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Hair's controversial career

November 04, 2006 18:48 IST

Australian Darrell Hair was banned from umpiring international matches by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday until his contract expires in March 2008.

Following are the major incidents in which Hair has been involved since making his debut as a first-class umpire in 1988.

* A year after standing in his first test, Hair gave Craig McDermott out with a contentious caught behind decision off Courtney Walsh's bowling to give the West Indies a one-run victory in the fourth Test in Adelaide on Jan. 25, 1993. Hair deemed the delivery to have brushed the fast bowler's glove contrary to the evidence of TV footage.

* Hair no-balls Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing seven times during a test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 1995. Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga leads his players off the field in protest only to return and bowl Muralitharan from the other end where umpire Steve Dunne was officiating.

* Hair describes Muralitharan's action as 'diabolical' in his 1998 autobiography, a charge which prompts the Sri Lankan board to ask the ICC to charge him with bringing the game into disrepute. He is stood down from a tri-nations series involving England, Australia and Sri Lanka and accuses Sri Lankan Board president Thilange Sumathipala of a 'smear campaign'.

* Adjudges Inzamam-ul-Haq run out by Steve Harmison in the second test against England in Faisalabad when the Pakistan captain seemed to be trying to evade the bowler's throw in November last year.

* Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove rule Pakistan bowlers have tampered with the ball in the fourth test against England at the Oval in August 2006. The umpires impose a five-run penalty for the infringement and decide the match is forfeited when Pakistan's players fail to return to the field in protest at the decision.

* A letter from Hair, later revoked, offering to quit in return for $500,000, is made public by the ICC.

* Inzamam cleared of ball-tampering but banned for four one-day internationals for bringing the game into disrepute.

* He is removed from the panel for October's Champions Trophy by the ICC on safety grounds, although hosts India then say security issues were not responsible for their request to drop him.

* The ICC review Hair's future as an elite panel umpire during their executive board meeting in Mumbai on Nov. 3-4. He is banned from umpiring until the end of his contract.

Source: REUTERS
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