NEW DELHI, Oct 26: The Marylebone Cricket Club, the game's rule-makers, asked the International Cricket Council on Sunday to overturn the result of the 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan.

The result of the forfeited Test match was changed from an England win to a draw by the ICC in July but the MCC said the move contravened the laws of cricket.

“The MCC's World Cricket Committee met here over the weekend and states that ICC was not justified in overturning the result of the Oval Test,” MCC Head of Cricket John Stephenson said in a statement.

“The Committee urges ICC to revoke its decision which is contrary to the laws of cricket and to confirm that the original result of the match still stands.”

What was the first and only forfeit in the history of Test cricket took place at The Oval in August 2006 when Australian umpire Darrell Hair and his West Indian colleague Billy Doctrove penalised Pakistan five penalty runs for alleged ball-tampering.That sparked an angry response from Pakistan, who refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day in protest – a move that saw the umpires declare that Pakistan had forfeited the match and award it to England.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was subsequently cleared of ball tampering charge and Hair was removed from the ICC's elite panel of umpires.

He was only reinstated as a Test umpire earlier this year after a legal battle which saw Hair allege he was the victim of racial discrimination by the ICC before dropping his case at an employment tribunal hearing in London.

In overturning the result, the ICC said its decision was based on the view that in light of the unique set of circumstances the original result was felt to be inappropriate.

Stephenson said whatever the circumstances, ICC did not have the power to alter the result of a match.

“The ICC does not have the power under the laws of cricket to decide that results should be altered whether it feels them to be inappropriate or otherwise.

“The ICC decision is wrong and sets a very dangerous precedent. Cricket is worse for this decision.”

MCC was formerly the governing body of cricket in England and across the world. But most of its global functions were passed on to the ICC in 1993 and its English powers were passed to the England and Wales Cricket Board.

It remains the framer and copyright holder of the Laws of Cricket.—AFP