FORMER ICC panel umpire Javed Akhtar, who passed away at the age of 75 in Rawalpindi on Friday, will be remembered best for courting controversy when South Africa played England in the final Test of the 1998 series.

The series-deciding game at Headingley, according to Wisden, was four-days of painful notoriety. The ex-Pakistan off-spinner, who made just one Test appearance during his country’s horrendous tour of England in 1962, was involved in a number of dubious leg-before-wicket decisions.

The South Africans were livid at the substandard umpiring of Akhtar as they capitulated to a narrow 23-run defeat to give England a 2-1 victory in the five-match series.

It wasn’t just the Headingley Test that made the headlines for the wrong reasons but the entire series was clouded by  dissent over umpiring. But the South Africans asserted that out of the nine LBW verdicts given by Akhtar during the match, eight went against them with seven termed as dubious.

Dr Ali Bacher, who was heading the United Cricket Board of South Africa – as Cricket South Africa was known then — levelled serious allegations against Akhtar while claiming the Pakistani official was involved in match-fixing and had been paid by bookmakers.

An angry Akhtar hit back at Dr Bacher’s claims made in the 2000 King Commission, which was investigating Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal at the time, by threatening to sue the former South African captain by stating: “I curse such filthy money. No one dared to contact me with such intentions like match-fixing or any other malpractice.”

The Bhandari Commission appointed by the Pakistan government to delve into match-fixing allegations against the national cricket team, cleared Akhtar of any wrongdoing.

The commission, headed by Justice Karamat Bhandari was instituted to investigate the infamous 1999 World Cup game at Northampton in which Bangladesh shocked Wasim Akram-led side to hand Pakistan their only defeat in the preliminary round of the tournament by 62 runs.

In its report released in June 2002, the commission, which was also entrusted to look into the conduct of Javed Akhtar for his role in the England-South Africa Test, not only cleared the umpire but was highly critical of the UCBSA for not cooperating with commission despite Dr Bacher initiating the charges.

Akhtar’s attempt to sue Dr Bacher for Rs100 million in damages for bringing his name into disrepute in October 2000 bore no fruit as the South African refused to appear in a Rawalpindi court.

Dr Bacher, in a statement in February 2001, contended that the Pakistan court didn’t have the jurisdiction into the matter.

Akhtar’s solitary Test match as a 21-year-old came after a long flight from home as a replacement for fellow off-spinner Haseeb Ahsan. But his 16 overs yielded 52 runs with no wicket as England only batted once in that 1962 match in Leeds.

In first-class career, spanning from 1959-60 to 1975-76, the tall spinner captured 187 wickets in 51 matches with an impressive average of 18.21 with his best figures being 7-56 in 17 overs for the President’s XI against the touring MCC side at the Pindi Club Ground at Rawalpindi in October 1961.

Among his victims during that match were England captain Ted Dexter, Ken Barrington, Peter Parfitt and Bob Barber as President’s XI took a first-innings lead of 11 runs by bowling out MCC for 197.

Akhtar’s final Test as an umpire was against Australia in his hometown of Rawalpindi in October 1998, just one match after the Headingley game. Apart from the England-South Africa match, Akhtar stood in just one other Test as neutral umpire when South Africa hosted Sri Lanka at Centurion in March 1998.

Otherwise, Akhtar, who stood in 18 Tests as an on-field umpire and two as TV official, supervised in 16 of Pakistan’s home Tests since officiating in his first Test against Australia at Faisalabad in March 1980.

The most famous Test match of Akhtar’s umpiring career was probably the one against India at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad in January 1983 when Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad both hit double centuries during the then highest third-wicket partnership of 451 in Test cricket.

He also stood in 40 ODIs as an on-field umpire and monitored TV replays in 11 other one-dayers after making his debut against New Zealand in October 1976 when Pakistan hosted their maiden ODI on home soil.

As an ICC panel official, Akhtar supervised five matches of the 1999 World Cup held in England, including his career’s international final game when England played India at Edgbaston.

On the domestic front, Akhtar was rated above average as an umpire and got embroiled in several controversies over the years. In all, he officiated in 127 first-class matches from February 1974 until January 1999 and acted as match referee in 15 other first-class ties.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2016