ACB steps in to support Hair

As rumours that Sri Lankan officials are mounting a concerted bid for his expulsion from international ranks continue to gather pace, Darrell Hair's umpiring credentials have received strong endorsement from the Australian Cricket Board (ACB).

Responding to a recent series of reports that delegates from Sri Lankan cricket's governing body, the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), are preparing to argue for the controversial umpire's removal from the international arena, ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed has stepped in to defend Hair and offer him his board's forthright support.

"My understanding is that no country has the right to veto an umpiring appointment. The umpires' schedules are a matter for the ICC but the ACB does appoint two of our umpires to the ICC panel each year. We stand by Darrell Hair's appointment," Speed said in the midst of a short statement to the Australian media on Thursday night.

Sri Lanka's anger at Hair's participation in Test and one-day international cricket dates back to Boxing Day 1995, when he sensationally no-balled star off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing on the opening day of only the island nation's fifth-ever Test on Australian soil. The rift between the two parties then intensified in 1998 when the New South Welshman released a book ('The Decision Maker') in which he criticised the bowling actions of Muralitharan and teammates Kumar Dharmasena and Ruwan Kalpage. Hair subsequently threatened to sue BCCSL President Thilanga Sumathipala for accusing him of bias while the BCCSL for its part sought to prevent Hair from standing in any of its team's international matches - an aim which has been honoured ever since.

Among other memorable moments in an international career that began in the 1991-92 season, Hair incurred the wrath of batsman Peter Kirsten and inspired a wave of public anger from South African supporters on the back of awarding a series of contentious decisions in the home team's favour in Adelaide in the Third Test of the 1993-94 series between Australia and South Africa. Controversies have also dogged him in recent years. The most notable of these were his on-field altercation with then acting Indian captain Sourav Ganguly in a match between India and New South Wales in Sydney in December 1999 and his decision to no-ball Zimbabwe's Grant Flower for throwing in the First Test of the recent two-match series against New Zealand.

Earlier this week, the extent of the divide between the BCCSL and Hair became evident again when International Cricket Council (ICC) officials were forced to re-assign umpiring appointments for the current ICC KnockOut tournament in Kenya. In error, Hair was originally appointed to stand in the Pakistan-Sri Lanka quarter-final match on October 8, sparking anger from the Sri Lankans and prompting fresh doubts about his suitability for an international umpiring role to be raised. It has emerged in recent days that this is far from the first time that the BCCSL has objected to his position on the ICC umpires' panel, a move to block his appointment having apparently been initiated shortly before last year's World Cup tournament in England.

In an attempt to break the impasse, it is believed that the ICC executive council may include the matter on its agenda when it meets in Nairobi on October 17-18. Despite the ACB's continuing defence of its appointment, the BCCSL is understood to be keen to use the meeting as another opportunity to push for Hair's formal expulsion from international cricket. In the meantime, he will continue to officiate in the current tournament but only in fixtures which do not involve Sri Lanka.