No Bad Hair Day At Champions Trophy
Let us all rejoice at the news that the revered Mr Darryl Hair will not be umpiring at the Champions Trophy. The official garble, masquerading as a reason for this decision by the ICC, is that he has been withdrawn "amid concerns over his safety and security and also the safety and security of those around him during the tournament."
Now a wonderful colleague of mine who sits less than five feet from my desk can talk a lot of sh*t, but this reasoning from the ICC tops anything she has been able to come up with in the past six months. I can think of no justification for the ICC to protect Darryl Hair when, 1) he made a downright fool of himself by accusing an innocent man/team of ball tampering and 2) they have already hung him out to dry after that ransom email.
The real reason Hair has not been appointed for the Champions Trophy is because the Pakistani Board played its pieces right, got into the ear of the men who matter at the BCCI and asked for a "we are all brothers so please help us" type favour. The BCCI duly agreed and would have told the ICC something to the effect of, "do not send him, or else". The ICC was then forced to create the feeble excuse of security threats, which couldn't be further from the truth as the BCCI has the ability to offer visiting teams and officials a level of security that is normally accorded to Heads of State. The chances of a security breach are zero to none, if you are under this protection.
I heartily commend the BCCI for telling the ICC where to stick it on this issue. Hair is the biggest blight on the game, since Trevor Chappell's underarm ball against New Zealand. There is no place in this game for an ignorant and foolish official like him.
Having said this, we should not expect much of the ICC. Mark my words, Hair will be back after the Champions Trophy. Only because the men at the ICC headquarters are a collection of hare-brained (no pun intended), illogical and gutless administrators who are not fit to oversee a multi-million dollar business.
Read our earlier posts on the ball tampering controversy here, here, here, here, here and here.
Now a wonderful colleague of mine who sits less than five feet from my desk can talk a lot of sh*t, but this reasoning from the ICC tops anything she has been able to come up with in the past six months. I can think of no justification for the ICC to protect Darryl Hair when, 1) he made a downright fool of himself by accusing an innocent man/team of ball tampering and 2) they have already hung him out to dry after that ransom email.
The real reason Hair has not been appointed for the Champions Trophy is because the Pakistani Board played its pieces right, got into the ear of the men who matter at the BCCI and asked for a "we are all brothers so please help us" type favour. The BCCI duly agreed and would have told the ICC something to the effect of, "do not send him, or else". The ICC was then forced to create the feeble excuse of security threats, which couldn't be further from the truth as the BCCI has the ability to offer visiting teams and officials a level of security that is normally accorded to Heads of State. The chances of a security breach are zero to none, if you are under this protection.
I heartily commend the BCCI for telling the ICC where to stick it on this issue. Hair is the biggest blight on the game, since Trevor Chappell's underarm ball against New Zealand. There is no place in this game for an ignorant and foolish official like him.
Having said this, we should not expect much of the ICC. Mark my words, Hair will be back after the Champions Trophy. Only because the men at the ICC headquarters are a collection of hare-brained (no pun intended), illogical and gutless administrators who are not fit to oversee a multi-million dollar business.
Read our earlier posts on the ball tampering controversy here, here, here, here, here and here.
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