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Giving the game a bad name

On 21st August, it was published on the ICC website:

Changing the condition of the ball

Inzamam has been charged, as captain, with a breach of Level 2.10 of the ICC Code which relates to changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 42.3 of the Laws of Cricket.

This charge was brought by the on-field umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair on Sunday.

If Inzamam is found guilty of breaching this provision he faces a fine of between 50 and 100 per cent of his match fee and/or a one Test or two ODI ban.

Bringing the game into disrepute

Inzamam has also been charged, as captain, with a breach of C2 at Level 3 of the Code which relates to conduct that brings the player or the game of cricket into disrepute.

This charge was brought by the on-field umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair along with the third and fourth umpires Peter Hartley and Trevor Jesty following a meeting on Monday morning.


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If the ICC rewards Hair for keeping quiet, it means Pakistan is guilty and the ICC is covering up. Shouldn't Billy Doctrove also get paid for keeping quiet?

The umpire at the heart of cricket's ball-tampering scandal who demanded $500,000 (£254,000) to resign is likely to be paid off but to be banned from talking about the affair.
By refusing to take to the field after the tea break, Inzi and his boys made a big mistake. Later on, Inzi and his players made to the ground to continue playing... just that the umpires had by then awarded the game to England.

If it was everything about national pride which Inzi and PCB is talking about, why did they come back to the ground to continue playing without resolving the ball-tampering issue?

Looks like the ICC do not wish to punish Inzi or Hair. They want everyone to smile and be happy. The only way the ICC will ever achieve it is by punishing themselves by disbanding the organisation. Cricket needs a better authority to administer it, and a better adjudication system to deal with charges such as ball-tampering, doping and bringing the game to disrepute.

Strictly speaking, if one of the international players were to call Percy Sonn an idiot -- it can be construed as bringing the game to disrepute.

In India, if you criticise a court judgment or even a judge-- you can be arrested and put behind bars on charges of 'contempt of court.' The judge considers himself to be the justice itself; hence he is an untouchable. If you appeal successfully and get the judgment overturned by a higher court -- there is absolutely no contempt.

Laughable isn't it?

By delaying the 'hearing' on the issue and letting the media circus go on and on. Imran Khan called Hair a Hitler, some journalists called Hair a racist (everyone conveniently forgets poor ole Billy who has a 50% share in the decision making "This charge was brought by the on-field umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair on Sunday.")

The ICC brought the game to further disrepute by disclosing internal emails; the email correspondence between the ICC and Darrell Hair.

Are all the ICC internal emails archived on the ICC website for public consumption? Speed's speed for setting new levels of transparency is pretty much similar to the king wearing the transparent attire.

Not everything that matters to the public is made available: the ICC has a certain Umpire Assessment system, which is not published on the website or given to the media.

In this whole tampered ball controversy, the current ICC management has discredited itself and the game of cricket.

Charges of 'bringing the game to disrepute' and 'covering up a crime' has to be levelled against the current ICC management. In fact, before the trial, thee entire top management should be kicked out and fresh elections have to be held.

Former Scotland yard chief - Sir Paul Condon should be asked to search for the ball in question, and the ball has to be sent to the university in Perth to verify whether it has been tampered or not.




Darrell Hair finds some support

Under-fire Darrell Hair received support from a former Indian colleague S Venkatraghavan, who said it was unfair to doubt the Australian umpire's integrity as he did not seek controversies purposely.

"Umpiring is a tough job, decisions are to be made in split second and you have to go by what you've seen by eyes," said Venkatraghavan, who retired as an Elite umpire a couple of years back.

"Hair does not seek controversy purposely, but yes his decisions are controversial sometimes as he gives an impression that he is arrogant on the field," he told a TV channel on Saturday.

Venkatraghavan justified Hair and his fellow umpire Billy Doctrove's action which led to Pakistan's forfeiture of the fourth and final cricket Test against England a week ago.

"What happened on the field that day was Pakistan refused to play and the umpires had no other way to go about... (But) it is difficult to comprehend and the episode is difficult to forget," he said.

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