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Senior official of the ICC Ranjan Madugalle has warned umpires must do their utmost to prevent another forfeited Test.

Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove ruled The Oval Test was over when Pakistan refused to come out to face England, after a penalty for ball-tampering. Madugalle said umpires should, “do everything possible to defuse tensions by explaining that a team is entitled to raise any grievance through the ICC. It is not in the interests of the game for the team to interrupt play”.

Madugalle, the International Cricket Council (ICC) adjudicator at Inzamam-ul-Haq’s disciplinary hearing cleared the Pakistan captain on Thursday of changing the condition of the ball. But he found Inzamam guilty of bringing the game into disrepute for his protest and banned him for four One-day Internationals (ODI).

His subsequent comments will be seen as implicit criticism of the umpires at the centre of the furore. “In my judgment, a difficult and sensitive situation such as that which arose in the present case requires handling with tactful diplomacy as well as firm adherence to the laws,” said Madugalle.

He also suggested the umpires “should not return to the field of play and then declare the match to be forfeited unless and until they are absolutely sure that the team is refusing to play the rest of the match. All other options should first be exhausted, involving discussions with the team captains and management.”

Australian Hair, singled out by Pakistan as being responsible for the furore, has been pulled out of the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy and his career appears in doubt. Doctrove emerged from the hearing at The Oval and said only: “I’m still an umpire”.
Source:The News