Cricket Scandals: Ball Tampering Accusations That Led to a Match Forfeit

But one of the strangest ball tampering cases took place in a Test match between England and Pakistan, which was being played at the Oval. The match umpires accused Pakistan of ball tampering, after which the Pakistani players decided not to show up on the field, resulting in the match being forfeited. Let’s take a detailed look at this ball tampering incident between England and Pakistan, and how it affected the game.

Background

England and Pakistan, two of the most dominant teams of that time, went against each other in 2006 for a four-match Test series. This was being played in England, and the hosts started off well by securing two wins in the first three matches of the series. It was all down for Pakistan in the final match, which was set to be played at the Oval in London.

England was strong at that time and had just secured its famous 2005 Ashes win. But Pakistan was also backed with strong players such as Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria, and the pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul. It was clear that the fans would have the opportunity for one of the most exciting Test clashes between these two teams.

The match started, and England was batting first, as the team managed to score just 173 runs in its first innings. Pakistan was eager to end its England tour on a high note, as the team ended up scoring 504 runs in its first innings, taking a massive lead of 331 runs. As England stepped in to bat in the third innings of the game, fans were excited, but they didn’t know what was about to happen.

The Incident: Ball Tampering Accusation

The match proceeded with England batting on the fourth day, in order to end Pakistan’s lead. But a decision by both on-field umpires changed the game and also shook the cricketing world. During the fourth day of the match, the umpires Darrell Hair (Australia) and Billy Doctrove (West Indies) put down the ball tampering accusations on Pakistan.

Taking a look at the condition of the ball in England’s second innings, they said that the ball had been tampered with by the Pakistan cricket team. Thus, they had to follow the Laws of Cricket, due to which England was awarded five runs as a penalty, and the ball was also changed. According to the law, if the umpires think that the condition of the ball has been tampered with using any substance or picking, scratching the seam, they can change the ball.

This took place in the 56th over of England’s innings, and it was also a humiliation for the Pakistan cricket team. Inzaman-ul-Haq could not handle these accusations given by the on-field umpires, as it not only undermined his image, but also marked Pakistan as cheaters.

Pakistan’s Protest

The match proceeded even after the ball was changed, but things were about to get more dramatic during the Tea. When the break was announced, England stood at the score of 298 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 72 overs. But Pakistan’s cricket team decided to protest for the actions taken by the on-field umpires, as they didn’t come out to play at the time the match was set to be resumed.

This stand by the Pakistan cricket team was seen as a unity, to show dissent for the decisions that have been taken by the umpire. But the way in which they didn’t show up on the field went beyond the cricket regulations. When the team didn’t come to play, the umpires waited for a while. After a few minutes, they took the bails off and declared England the winners of the match.

Following this, England was declared the match winner, not by any margin, but due to the forfeiture of Pakistan. Later, Inzaman-ul-Haq walked on the field with the entire team, and by that time, umpires had already called off the match in England’s favour, and they decided to stand by the decision. This was not just a mere forfeiture by Pakistan; it was also the first of such match results in the 129 years of cricket.

The Fallout

The Pakistan cricket team reacted to this incident, as they denied the ball tampering charges that were leveled against them by the umpires. Along with that, they also received strong support from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as the team said that it was a humiliating way for the umpires to insult the team at a grand stage. The umpires had accused the team as cheaters without any actual footage or proof, which angered the nation.

Following this incident, the International Cricket Council (ICC) stepped in and took action against Pakistan’s captain, Inzaman-ul-Haq, charging him with two offences. First was related to ball tampering, which Inzaman denied, and the next was related to the game, which was brought to disrepute. Since he refused to bring his team to the field after Tea, the captain was ruled out of four ODI matches, not for ball tampering but for the protest.

This incident not just put Pakistan’s cricket team at the center, but also the umpire Darrell Hair. He became one of the most controversial umpires in cricket history, as the incident took a sharp turn for his career. An email was leaked where it was shown that Hair had offered to resign from the elite panel of the ICC, for which he also demanded compensation of 500,000 US dollars.

Along with that, the international career of Darrell Hair came to an end. Although England was declared the winner of this game, the team itself was not satisfied with the result. Even the English captain, Andrew Strauss, expressed his dissatisfaction, as he wanted his team to fight for the win, not for the game to be awarded to them. The English cricket fans also called it a hollow victory for their team.

The ICC was also seen as a controversial figure in this incident, as they were having issues with the match result. After connecting with the PCB in this issue, the ICC overturned the match result to a draw in 2008, but it was just for a short time. Just after two years, the ICC gave back the victory to England, and the flipping of results showcased that even the ICC didn’t know what should be done with the match in this situation.

Media and Public Reactions

The match between England and Pakistan went to a controversy not just between these two countries but even across different parts of the world. In Pakistan, this incident was seen as an insult to the pride of the nation in the international cricket matches. The Pakistani media accused Darrell Hair of racism, as he holds a strained history against the Asian teams in international matches. Also, the Pakistani fans burned effigies of Hair as a protest.

On the other hand, in England, fans had two different opinions on this incident. Some of them said that the on-field umpires didn’t have any other choice, while others even defended Pakistan by saying that the actions taken by Hair were too rigid. Along with that, giving allegations without any proof had escalated this crisis much faster than expected. Even the Oval crowd was disappointed by this decision, as they paid for all match days to enjoy cricket, not watch the match being forfeited.

Historical Significance

The 2006 incident was not just a ball tampering incident like the others; it held significance in cricket history as this was the first ever match to be finished with a forfeiture in cricket history. Along with that, it also put down some questions on the tensions between players and the umpires. Misunderstanding and bias among the Asian players by the international umpires came in as a big matter in this incident.

In this case, there were questions raised on how the cases of ball tampering would be proved with evidence. As in the case of Pakistan, there was no clear video proof, and the decision only relied on the judgment given by the umpire. Shortly after this incident, Darrell Hair was made a villain in the eyes of various cricket fans. And he also demanded compensation from the ICC, further putting an end to his career as an umpire.

In the end, this incident was not just between Darrell Hair and the Pakistan cricket team, as fans also started to question how the ICC treated Asian teams such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. With this incident, it was also suspected by Pakistan that the ICC was biased towards the other teams and unfair towards the Asian teams.