Hair pulls out of ECB list

Darrell Hair has effectively ended his umpiring career by telling the ECB that he will be unable to accept a role on their reserve list for the 2007 season.

With Hair currently in the process of suing the ICC - a development which was revealed during the World Cricket League in Kenya - the ECB was his last realistic source of employment as an official.

An ECB statement said: "The England and Wales Cricket Board has been informed by Darrell Hair that he is unable to accept their offer to be a member of the ECB reserve umpires list for the forthcoming season.

"The ECB acknowledge Mr Hair's contributions in the previous two seasons as a reserve umpire." Hair has been on the ECB books since moving permanently from Australia to live in the UK in 2005.

Hair's contract with ICC runs until March 2008 but after the WCL he admitted it would be his last umpiring appointment "for a while".