Highlighting the fact that the introduction of the review system has not in any way enhanced the game, Hayat, said: “It is forcing the umpires to make wrong decisions, as if, they are afraid of the hotspot and Hawkeye systems.”

Hayat, who held the post of general manager of umpires and referee in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is in Jeddah on a brief visit. A popular Test umpire, he has umpired in three World Cups. Only Aleem Dar is emulating this feat.

Hayat was critical of the present umpiring standards in the current ICC Cricket World Cup, adding that the “body language of some of the umpires is not appropriate.”

“Even the action of some when their decisions were reversed was not according to the book, as they signaled dead ball instead of reversal. The correct sign is the crossed hand to the shoulders, and not the crossing of the hands in front of them,” he said.

“That’s why every cricket playing nation and the associate countries should develop a system to train umpires. In Pakistan, the board has developed a system and today that’s why we have two umpires (Dar and Asad Rauf) in the ICC elite panel, two in the International panel (Nadeem and Zamir Haider) and a TV umpire (Ahsan Razzak) in the ICC ranks. No other country can boast of such crop,” he said, adding that the current rating system for the umpires, which calls for the cricket captain and the match referee to rate them, leaves some chance for bias.

“Even in women’s cricket we have 12 qualified umpires,” he said, adding, “Now our neighbors are asking the training techniques from us, and to which we have said ‘send them to us and we’ll train them.’”

He maintains that only old umpires and ex-players should be considered for the posts of managers, umpires and referees by the respective boards in order to elevate the standards in these disciplines. “But this is not being done.”

He was also blunt in his assessment that the PCB dragged their feet in the “spot fixing” issue that led to the banning of three Pakistan players – Salman Butt (ten years), Mohammad Asif (seven) and Mohammad Amir (five). “The PCB should have taken swift action, when the issue came to light.”

“They handled it wrongly. Once they knew about the issue, then they should have sent them back home and taken action – either suspension or banning. This way the ICC would not have the right to try them, for PCB had already acted,” he said.

“This way their cricket would not have been affected (blasting the lengthy bans) and they could have come back after serving the terms set by PCB. But now they have to wait out such long terms and in present-day cricket it amounts to a virtual exit from the game,” Hate said, adding, “the punishment is too severe for spot-fixing.”

Hayat, who has been in the game for 55 years in various capacities, said Pakistan, would have been among the favorites in the World Cup if these three players had been available. “Waqar Younis (Pakistan coach) had built a team, but the ban wrecked his plans. Though the Pakistanis have cricket in their blood, they now rely on two to three players in this event. And if they hope to make an impression then they need to raise their level of fielding, which is hopeless,” he said.

He picked India (batting too good), Australia (competent and confident) and Sri Lanka (all-round aggression) as the teams to watch in the World Cup. “But upsets can happen with the team that plays the best on a given day carrying the day,” he added.

He rued the fact that with international cricket staying away from Pakistan (following security concerns) the cricketing standards in the country would deteriorate. But he is not worried as the game – played in every nook and corner of the country — would still throw up individual talent, that will be able to sustain Pakistan on the cricketing map.