Shock and disgust

"We've got nothing personal against the man. Mr Hair has undergone rehabilitation over the last six months. I wouldn't like to speculate specifically about Pakistan, but I would say that the [ICC] management have been instructed to deal appropriately with this area."
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Nasim Ashraf is diplomatic to the extreme

"I am terribly shocked and disgusted at the news ... Hair was at fault but he is reinstated like a hero. The PCB needs to learn a lesson from the Indian board. See how they backed their players in Australia recently on contentious issues."
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain when the Hairgate saga blew up, minces no words

"He should never have been reinstated after committing so many gross irregularities during the Oval Test. The ICC board decided beyond doubt Hair's conduct was not up to the mark. This man violated his responsibilities as a senior umpire. How the ICC can restore him is hard to comprehend ... It is a slap on the face of Pakistan cricket."
Former PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan isn't pulling any punches either

"There would be so much of bad blood between him and the team [Pakistan] and so forth because he was proven wrong in that match and it was a very, very serious blot on cricket."
Former PCB director of operations Abbas Zaidi doesn't think much of the idea

"The decision of Hair's recall shows Pakistan's lack of presence at international forums ... It shows that the international community is ready to walk over Pakistan whenever they want."
And nor does Ramiz Raja

"My commitment to cricket and umpiring is as strong as ever and I wish to get back on to the field as soon as possible." Hair himself is happy to be back

"He's good to talk to on the pitch, he's very good with the players. Darrell does get the majority of the decisions right on the pitch, which is what you want."
Paul Collingwood thinks Hair's return is for the good

"We're pleased to see Darrell back. Cricket Australia has always had a view that he is, in a technical sense, an excellent umpire, one of the best two or three in the world.
Cricket Australia approves, as spokesman Peter Young makes clear

"His position will be reviewed in a year's time, as is the case with all of the other umpires who are coming to the end of their contracts at that stage. Mr Hair is a very good and a very competent umpire. He has had time away from the coalface and umpired other activities."
ICC president elect David Morgan is guardedly optimistic

"Darrell Hair over time seems to polarise opinion, but a lot of his supporters will feel it is justified to bring him back and that he was unjustly kept on the sidelines in the first place."
The ICC's general manager, cricket, David Richardson, gives Hair the thumbs-up

"I am on the ICC now. I am not the same guy who would speak out on something like this issue ... I cannot comment."
The usually outspoken Arjuna Ranatunga struggles to hold in what he thinks of it all

"All in all this might be an ideal moment to move into the portly Australian umpire flammable effigy business."
Barney Ronay writing in the Guardian smells a business opportunity