LONDON, Nov 16: Controversial Australian official Darrell Hair has been voted the Umpire of the Season by readers of Wisden Cricketer magazine. Hair won 34 percent of votes cast by readers of the English magazine despite playing a key role in the recent forfeited Test between England and Pakistan.

The umpire lost his place on the International Cricket Council (ICC) panel of elite umpires after accusing Pakistan of tampering with the ball in the Oval Test.

Even Hair, who was also rated as the second best umpire in the world in a recent ICC report, admitted he was surprised by the award.

The Lincoln-based umpire told Wisden: “I suppose it is a bit of a shock. “But if free-thinking people want to vote that way and they do believe I've done the job as well as anybody.”—AFP