ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: Several members of parliament in Pakistan on Thursday backed the embattled cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and his team in their ball-tampering row with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Australian umpire Darrell Hair.

The members called on the government to intervene in the controversy that erupted on Sunday when Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove imposed a five-run penalty on Pakistan for ball tampering in the fourth and final Test against England.

“The whole country is disappointed,” Mohammad Hussain Mehnati told parliament as he introduced a motion urging support for the team.

“We were treated unfairly so we should take strong action and the government must intervene in the matter.”

He did not say how he wanted the government to intervene but he accused Hair of being biased against Third World teams.

Several other MPs spoke in favour of the motion while Sports Minister Shamim Haider assured support for the team.

“We are behind the team. We are taking up this issue with the ICC and hopefully the issue will be sorted out soon,” said Haider, who also described Hair as a controversial umpire.

A radio station is also inviting listeners to sign a petition backing Inzamam.

“The response to the campaign has been fantastic,” Talal Durrani said on Thursday. “We are getting calls and SMS messages constantly. It is our way of supporting our cricket team against an unjust umpire.”

“The station will send three listeners to Dubai to submit the petition to the ICC,” he said. — Reuters