ICC withdraws nomination of John Reid
Karachi, Dec 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it had withdrawn the nomination of John Reid as match referee for next year's three-Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka before it had received a request from the Pakistan cricket
25-Dec-1999
Karachi, Dec 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it had
withdrawn the nomination of John Reid as match referee for next year's
three-Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka before it had
received a request from the Pakistan cricket authorities.
According to a Dec 22 press release by Clive Hitchcock, cricket
operation managers, the request by the PCB was not considered by the
ICC.
John Reid was invited by the ICC to referee the series between
Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Pakistan early next year. After the
appointment was made in late November, Mr Reid was notified of a very
important engagement in Auckland that required his attendance.
The date of the engagement coincided with the one-day internationals
in Pakistan and as Mr Reid was unable to make himself available for
the duration of the series, the ICC withdrew his nomination in early
December.
This decision was taken by the ICC prior to any communication from
Pakistan on the suitability of Mr Reid. "The request by the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) was not considered by the ICC, as there is no
provision within the ICC regulations for a country to appeal against
the appointment of a referee," Hitchcock says in the letter whose copy
has been delivered to the PCB.
Interestingly, Hitchcock issued the statement on Dec 22, almost two
weeks after the then PCB chairman Dr Zafar Altaf said John Reid was
not welcomed in Pakistan after his attitude of "you show me the face
and I show you the rule" during the Test series between Australia and
Pakistan.
Sources in the PCB said it did not receive any communication from the
ICC regarding the withdrawal of Reid's nomination for the series to be
played between Feb 13 and March 17. "Its a news to me," a PCB
spokesman said when informed of Hitchcock's letter regarding Reid. He
added: "If Reid had been withdrawn before our letter to the ICC, why
we were not informed. In fact, we have not been informed until now."