ICC could look again at result of forfeited Oval T

[Sadaf Gondal]

SYDNEY: ICC president David Morgan said Wednesday the result of the controversial 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan could be reconsidered after pressure from Marylebone Cricket Club.

The result of the forfeited Test match was changed from an England win to a draw by the International Cricket Council in July but the MCC said on Sunday the move contravened the laws of cricket and set "a very dangerous precedent."

Morgan, in Sydney ahead of next year's women's World Cup, said the ICC may look again at the decision, which was made before he became president.

"The MCC World Cricket Committee is a very responsible group," he was quoted as saying by an Australian news agency.

"I'll be very interested to actually read their minutes and I'm sure they will make that available and it's something we (the ICC) will have to consider very carefully.

"It was a decision that was made by the ICC and it's a decision that I was not happy with."

He added: "I was president-elect and I didn't believe it was appropriate to change the result of the England-Pakistan match."

The first and only forfeit in the history of Test cricket took place in August 2006 when Australian umpire Darrell Hair and his West Indian colleague Billy Doctrove penalised Pakistan five penalty runs for alleged ball-tampering.

That sparked an angry response from Pakistan, who refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day in protest -- a move that saw the umpires declare that Pakistan had forfeited the match and award it to England.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq was subsequently cleared of ball tampering and Hair was removed from the ICC's elite panel of umpires.

He was only reinstated as a Test umpire earlier this year after a legal battle which saw Hair allege he was the victim of racial discrimination by the ICC before dropping his case at an employment tribunal hearing in London.

The MCC says the ICC does not have the power under the laws of cricket to overturn a result.

[~*zaib*~]

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