Pakistan vs England

[Neo]

It was a courageous dicision to make, I know I would have done the same if I were the captain.
England may have won the match, moral victory goes to Pakistan! :flag:

 

[Lahori paa jee]

Guys i feel Inzimam and his boys made a great move.

But im really ashamed to hear comments of people like Inikhab Alam Aqib Javed etc on PTV. They are such cowards and opportunists. Try to cash on this moment to get Woolmer, Shehyar, Zaheer and Inziman out of the positions they are in.

It was horrible to hear Aqib say "I really feel ashamed to see that Inzi cannot speak english". How much english could Aqib speak during his time in the team. Secondly its Inzi's talent and hard work which has made him Pakistani captain not his knowledge of English.

Almost all the commentators including Boycott, Boatham, Atherton, Rameez, Zaheer etc feel Darrel acted stupidly.

Experts on Oval controversy
For the first time in cricket history, a Test match was forfeited after Pakistan refused to take to the field in protest at being penalised for ball-tampering.
The match was awarded to England, who took the series 3-0, but the fall-out from Pakistan's and umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove actions has everyone talking.

BBC Sport rounds up the views of former players and officials on the controversy.




Geoffrey Boycott
Former England batsman and TMS commentator


The ICC must be blind or stupid not to have realised that there is history between Darrell Hair, the umpire who accused them of changing the nature of the ball, and Pakistan.

There were mutterings after the Headingley Test that Pakistan didn't like Hair's attitude.

Pakistan regard Hair as an officious umpire and they don't like his style of man-management.

It should have been obvious to the ICC that appointing him to this series created a situation like a volcano waiting to erupt

Boycott was writing in the Daily Telegraph



Ian Botham
Former England captain and Sky Sports commentator


They are the mandarins who fiddled while the game slid towards anarchy at The Oval yesterday.

The ICC are the alleged governing body who left 23,000 paying spectators and millions of people tuning into TV and radio coverage completely in the dark.

And they are the administrators who should have sorted out an unholy mess by separating hard fact from innuendo and supposition at the fourth Test, which will now be remembered for all the wrong seasons.

They needed to make a statement specifying exactly why the ball was changed, what they had seen, who was involved and how often.

Otherwise the whole Pakistan team stands accused of cheating

Botham was writing in the Daily Mirror.



Imran Khan
Former Pakistan captain and all-rounder


I do not agree with the way Inzamam protested.

He should have protested when the ball was being changed, and then again at the end of the game.

I suspect Inzamam was shell-shocked. But under no circumstances would I not come out after tea - Pakistan were winning the Test.

I certainly think Darrell Hair is at fault.

The main culprit is Hair. This is no way to pass a decision - it's too sensitive an issue for Pakistan, because of the history of ball-tampering accusations.

Imran was speaking on BBC News 24.



Nasser Hussain
Former England captain


Did Darrell Hair actually see a member of the Pakistan team tampering with a cricket ball? Has he got proof?

If he hasn't then he has made a massive mistake.

If I had been accused of cheating in this way then, as long as I was sure of our innocence, I would have done exactly the same thing as Pakistan.

I wouldn't have come out after tea, either.

People have said that Pakistan should have waited until the close of play and then gone down the right channels, but they wouldn't have seen it that way.

To Pakistan, if they had carried on playing, they would have been admitting their guilt.

Hussain was writing in the Daily Mail.



Rameez Raja
Former Pakistan batsman and TMS commentator


The star of the show was definitely umpire Darrell Hair, but as a villain of the piece.

His arbitrary and insensitive style of judgment here at The Oval sparked an absolutely needless controversy that has put the Test match in serious jeopardy and brought infamy to the game.

Raja was writing in The Nation newspaper.



Dickie Bird
Former Test umpire


I think they should have finished the Test match.

Pakistan have been badly hurt (by the accusations) but the people who have to suffer are the fans.

I would have tried to keep it going for the sake of public; they have paid the money.

After the match you all get round the table and thrash this out.

Bird was speaking on BBC Radio Five Live.




Mike Gatting
Former England captain


It is a very sad state of affairs; it is very difficult - but very sad it happened the way it did.

At the end of the day when you get called a cheat it is not very nice and it is an emotive subject.

I understand how much it hurts and how aggrieved you feel. At the same time there are times and places.

I would have hoped there were some wiser heads in the dressing room to be able to calm things down and say 'Look, boys, you've got to go out - but we can sort this out at the end of the day'.

The umpires have a very difficult job, and it is their opinion. When you put two guys in charge of a match it is in their hands, and you hope they will use a bit of common sense at times.

Gatting was speaking to BBC Five Live.


Asif Iqbal
Former Pakistan all-rounder


It was badly handled by Darrell Hair. He should have spoken to the captain first and said he was suspicious.

Darrell Hair assumed the ball was tampered with. It was an assumption - there was no evidence.

By signalling five runs, he gave his verdict they were cheating in his opinion. The condition of the ball had changed, but he has not named a particular individual.




Javed Miandad
Former Pakistan captain and coach


Pakistan committed mistake after mistake and put themselves in a no-win situation.

Whoever took the decision [to stay off the field] it's the skipper who will face the punishment

Either he should have taken the decision immediately or have played the match under protest.

Pakistan has not only lost the match, but also lost the sympathy with the crowd, who came to see the game.

If I have been in Inzamam's place I would have asked the boys to play on. I would have played under protest and kept the door open for the appeal.

 

[A.Rahman]

Guys i feel Inzimam and his boys made a great move.

agree with you 100 %

 

[KashifAsrar]

Did England trigger tampering row?
Cricinfo staff
August 22, 2006

A report in today's Daily Telegraph claims that Sunday's ball-tampering row was triggered by a visit by Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, to Mike Procter, the match referee, before the start of the fourth day's play.


An ECB spokesman confirmed that Fletcher had met with Procter on Sunday morning but denied he had made a "specific complaint about the state of the ball". However, the newspaper went on to say that sources close to the team have stated that Fletcher played a part in drawing the officials' attention to certain issues.


No officials were available for comment yesterday, and with Inzamam-ul-Haq's hearing scheduled for Friday, none would have said anything anyway. If true, however, it would explain Darrell Hair's sudden interest in the state of the ball on Sunday afternoon.


The report goes on to state that England's players were concerned on Saturday and notes that Marcus Trescothick was "spotted watching Pakistan's players through binoculars, presumably to ascertain what actions they were performing on the ball". It added that Fletcher had also made enquiries as to why Sky TV cameras were not following the ball more closely as it was passed around the Pakistan fielders during the Headingley Test.


If it turns out that Fletcher did make an approach to Procter about the ball then the good relations between the two sides, which have been maintained despite the row at The Oval, will almost certainly nosedive, adding to the possibility that the one-day series might become another casualty of the row.

 

[Lahori paa jee]

Stupid rules of cricket.

Darrell Hair does not need to clarify the ball tampering issue as is written in the rules. One he has made an alligation thats it.

Australians are supporting Hair and are fully backing his decision.

 

[Lahori paa jee]

Pakistani cricket greats on Monday laid into umpire Darrell Hair after the chaos-hit fourth Test against England, with legend Imran Khan describing the Australian as a “mini Hitler”.

The former players also backed captain Imzamam-ul-Haq’s decision to keep his team off the field at The Oval on Sunday after Pakistan were penalised five runs over ball-tampering allegations.

“Hair is one of those characters, when he wears the white umpire’s coat, he metamorphoses into a mini Hitler,” former captain and all-rounder Imran said in an article in a local newspaper. “Inzamam and the team were in their right to protest. The pride of an entire people has been tarnished by his ludicrous and highly insensitive decision.”

After five hours of talks on Sunday night Pakistan were deemed to have forfeited the game, handing England a 3-0 victory in the four-match series. Hair, known for his no-nonsense style, has long been unpopular with Pakistan and they had objected to him standing in the series finale after claiming that he was rude to them. Pakistan also blamed the Australian for what they said were a series of unfair decisions in the Third Test at Headingley which they felt cost them the match.

The story led the front pages of most Pakistani newspapers, which all made punning references to the umpire’s name. “Hair-raising row turns Oval Test on its head,” said the ‘Dawn’ newspaper above a story accusing the International Cricket Council (ICC) of “ensuring that Hair follows Pakistan around the globe.”

‘The News’ said “Hair comes trouble!” while ‘The Nation’ ran a comment piece by former captain Rameez Raja under the headline “Pakistan in the cross-Hair”. Rameez described Hair — who called Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for “chucking” in Melbourne in 1995-96 — as seemingly biased against players from the Subcontinent. “His arbitrary and insensitive style of judgement sparked an absolutely needless controversy that has put the Test match in serious jeopardy and brought infamy to the game,” he wrote.

Former Pakistani Test batsman Shafqat Rana said Hair’s role in the “biased” decision on Sunday made it look “as if the Australian was looking to settle a score with Pakistan.” “Hair has tried to destroy Pakistan’s image in world cricket” by accusing Pakistan of being cheats on the basis of no apparent evidence, Rana wrote in the same paper.

“I firmly believe Inzamam’s decision not to return to the field after the incident was justified because the Pakistani skipper felt the team has been penalised for the offence which wasn’t committed at the first place,” he added.

However, a dissenting voice came from former Test cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz — known as the Sultan of Reverse Swing for pioneering the technique — who blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for managing the affair badly.

“Inzamam took a very good decision not to quit the ground and carried on to play even when the ball had been changed. It was after the break that the team decided to delay their return in protest,” he said.

“I think the PCB chairman, the coach and other officials instigated the captain to register the protest and ultimately spoiled a match which Pakistan had almost won,” Sarfraz said, adding, “It was very unfortunate for Pakistan and the game.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=20746

Imran sure can speak good for our rights

 

[Lahori paa jee]

Nasser Hussain dismayed by The Oval controversy, supports Inzamam

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has backed Inzamam-ul-Haq on his decision to protest against ball tampering accusations saying he would have done the same if he were in Inzi’s shoes.

“If I had been captain and my team had been accused of cheating in this way then, as long as I was sure of our innocence, I would have done exactly the same thing as Pakistan. I wouldn’t have come out after tea, either,” felt Hussain.

Hussain expressed his dismay over the controversy that resulted in the fourth Test here at The Oval forfeited and England awarded a win. “What an extraordinary day. What a sad day for cricket. Amid all the confusion, the farce and the rights and wrongs, the whole sorry saga of events at The Oval will come down to one crucial point,” he remarked.

Hussain could not understand how Hair could penalise Pakistan for ball tampering without any clear proof. “Did Darrell Hair actually see a member of the Pakistan team tampering with a cricket ball? Has he got proof? If he hasn’t, then he has made a massive mistake,” Hussain warned.

The former Test star said The Oval controversy will have huge implications. “If he just believes that someone has changed the nature of that ball, if the ball just looked wrong to him, then Hair has to realise that his actions will have huge implications and ramifications for the game. He just cannot make such a big call unless he is absolutely sure. There does not appear to be any television evidence of wrongdoing. We at Sky have a lot of cameras and, as I speak, we haven’t been able to find anything.”

He added: “If Darrell today says: “I want you to show me pictures of over 53, or whatever, and you will see a Pakistan player tampering with the ball”, then fine, Inzamam and the Pakistan team will deserve all that is coming to them. But if he can’t do that, I have total sympathy with Inzi.”

He supported the Pakistan captain saying: “People have said that Pakistan should have waited until the close of play and then gone down the right channels, but they wouldn’t have seen it that way.”

Hussain fears the forfeiture of The Oval could pose big harm to cricket. “The image of cricket took a battering, worse than other major flashpoints, like the one I was involved in Adelaide in 1999 when Murali was called for chucking by Ross Emerson in a match between England and Sri Lanka. I repeat - I hope Darrell is sure of his facts. I hope he knows what he is doing because if he isn’t then he has opened a can of worms. And cricket will have been badly harmed.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=20747

If the ball was tampered Hair had the option to change it but to award England 5 penalty runs was to say Pakistani's are cheats and this is the punishment. How could he do this without proof

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Karachi: Former Pakistan greats Imran Khan and Wasim Akram on Monday slammed Inzamam-ul Haq for leading his team out of the field against England at The Oval, while demanding the sacking of Australian umpire Darrell Hair who was branded as the “villain”.

“That’s not the way to lodge a protest. Inzamam and the Pakistan team have made a fool of themselves by not taking the field. Inzamam has not only brought the game into disrepute but has squandered a golden opportunity to pull off a consolation victory,” Imran said.

Akram was even more critical than his mentor. “It was a childish decision. The Pakistan team looked like a street side when they walked off. If they had any grievances, they should have held a press conference after the game but should never have left the field. It’s no cricket,” he said.

Akram recalled the Grenada incident in the West Indies in 1993 when he and three others were arrested for constructive possession of marijuana.

“The team wanted to return but we stayed there and let our lawyers and legal advisors sort things out. Our job was to play cricket and that’s what we did at the point of time,” Akram said.

Imran also blasted Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan for going to the press.

“Shaharyar had no business discussing the issue with the media. That’s the manager’s job. The issue has been badly handled by the PCB,” Imran said.

PCB advisor Naseem Ashraf, who was also present during Sunday’s controversy, told a private television channel that a full-fledged inquiry would be launched against Inzamam and his team.

He, however, defended the captain’s decision.“We will study the incident in detail and if we found that some players have breached the PCB or ICC Code of Conduct or have brought the game into disrepute, necessary action would be taken,” Ashraf said.

Imran said the honourable way was to take the ICC and Hair to the court of law. “PCB should have followed the example of the Sri Lankan board who filed a case of defamation against Hair and the ICC.

“After all, Hair had lodged a serious allegation of ball tampering that had to be handled professionally. Had the PCB done that, they would not have only won the Test, but also restored their pride.

Imran and Wasim branded Hair as villain of the piece and demanded his removal.

“Hair is a controversial figure and teams have had problems with him in the past. In this particular case, he levelled serious allegations against Pakistan without any substance. This man should immediately be removed from the ICC Elite Panel of umpires,” Imran said.

“As far as I am concerned, Hair should be sacked and that’s it,” Akram said.

Imran also accused Hair of acting like a “mini Hitler” and “fundamentalist” following his role in the Test.

“Hair’s brash and provocative manner makes him the main culprit in letting things go out of hand,” Imran wrote in his column in a local newspaper, headlined “Hair the Hitler does it again.”

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad on Monday said Pakistan had put themselves in a difficult position and made a mistake by not taking the field.

“We committed too many mistakes and put ourselves in a no-win situation,” Miandad said. (AGENCIES)
http://www.telegraphindia.com/10608...ndia.com/1060822/asp/sports/story_6641093.asp

 

[melb4aust]

Sorry for being late guyz, but i think our cricket board is worst in the world. They cant handle anything properly, as i remember couple of years back ICC put a ban on either sachin or Ganguly, they refused to play int cricket, in return ICC lifted the ban immediately. The question is what the hell our cricket board is doing. There are so many questions, all the former cricketers are keep on criticising Inzamam and the team, those things have already happened doesnt matter whether it was the right or wrong decision made by pakistan team, lets move on, back up the Inzamam and Pakistani cricket team. They need our support now. But i think our former cricketers love to pull each other's legs whenever they get any chance. Shame a very big shame indeed.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

The Indian Cricket Board has backed Inzzy.

I saw it in the TV news today wherein the spokesman Sukhla (who is also an MP)stated so.

Hair is really hare brained!

 

[Neo]

Pakistan to go ahead with one-dayers against England

Pakistan tour manager Zaheer Abbas confirmed on Wednesday the team's upcoming one-day series against England will go ahead after a disciplinary hearing involving captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was postponed.

Inzamam faces charges of ball-tampering and bringing cricket into disrepute following Pakistan's forfeiture of the fourth Test against England at The Oval.

The hearing was due to take place on Friday in London but was postponed because of the unavailability of International Cricket Council (ICC) chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, who had been due to hear the case.

There had been fears Pakistan could boycott Monday's Twenty20 match against England and the subsequent five-game one-day series if Inzamam was found guilty and given a ban, particularly on the ball-tampering charge, which Pakistan regard as tantamount to saying they had cheated.

But when asked if the matches against England, as well as Thursday's warm-up fixture against Middlesex at Uxbridge, would go ahead as planned, Zaheer said in London by telephone: "We will play. There will be no problem."

It is estimated that the cost of a cancelled one-day series to the England and Wales Cricket Board would be £10-million.

In a statement, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said the fact that the one-dayers are taking place from August 30 to September 10 means it would be "extremely difficult" for a hearing to take place during that period.

Speed said the sole reason for the postponement is Madugalle's unavailability. "The difficulty relates to the availability of Ranjan Madugalle to chair the hearing, as he is dealing with a private and personal matter that requires his urgent attention.

"Pakistan and England, as the host country, have both expressed a preference for Ranjan to hear the case and on that basis we have agreed to the postponement.

"We have looked at potential alternatives but, as the ICC's chief referee and a person with immense credibility within the game, Ranjan is the most appropriate person to adjudicate in this matter," the Australian added.

"We are yet to decide upon a new date but the intense nature of the upcoming one-day international series between England and Pakistan is likely to make it extremely difficult to fit in a hearing during that period.

"I should stress that the reason for the postponement is related solely to Ranjan's availability. We would ask that his privacy is respected at this time," Speed said.

Details of the new date and the venue for the hearing will be announced in due course.

As captain, Inzamam is deemed responsible for the actions of his team, who remained in the dressing room after tea on Sunday in protest against the action of Australian umpire Darrell Hair and West Indian colleague Billy Doctrove, who changed the ball and awarded five penalty runs to England.

That led to the first forfeit in the 129-year history of Test cricket and a victory for England that gave them the four-match series 3-0.

Pakistan made it clear they do not want Hair, who has been burnt in effigy in the streets in Pakistan and who has been repeatedly accused of being biased against teams from the subcontinent, to officiate in any more of their matches.

But, in an earlier statement, Speed stressed that it is the responsibility of ICC, and not individual countries, to select match officials "without fear or favour". -- Sapa-AFP

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__sport/&articleid=281735

 

[melb4aust]

This is totally preplanned by ICC, to delay the hearing. They dont want Pakistanis to prostponed the one-day series, as they re fully aware that, what would happen later if they penalise Inzamam. After the successful completion of one-day series, wait for heavy penalties against inzamam.

Again this shows the weakness of our cricket board without any doubt.

Indian cricket is not willing to go along with Pakistan, if they really wanted they would have acted straight away, just like Srilankan and Bangladeshi cricket boards.

 

[Jay_]

What ever said and done, as I said in WAB, Inzy will be penalized for not taking the field.

 

[melb4aust]

What ever said and done, as I said in WAB, Inzy will be penalized for not taking the field.

Tell us some thing new, we all know that.

 

[Lahori paa jee]

This will be a stupidity.

Rules say Darrell or ICC dont even have to prove the tampering issue. Once a decision is made thats final.

This is totally preplanned by ICC, to delay the hearing. They dont want Pakistanis to prostponed the one-day series, as they re fully aware that, what would happen later if they penalise Inzamam. After the successful completion of one-day series, wait for heavy penalties against inzamam.

Again this shows the weakness of our cricket board without any doubt.

Indian cricket is not willing to go along with Pakistan, if they really wanted they would have acted straight away, just like Srilankan and Bangladeshi cricket boards.

This all really seems to be pre planned and Mr. Hair came to the match all well prepared knowing all the rules.

It was even signed before tha match the if in case there is a tamerping issue the batsmen would chose the ball. Why did the PCB management sign it in the first place.

Inzi is surely doomed