Cricket politics: Darrell Hair's accusations against Asian teams just a coincidence?

[robotic]

huzzah for controversy. most recently, cricket umpire darrell hair put forward allegations against the pakistani cricket team (at the oval test match against england) for ball-tampering - a decision that has had newspapers and cricket-supporters questioning the factuality of the accusation, when 24 surveillance camera's failed to detect any tampering, and an ever-increasing political dimension to the game.

after bowled-out action, surveillance camera's recorded images of hair paying close attention to the pakistani bowlers just a while before the allegation was called.

the event became even more questionable when no press conferences were held with the media immediately after the allegation took place, and no view of the ball that was tampered was showcased to the public.

[cricket lingo~ ball tempering:
in context means altering the natural state of the ball. getting some foreign substance onto the ball alters it; so does trying to get said substance off. - from rediff.com/cricket]

pakistan forfeit test after ball row

england were awarded the fourth and final test on sunday after pkaistan forfeited the match on a day of high farce and bitter recriminations following a ball-tampering storm.
pakistan refused to return to the field after tea on day four at the oval after darrell hair and fellow umpire billy doctrove had earlier imposed a five-run pentalty against them for ball-tampering and changed the ball.
when pakistan did later take to the field, the umpires did not appear, leading to the extensive negotiations that ended with the abandonment almost six hours after the drama began.
england win the four-test series 3-0. pakistan's forfeiture is unprecedented in test history. "in accordance with the laws of cricket, it was noted that the umpires had correctly deemed that pakistan hd forfeited the match and awarded the test to england." read a statement on the behalf of the international cricket council (ICC), england and wales cricket board and the pakistan cricket board.
"the pakistan team was aggrieved by the award of five penalty runs to england. the award of those penalty runs for alleged interference with the ball is under review by the ICC match referree mike procter, whose report will be considered in due course."
pakistan's players on course for a face-saving win, had been stunned during the afternoon session when the umpires took action. they continued playing until tea, with england on 298 for four in their second innings and still 33 runs shy of making pakistan bat again, when the fiasco exploded.
hair, who has been involved in several controversies with teams from the subcontinent in the past, and doctrove walked out to the middle alone, then returned to the pavilion as pakistan's players staged a protest by remaining in the dressing room. the umpires walked out again 15 minutes later, this time followed by england batsmen paul collingwood and ian bell, but pakistan again failed to show. wicketkeeper kamran akmal was clearly visible reading a newspaper without his pads on.
the situation took a new turn around 45 minutes after the scheduled restart when pakistan captain inzamamul haq led his side out, then straight back in, as this time the umpires did not emerge.
pakistan coach bob woolmer said hair had entered the pakistan dressing room after they had first failed to reappear and asked inzamam if he was forfeiting the game. woolmer said inzamam had countered by asking why the ball had been changed but hair had refused to discuss the matter and left.
the ICC is due to issue a seperate root "concerning action which may be taken in relation to the forfeiture of the match by pakistan."
pakistan cricket board head shaharyar khan who consuled with ECB counterpart david morgan, said "from our point of view the boys were extremely upset at the slur of what happened. they wanted to register a protest with the match officials. we were going to stay off for just a few minutes."
he said pakistan's players categorically denied they had tampered with the ball. "no one was consulted, no one was told... they felt deeply aggrieved."
pakistan were upset when the umpires ruled the ball had been tampered with after alastair cook had been bowled by a reverse-swinging yorker from pace bowler umar gul. inzamam became embroiled in a heated exchanged with the umpirs before the england batsmen at the crease, kevin pietersen and collingwood, were allowed to choose a replacement ball.
hair first hit the headlines when he called sri lanka spinner muttiah mralitharan for throwing in australia in 1995-6.
- reuters

darrell hair seems to have a fishy history with asian (india, sri lanka and pakistan) cricket teams.

here's a history of the conflict:

darrell hair, the burly australian at the centre of the ball tampering row which led pakistan forfeiting the fourth test against england, has endured a fraught relationship with asian teams throughout his 14 years as a test empire.
hair, 53, a former fast bowler in sydney grade cricket, no-balled sri lankan off spinner muttiah muralitharan seven times for throwing in three overs on the opening day of the second test against australia in melbourne in 1995. sri lanka captain arjuna ranatunga switched muralitharan to the other end where he was not called by steve dunne. hair received death threats and did not stand in the 1996 world cup in india, pakistan and sri lanka.
hair was robustly unrepentant in his 1998 autobiography the decision maker in which he said the sri lanka action was "diabolical" and added he was prepared to call those decisions against him again if he could. (leading hair to be possibly fined, reprimanded or suspended by the ACB/ICC)
in the following year, the indian team in england were unhappy at some of his decisions and three years later hair had an altercation with then india coach kapil dev during a match against new south wales.
he also no-balled part-time zimbabwe left-armer grant flowers three times for throwing in 2000 and the controversies must have contributed to the ICC (international cricket council) decision to leave him off their initial elite umpires' panel in 2002.
in 2004 hair and fellow empire billy bowden reported pakistan fast bowler shabbir ahmed for a suspect bowling action. controversy involving pakistan flared again last year in the second test against england in faisalabad when hair called a dead ball because salman b. had run on the pitch.
after two earlier incidents involving the australian, coupled with anger at what the pakistan team considered hair's officiousness, the team management reported their concerns to the ICC.
hair's appointment this year for the england home tests against sri lanka and pakistan would have dismayed the respective teams. former sri lankan cricket chief earlier demanded that hair be removed immediately as a test empire. "hair thinks he is bigger than the players, the spectators, the officials and above all the game. he should be sacked immediately". the ICC accepted sri lanka's request not to have hair as an umpire in their games following the muralitharan controversy.
sri lanka felt he denied them several clear-clut lbw appeals with muralitaharan was bowling. pakistan was incensed when kevin pietersen was given a not out after what appeared to be a big inside edge to the wicketkeeper kamal akram in the third test at headingley. pietersen went on to score 135, laying the basis for englands series-winning victory.
- reuters

[Woody]

There has been a lot of this in the UK media; the Brits. just can't get their heads around in-swinging bowlers, that's why they label them as cheats. As for ball tampering, that has been a part of the game since it's inception....

Just the usual white man being sore lossing sour grapes.....

[Golden Monkey]

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...6&parent_id=26

....Their charge is that umpire Hair has for many years shown hostility to teams whose faces are not the same colour as their flannels. They cite the fact that Hair "called" the world’s greatest bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan, for "chucking". They add that he wrongly gave Inzamam out in controversial circumstances during the last Test series Pakistan played against England.

Some of them even point out, most damningly of all, that Darrell Hair is Australian. That last seems a fair accusation to make, to which he has no satisfactory defence. Nevertheless, I shall attempt one: in the days when Umpires were allowed to officiate in matches involving their own country there was an agonisingly close Test in which Hair gave an Australian batsman out, allowing the West Indies to win by a single run – even though television replays suggested that the Aussie might have been hard done by.

More recently, in 2003, Hair reported the captain of South Africa – who was one of 10 white players in the side – for dissent at his decisions. South Africa’s opponents in that match were Pakistan.

Nevertheless I suspect that the International Cricket Council, which is a very political organisation, will find a way of speedily manoeuvring Darrel Hair into retirement.

Two and half years ago, Hair left Australia to settle permanently in England. According to the Melbourne Age, Hair – who is well aware of his controversial reputation – declared at the time: "I intend to be actively involved in umpiring for the next few years, whether it be with the blessing of the ICC, or village mates in Steeple Bumpstead." Steeple Bumpstead it is, then. – The Independent

[Woody]

Geoffrey Boycott, who is now a commentator and most of the old fashioned Northern teams & players, especially 'Yorkshire' r frequently openly, regarded as racists.

I'd played cricket at school, didn't have much of a regard for it as the other South Asian kid have....(I know it means a lot to them!)
It's not my game, but I understand the scoring and skills involved, different types of bowling, batting, fielding, etc....
I know enough to know S.Asians r very good at it....

The white establishment just can't accept any other races being better than them at anything, just look at table tennis and badminton...

They r spin doctors about other people's successes if u pardon the obvious pun.....

[robotic]

fishyfishyfishy:
darrell hair agreed to resign for half a million dollars.

three possible reasons for wanting to resign:
1) he's tired of all the backlash and the controversy his decisions provoke
2) he's guilty
3) moneymoneymoney! *to the apprentice tune*

[robotic]

*_* i haven't heard any official decision yet.
has anyone else?