August 22, 2006	Tuesday	Rajab 26, 1427

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KARACHI, Aug 21: If Pakistan are harbouring any illusions of gaining any sympathy from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the wake of the Hair-raising histrionics at The Oval, they are probably mistaken.

The 129-year-old history of Test cricket added a new chapter on the ‘Black Sunday’ when Pakistan belatedly protested over ball-tampering allegations — for which the tourists were penalized five runs by umpire Darrell Hair — by refusing to take the field after tea on the penultimate day of the series.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, dragged himself into unnecessary controversy and for which the sport’s governing body charged him on two counts — bringing the game into disrepute and of his role in the ball-tampering row.

Inzamam and his team acted in the heat of the moment by remaining in the changing-room far too long. According to sources close to the team, it was a collective decision not to come on to the field despite the fact that the umpires, the two England batsmen Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, had already strode out.

The end result was the first forfeit in 1814-match history of Test cricket, after the umpires awarded the fourth Test to England following a lengthy meeting between officials of both cricket boards and the ICC match referee.

Pakistan, who had already lost the four-match series, squandered a golden chance of scoring a face-saving victory which would have lifted the team’s morale for the upcoming One-day International series.

Hair, who was standing in his 17th and probably last Test against Pakistan, must be quacking in his boots right now for standing firm till the last minute.

The ICC, as it is now commonly known, is a toothless body with a long history of controversial rulings. In this backdrop, just how could Pakistan expect Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, to take a rigid stance against the villain of the piece, Darrell Hair? Also, we mustn’t forget that both Speed and Hair hail from Australia.

On the other hand, the PCB Chairman, Shaharyar M. Khan, has urged the ICC to conduct an independent inquiry into The Oval fiasco in a bid to get some kind of justice.

This , it has to be said, is wishful thinking on part of the PCB chief, who on Sunday was in the thick of things when all hell broke loose. A seasoned critic could well have sensed far-reaching repercussions for both Inzamam and Pakistan cricket on Sunday because ICC is the last forum to seek justice.

One was aghast to find the tour manager Zaheer Abbas behaving casually on the tense day, constantly chatting on his mobile phone and appearing disinterested by walking out of an emotion-filled dressing room meeting. As manager and a senior former player, Zaheer should have been doing what Shaharyar eventually did — explaining Pakistan’s point of view to TV commentator Michael Holding.

While Inzamam is left to face the music come Friday, we are contemplating what might have happened if the Pakistan team officials had adopted a sensible approach.

There are different methods and means of lodging a protest. The appropriate action from Pakistan team would have been to continue the game under protest by taking the field while sporting black armbands.

As for Hair and his equally incompetent partner, Billy Doctrove, the ICC would probably decorate them with letters of appreciation for messing up the game of cricket even further.