Pakistani protesters burning effigy of Darrell Hair
Pakistani protesters burning effigy of Darrell Hair during a protest in Multan, 24 August 2006.
Speed admits Hair's career could be over
Cricinfo staff and AFP
August 27, 2006
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Hair offered to quit top-level cricket in return for $500,000 after the ball-tampering furore which lead to Pakistan forfeiting their final Test against England. Throughout the week Speed has been quick to establish that the ICC were not ending Hair's career or cutting him adrift from the game. However, he has admitted he doesn't know whether Hair could shake off this latest controversy.
"There have been other issues in his umpiring career where people have said 'this is the end for Darrell Hair' - after he called Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing in 1996, and he then wrote a book, and people said 'this is the end for Darrell Hair'," Speed told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.
"Darrell survived that and has become a better umpire, he is one of the world's best umpires, so I hope we can find a way for him to continue but I'm not sure that that will happen.
"Why? Because there's a lot of speculation...that Darrell's career is finished, that he's compromised. That's not my wish, I hope we can find a way for him to continue. I would like Darrell Hair to continue umpiring in cricket matches at the top level."
Hair, who made a brief statement following the news of his offer on Friday, has spoken to Sydney's Sunday Telegraph about his thinking behind the email. "It wasn't a spur of the moment thing. I had dialogue with them. That was understood. I didn't do it off the cuff. [Umpires' manager] Doug Cowie even said in his email reply to my offer that the proposal had merit." Then asked whether he would ever umpire again, Hair said: "Let's address one thing at a time."
While it has been Hair's future making the headlines, there is now an increasing focus on Cowie, and his initial response to the emails when he said: "Your offer may have merit and is acknowledged and under discussions with the ICC management. Your timeframes seemed impractical at first glance even if agreement were achieved on the suggestion. Will discuss this further tomorrow."
Speed admitted that Cowie now regretted the content of his reply to Hair and the suggestion that ICC would consider it. "That was Doug Cowie's response and I think if he could play it again he would play it differently. When it came to me I saw that not for one second could we contemplate it. At no time did I ever consider paying Darrell any amount."
Speed said it was up to the ICC adjudicator to decide whether Hair's actions affected the charges against Inzamam-ul-Haq of ball-tampering and bringing the game into disrepute, brought up following the team's sit-in at The Oval.
Inzamam refused to bring his team out after the tea interval after Hair and his colleague Billy Doctrove's decision to penalise them five runs for ball-tampering.
Speed said: "The ball-tampering issue and the subsequent charge are very simple cricketing issues about what happened on the field. Whether it impacts on Darrell Hair's credit I don't know, that's a matter for Pakistan's lawyers whether to raise that, and then for the adjudicator to decide whether he takes that into account."
Shahrayar Khan, the PCB chairman, has insisted that Hair should not umpire another match involving Pakistan, but Speed refused to go that far. "It was said he could never umpire Sri Lanka again after 1996 but he has. Time will tell if water needs to flow under the bridge. I don't know what his future is but I hope we can find a way for him to continue."
Speed confirmed the ball-tampering charge had been made by both Hair and Doctrove, and that he was not aware the England players had made any complaint.
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