Picture of the Day: Forfeited or Not!

70 responses to “Picture of the Day: Forfeited or Not!”

1. Adil Najam says:

   August 20, 2006 at 5:29 pm

   Rehan, I hope it does not end like that. Here is what CricInfo has – under the headline ‘Test could still be on at The Oval”:

   After the news that the Test was off there are again further conflicting reports coming out of the The Oval with sources saying the match is still on. The amazing events continue to unfold.

   8.50pm The Test match has finally been called off after a farcical afternoon and evening on the fourth day. The actual result is, as yet, unknown….

   8.30pm The status of the match is being reviewed; they may strip it of Test status – that’s all we know from the meeting so far. Darrell Hair has gone home, so the top brass are reviewing the situation now. We still don’t know if they’re going to make a decision tonight. If they have to do have to appoint a new umpire, to call it a Test match could prompt anarchy. There is speculation among the press corps that Darrell Hair may be replaced mid-Test. It’s up to the ICC to decide whether they can change the rules mid-match, but that could set a dangerous precedent. In 2001 the final Test between South Africa and India, at Centurion Park, was stripped of its Test status after India refused to play with Mike Denness as match referee when he brought charges against six Indian players, including a claim that Sachin Tendulkar had tampered with the ball. Denness, and the neutal umpire George Sharp, flew home and the ICC refused to call it a Test.

   7.50pm The vice chairman of the ECB, Mike Soper, has just announced that he believes that the fourth and final Test is likely to be called off after today’s extraordinary scenes.

2. Rehan Haque says:

   August 20, 2006 at 5:15 pm

   Plain & simple, its a matter of presenting evidence. If Darryll Hair has actually observed a Pakistani player tampering with the ball, or if an on-field camera has caught it (not declared so far), then the accusation is valid. Otherwise, the stand Pakistani team has taken is very much justified.

   I just think it could’ve been handled in a better way. If they wanted to register a protest, they should’ve clearly declared it to the umpires and officials before taking the field, instead of waiting and waiting and waiting in the dressing room, locked up, even though the umpires had clearly directed them to get on the field.

   I just heard on Geo that the match has been awarded to England, citing the Pakistani team’s inability to get on the field when required. Apparently, the One-day series is still on.

3. Eidee Man says:

   August 20, 2006 at 2:08 pm

   Pakistan are well within their rights to protest in this manner. Darrel Hair has been associated with controversy with not only Pakistan, but Sri Lanka and India as well…seems a pretty racial bias to me.

   However, the crux of the situation goes back to the actual allegation. There were a total of 26 cameras hovering around and capturing every breath of what was going on. Sky Sports even showed clips of Darrel Hair looking closely and following Mohammed Asif as he was shining the ball. The commentators brought up the point that Asif only looked to be polishing and that he was doing it out in the open in front of the umpire and making no effort to hide what he was doing.

4. Naveed says:

   August 20, 2006 at 1:30 pm

   I am extremely impressed by Inzamam. The latest update is (local pakistan time is 10:30pm) that ICC, ECB & PCB officials are meeting IMMEDIATELY meaning this must be taking place now to decide the outcome of the incident. The commentators are generally supportive of Pakistan which is difficult for me to believe since Botham is mildly supportive of Pakistan team because he is relying on video fottage that no enquiry was made by the umpires between 2:14pm when last wicket fell (3rd wicket) and 2:30 when the umpires changed the ball

5. Adil Najam says:

   August 20, 2006 at 1:11 pm

   OK folks, hopefully my last update on this for now. So, the news is that no more play today. Unclear if it will resume tomorrow. Meanwhile, I thought the statement from the English Cricket Board was also sensible (again, from CrickInfo):

   Just a little extra from the bemused ECB spokesperson. “It’s certainly nothing to do with the spirit between the teams. That much I can tell you. Just like the rest of us, they sat there in astonishment waiting for someone to tell us what’s happening.”