Darrell Hair

Darrell Bruce Hair, (born 30 September 1952 in Mudgee, New South Wales), is a current Australian Test cricket match umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, when he (along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden) was promoted to the ICC Elite umpire panel.

Career

Hair has stood in 76 Test matches to date (August 21). To date, Hair has umpired 124 one-day international (ODI) matches since 1991. Altogether, he has umpired 131 first-class matches in his since 1989. His first match was between Australia and India at Adelaide on 25 January to 29 January 1992, won by Australia by 38 runs with second innings centuries to David Boon and Mark Taylor after a first innings of only 145, and two 5-wicket bags by Craig McDermott. ‘’Wisden’’ (1993 ed., p1011-2) noted that the game was “marred … by controversy over lbw decisions – eight times Indians were given out, while all but two of their own appeals were rejected”. Hair’s partner was Peter McConnell, standing in his last Test match.

In 1994 the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced a policy of appointing one umpire to each Test match from a non-participating country, and since 2002 both umpires have been appointed from non-participating nations, by the ICC. The majority of Hair’s Test matches have been played outside Australia, and did not involve Australia. His last Test match involving Australia was against South Africa at Melbourne on 26 December to 29 December 2001, won by Australia by 9 wickets, with Matthew Hayden scoring a century and wickets shared by Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel and Shane Warne. Hair’s colleague was the West Indian umpire, Eddie Nicholls.

At the local level, Hair played with the Mosman club in the Sydney Grade cricket competition, as a right-arm fast-medium bowler.

Controversies

Throughout his long career, Hair has been involved in a number of controversies. In his only match between Australia and Sri Lanka, at Melbourne on 26 December to 30 December 1995 he called Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in three overs for throwing. Wisden (1997 ed., p.1129-30) stated “unusually, he made his judgement from the bowler’s end, and several minutes passed before the crowd realised that Muralitharan’s elbow, rather than his foot, was at fault”. Muralitharan was brought on at the other end, and was not called by either Hair or his colleague, New Zealander R. S. Dunne, although Hair told the Sri Lankans at tea on the second day that he was ready to call him from the striker’s end. Hair did not umpire another Test match involving Sri Lanka until their tour of the West Indies in 2003.

The Test match between Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide on 23 January to 26 January 1993, was a fluctuating match won by the visitors by a mere one run. The victory was achieved when Australia’s No. 11, Craig McDermott, was dismissed after a 40-run partnership with Tim May had brought Australia so close to victory. Hair ruled that a short-pitched ball from Courtney Walsh had brushed McDermott’s glove and upheld the appeal for a catch, but many observers believed that McDermott had not gloved the ball.

In the Test match was between Australia and South Africa at Adelaide on 28 January to 1 February 1994, Wisden (1995 ed., pp1086-7) stated that Peter Kirsten “had an animated conversation with Hair after three of his team-mates were given out lbw. Another outburst when he was given out leg-before himself in the second innings” resulted in Kirsten being fined a total of 65 per cent of his match fee.

In November 2005, Darrell Hair surprised Pakistan by referring a run out decision concerning captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to the third umpire during the Faisalabad Test. Inzamam appeared to be taking evasive action, and a batsman cannot be run out if he leaves his ground due to evasive action.

England v Pakistan 4th Test, 2006

On 20 August 2006, the fourth day of the fourth test between England and Pakistan at The Oval, he was involved in controversy when he and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove ruled that the Pakistani team had been involved in ball tampering, and awarded five penalty runs to England. Oddly, the umpires then allowed England's batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood to choose a replacement ball. The laws of cricket state this should be done by the umpires. Play continued until the tea break, but the Pakistani players refused to take the field thereafter.

The umpires then left the field, gave a warning to the Pakistani players, and returned once more 15 minutes later. After waiting two more minutes the umpires removed the bails and declared England winners by forfeiture. The Pakistani team did take to the field 25 minutes later, but by then it was Hair and Doctrove themselves who refused to continue the game stating that the game had already ended with a Pakistani forfeiture the moment the bails were removed.

The test was abandoned following meetings between various officials from all parties, with Pakistan forfeiting the game. Pakistan chairman Shaharyar Khan maintained that his players categorically denied tampering with the ball and were "deeply aggrieved" by the accusation.

The ICC later issued a statement noting: "The umpires had correctly deemed that Pakistan had forfeited the match and awarded the Test to England".

The following day, Pakistan announced they would no longer accept Darrell Hair as an umpire for any cricket match.

See also

• Australian Test Cricket Umpires
• List of test umpires

External links

• Darrell Hair at ESPNcricinfo
• Cricket Archive
• ICC Umpires and Referees