Darrell Hair, who officiated at the highest level of cricket as part of the elite panel of umpires, has been sacked by the ICC. This ignominy comes to him, who was so far counted among one of the top five umpires of the world.
Hair loved controversies, but it was the game that took a dangerous turn for him finally. Caught in the middle of a ball-tampering row with Pakistan, he was removed from the list for the ICC Champions Trophy in India. Soon after the controversy, a mail written by Hair to the ICC was leaked to the media quoting him asking for a huge payout for his exit.
Darrell Hair offered to resign as a member of the ICC`s Elite Umpires Panel in return for a payment of $500,000. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said Hair`s resignation offer was forwarded to Doug Cowie, the ICC`s umpire manager. A copy of that letter was also made available to the Pakistan Cricket Board.
In the letter, Hair asked for "a one-off payment to compensate for the loss of future earnings and retainer payments over the next four years, which I believe would have been the best years I have to offer ICC and world umpiring."
Widely know as a racist in the South Asian region, his career spans 17 controversial years. He had famously no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in 1995 before describing the Sri Lankan`s action as `diabolical` in his autobiography.
Recently, Hair became the first umpire to impose a five-run penalty for ball-tampering.
By penalising Pakistan and inviting the England batsmen to choose a replacement ball, Hair was mutely announcing that Pakistan were cheating and the damage to the ball had been intentional.
Inzamam and his team did not immediately protest. They stayed on the field until tea, but they declined to reappear later Hair announced that by their non-appearance Pakistan had forfeited the match.
Biography
Hair, born in the rural New South Wales town of Mudgee on September 30, 1952, was a typival Aussie. He was a modest grade cricketer a pace bowler capable of playing in the first team with North Sydney and Mosman.
Hair became an umpire in the 1988-89 season and after three years he was fast-tracked to Australia`s international panel.
After the Test of 1995, when he no-balled Muralitharan, Hair entered the spotlight. He had caused his first storm. In Sri Lanka, the perception was that Hair`s no-balling of Murali was preconceived. Even when the spinner bowled an orthodox leg-break, which, it was reckoned, he could not throw, Hair refused to relent.
Hair was mocked on the Indian sub-continent, but generally lauded in his own country. Even so, he was withdrawn from Australia`s international panel for a while and umpired at grade level.
He may be umpiring for a long time, but he got it all wrong in Faisalabad making Inzamam the victim. The Pakistan captain was in his ground when Steve Harmison hurled the ball at the stumps. Inzamam jumped in the air but was not attempting a run. He was given out, incorrectly, by Hair.
Statistics
As of September 2006, Hair has stood in 76 Test matches and 124 one-day international (ODI) matches since 1991. Altogether, he has umpired 131 first-class matches in his career since 1989.
In 1994 the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced a policy of appointing one umpire to each Test match from a non-participating country, and since 2002 both umpires have been appointed from non-participating nations, by the ICC.
The majority of Hair’s Test matches have been played outside Australia, and did not involve Australia. His last Test match involving Australia was against South Africa at Melbourne on 26 December to 29 December 2001, won by Australia by 9 wickets, with Matthew Hayden scoring a century and wickets shared by Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel and Shane Warne. Hair’s colleague was the West Indian umpire, Eddie Nicholls.
Controversies at a glance
Two of the most prominent incidents have involved Asian nations, leading to accusations of bias. Rameez Raja claimed that sub-continental players universally feel that he is biased even to the extent of being racist. Other former cricketers such as Arjuna Ranatunga have complained about bias.
1992 Adelaide
Hair`s first Test match was between Australia and India at Adelaide on January 25 to January 29, 1992, won by Australia by 38 runs. Controversy over LBW decisions eight times Indians were given out, while all but two of their own appeals were rejected.
1993 Adelaide
The Test match between Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide on January 23 to 26 January 1993 was a fluctuating match won by the visitors by a mere one run. Hair ruled that a short-pitched ball from Courtney Walsh had brushed McDermott’s glove and upheld the appeal for a catch, but many observers believed that McDermott had not gloved the ball.
1994 Adelaide
In the Test match between Australia and South Africa at Adelaide on 28 January to 1 February 1994, Peter Kirsten had an animated conversation with Hair after three of his team-mates were given out LBW. Another outburst when he was given out leg-before himself in the second innings resulted in Kirsten being fined a total of 65 per cent of his match fee.
1995 Melbourne
In his only match between Australia and Sri Lanka, at Melbourne on 26 December to 30 December 1995 he called Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in three overs for throwing. Unusually, he made his judgement from the bowler’s end, and several minutes passed before the crowd realised that Muralitharan’s elbow, rather than his foot, was at fault.
Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga responded by leading his team off the field.
Hair did not umpire another Test match involving Sri Lanka until their tour of the West Indies in 2003. He did not stand in the 1996 World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and, in 1999, received death threats.
2005 Faisalabad
In November 2005, Darrell Hair referred a run-out decision concerning captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to the third umpire Nadeem Ghauri during the Faisalabad Test. Inzamam was taking evasive action, and according to the laws of cricket, a batsman cannot be run out if he leaves his ground due to evasive action.
2006 The Oval
On August 20, 2006, the fourth day of the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval, Hair was involved in controversy when he and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove ruled that the Pakistani team had been involved in ball tampering. They awarded five penalty runs to England and offered them a replacement ball. Play continued until the tea break, but the Pakistani players refused to take the field thereafter in protest at the decision.
Bureau Report
