of eight ODIs or four Tests if found guilty.

The Pakistan skipper has warned his team could pull out of the ODI series starting next week if he is punished for ball tampering.

Speed said: “It should be borne in mind that Friday’s Code of Conduct hearing is not a political, racial or religious matter but a cricketing one.

“The hearing will deal with two separate charges, one of them the issue of the Pakistan team allegedly changing the condition of the ball and the other that it allegedly brought the game into disrepute by remaining in the dressing room when the match should have resumed after the tea interval,î he stated.
Source:The News