JEDDAH, 7 November 2006 — Umpires are remembered only for their wrong decisions and any mistake can make or unmake an umpiring career, said veteran international Test umpire Khizar Hayat of Pakistan during an exclusive interview with Arab News.
“When one umpire makes a wrong decision, it can be beneficial to one but others can be affected due to this wrong decision,” Hayat said, adding, “umpires are the sole judges of a match and any of their decisions must be respected by the players.”
When asked about the use of technology in the modern-day cricket, he said: “Personally I’m not in favor of using ultra-modern and high-tech systems during the matches, as it is totally against the tradition of umpires.
“If the usage of technology spreads day in and day out, any one can take the decision on his own just sitting in the living room by monitoring the TV. This is the absurdity of the rules,” he said.
Installing giant screens on the ground and showing replays of the umpire’s decision means you are underestimating your own authorized judges, he said in reply to a question on match-fixing.
“Somewhere, someone will be killed due to the use of modern technology,” he said. Pressed to elaborate, Hayat said, “If an umpire gives an out decision and that is monitored on the giant screen as a wrong decision, can you imagine the safety of the umpire in the context of betting and match-fixing?
His views elicited technical support from Shahid Amin, president of the Jeddah Cricket League, who also attended the interview session. Amin, a civil engineer by profession, told Arab News that handing out decisions based on monitoring giant screens is not correct, because you feed the computer the speed of the ball and its angle. The computer after all shows on the screen what is already stored in it.
On the ban on Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif after they tested positive for the steroid nandrolone, Hayat said, “They must have done it so they got the punishment they deserved.” Pakistan Cricket Board has its own written anti-doping regulations and every player has to sign it. Shoaib Akhtar signed on the papers while Asif fortunately had not yet signed, so, he got away with less punishment than Shoaib, Hayat said.
Hayat, an ex-Test and international umpire with a global umpiring experience having officiated in World Cups, Sharjah Cups and many international tournaments, was here to visit his son Usman Khizar Hayat, manager at Alhamrani United Co. He said he was very much impressed by the West Indians. They are well-mannered and none of their players are penalized.
The current crop of Pakistani cricket players still has to fill the void left by the opening pair of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail, he said, adding that the PCB must ask coach Bob Woolmer to identify the weaknesses of the team and to address such problems.
Regarding the increasing popularity of cricket all over the world, especially in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf, Hayat, who is currently associated with Asian Cricket Council where he takes coaching classes of the umpires of the ACC-affiliated associations, said that Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai and the UAE have their own cricket associations because of the support from their governments.
Cricket can develop in Saudi Arabia with the involvement of the Saudis themselves and the support from the Presidency of Youth Welfare. He lauded the efforts of Shahid Amin for doing his best in developing the game here for the last 32 years.
Hayat said he was proud of being a teammate of Amin’s father in 1958 when they played together in the Punjab Cricket Association team. Muhammad Amin was a leg-break googly bowler.
