posted Jul 14, 2008

So what this boils down to is that you don't like Hairs attitude; he must be a racist because he gives decisions against Asian teams; and you have decided there was no evidence of tampering, despite the fact that you weren't there.

Well, I think that Hair is a fairly uncompromising man who takes his job seriously and feels that he is there to apply the laws of cricket to the game being played, which he does. Whether or not people like that is irrelevant really, he is technically a very good umpire. I'm afraid that people really can't have things both ways - either he will apply the laws accurately and consistently, or he will only apply those laws he thinks are suitable for the occasion, and which the teams playing in that particular game might feel happy with.

How many times do you hear 'We just want consistency...' as a moan when umpires make decisions?

The fact is that at the time of the Oval test, Daryl Hair was rated as the second best umpire in the game, and was the number one in terms of decision making statistics.

All of the ICC appointed officials at the Oval test - 6 of them and to a man - said that they felt that the markings on the ball indicated tampering, so what do you know that they don't? Surely you have a moral obligation to share your knowledge with the rest of the world so that the truth might be allowed to reign.

I note that you give examples of former cricketers to support your argument, and yet you haven't mentioned either Imran Khan or Javed Miandad, both of whom criticised the actions of the Pakistan team.

I also enjoyed your comment that the Wikipedia entry was 'fairly unbiassed...' So that still leaves it as biassed then. It cites 5 examples of his terrible bias, but actually if you bother to read carefully, think a bit and do some basic research, you'll find that he was vindicated in three of them, with one of the other two being a fairly normal accusations of incompetence from aggrieved cricketers - Australian, in this case - and the other being a not at all uncommon example of a team saying that 'They got more LBWs than we did so he must be biassed...'. Firstly, the laws were changed to accommodate Murali's action after Hair called him - so that means he was correct under the laws at the time to do so. In the Faisalabad test he referred a run out decision against Inzamam to the third umpire Nadeem Ghauri who gave it out, again surely vindicating his decision to do so, and in the Oval test both the PCB and ICC agreed that the umpires decision to award the test to England was correct under the laws of the game.

Of course some countries don't want him umpiring - he isn't afraid to give decisions according to the laws of the game, regardless of any cultural differences. And please explain to me why any allowance should be made for any cultural differences? The laws are there for all to follow, and if they disagree with one then get the law changed in the accepted way, not by throwing tantrums.

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posted Jul 14, 2008

I'm inclined to believe that Mr. Hair was correct in his actions and he was most certainly right to award the game to England.

But we're in a loosing battle on this I'm afraid Oldgit as the subsequent hanging out to dry he got from the ICC after an admitedly ill judged but PRIVATE email was released to the Pakistan board tells me that they would rather have scapegoated him than go into battle with the Asian Bloc.

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posted Jul 14, 2008

No he wasn't

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posted Jul 14, 2008

Damn! He's used the 'Oh yes he is.. Oh no he isn't'... ploy. Why didn't I think of that? I shall have to retire in the face of your superior debating skills gp...

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posted Jul 15, 2008

Hey don't think about retiring just yet Oldgit, maybe Mohammad Asif could supply you with something that will re-invigorate you!

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posted Jul 15, 2008

Gothicpakistani????



That is something I would pay to see...

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posted Jul 15, 2008

GP,
" It's just plain wrong for the Pakistani's to be constantly labeled as cheats"

Apart from Asif who has form. Of course it's all the fault of those wicked, imperialistic, white... err... Indians for testing him. No, it's the fault of the wicked West for not recognising the value of homeopathic remedies. Actually I blame Darryl Hair or Mountbatten or the Wicked Witch of the North. Anyone really as long as it isn't a Pakistani.
Never mind the PCB will find some reason to over-rule it. And the ICC has become adept at re-writing history - drugs, what drugs?

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posted Jul 15, 2008

Another tactful, well balanced and constructive arguement from Mumbai there!

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