NEW DELHI, 29 August 2006 — The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said it never discussed a financial offer with umpire Darrell Hair following the Pakistan ball-tampering row.

Australian Hair, at the center of last week’s controversy when Pakistan forfeited the final Test against England after being penalized for alleged ball tampering, said on Sunday he was encouraged by the ICC to make an offer to quit.

Hair was responding after ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said he requested $500,000 as a one-off payment to quit the ruling body’s elite panel of umpires during discussions with ICC umpires’ manager Doug Cowie.

The ICC, responding to Hair’s statement, confirmed that Hair only discussed the future of his umpiring career with Cowie before sending him an e-mail on Tuesday. “There were many informal discussions between Hair and Cowie between the end of the Oval Test and Hair’s first email on Tuesday, including a discussion on the potential impact on Hair’s umpiring career,” an ICC spokesman said in a statement released late on Sunday. “Mr Cowie’s role was to support and counsel Hair, as his manager, at a difficult time and it is our understanding that at no stage during their conversations was there any discussion of a pay-off, nor secrecy, nor deadlines, nor misleading the public regarding reasons for retirement, all of which were subsequently laid out in Hair’s e-mail.”

The spokesman said no other ICC staff member discussed any of these issues with Hair during the period in question.

“We have no desire to be in conflict with Hair,” the spokesman said.

Hair has been heavily criticized, particularly in the subcontinent due to his past conflicts with Asian teams. Pakistan have demanded that he should not officiate in any of their future matches. His future as an international umpire was thrown into doubt by Speed’s revelation.

Hair has said his decision, subsequently withdrawn, “wasn’t a spur of the moment thing,” and his lawyers released a statement on Sunday.

“I was encouraged to make the offer that was disclosed by ICC on Aug. 25, 2006,” Hair said.

“During an extended conversation on Aug. 21, 2006 with Cowie, the Umpires’ Manager for ICC, I was invited to make a written offer.

“I would have thought that it was quite apparent from the text of correspondence that I had been in discussions with ICC about the issue prior to sending the email.

“I was encouraged to make a written offer by ICC. The figure in the e-mail correspondence was in line with those canvassed with the ICC.” Hair also said he did not give his consent to the e-mails being made public, adding that the context in which they were sent was not made clear.

ICC Cancel Emergency Board Meeting

In Bristol, England, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced yesterday that its emergency board meeting in Dubai on Saturday, called following Pakistan’s forfeit of the fourth Test against England, had been canceled.

The tourists refused to take the field at The Oval a week last Sunday having earlier been penalized five runs for ball-tampering by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove — a decision that created the first forfeit in 129 years of Test cricket.

Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq was then charged with ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute, throwing the future of their tour of England into doubt. It then emerged that controversial Australian official Hair had offered to quit as an umpire in return for $500,000 — an offer he later withdrew.

Both the issue of Inzamam’s case, still to be heard, and Hair’s future as an umpire were set to be discussed by the ICC board this weekend at its Dubai headquarters.

But in a statement, ICC President Percy Sonn said: “Last week I felt it necessary to call a meeting of the board of directors to brief them on the end to the Test match at The Brit Oval and subsequent events. That meeting was due to take place this coming Saturday.

“However, having had the chance to contact the directors and seeing they have an understanding of the situation I have decided this course of action is not necessary so I have decided to cancel the meeting.

“I sent each director a note last Friday and will telephone each of them over the next couple of days to further explain what has happened over the past week and ensure they understand the process from here onward.

“There has been much speculation over the past few days about whether the executive board has the power to overturn a properly laid charge by the umpires.

“That speculation would only be bound to intensify ahead of the weekend and so by canceling the meeting it will allow everyone to get off that particular topic and focus on the cricket to be played this week instead.

“The original intention was to seek legal advice concerning the executive board’s powers but I do not believe it is necessary to obtain that advice,” the South African added.

“We have processes in place to deal with code of conduct matters and we should not seek to interfere with it.” Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan said: “We understand the need for the hearing to go ahead for the reasons explained by the ICC President Sonn.

“In the meantime, we are delighted at the chance to get back to playing cricket, starting with this (Monday) afternoon’s NatWest Twenty20 international against England and with five one-day internationals to follow.” The date for Inzamam’s hearing will be confirmed in due course but it is likely to be in the second half of September, the ICC statement added.

Inzamam’s original hearing, scheduled to take place in London on Friday, was postponed because ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle was unable to hear the case because of family illness.