Transparency in Cricket Governance

It was with happiness when I woke on Monday and heard the news that for once, players have "striked" over decisions made by umpires, which resulted in the first ever forfeiture in international cricket. I applaud Pakistan for standing for what they believe in. There is absolutely no transparency in how cricket umpires are held to account for their actions or decisions they make. I accept they make mistakes, but they should be accountable for these mistakes, just like players have to accept the mistakes of umpires. This action will finally put the spotlight on how the ICC deals with umpire accountability. This is why I say: Hooray for Pakistan.

I have not watched the game, but I have since read as many first-hand accounts as possible. My conclusion is simply that the umpires, Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove, were at fault by accusing Pakistan of cheating. Not only accusing, but also founding them guilty and sentencing them. It is not about the punishment, a meagre 5 runs. No, it is about being accused and punished for something you know you did not do, and the way it was handled by the umpires (and now the ICC). That is the issue. Everything thereafter is a consequence of this one decision. What Pakistan then did was outside the rules and they should be held accountable for that. What the umpires then did was within the rules despite enormous external pressure to bend those rules. They should be applauded for this. Simple and uncomplicated. But that is not the issue, and I believe the whole cricketing world (outside of Australia) accepts that. The rules are strict, but they need to be. What was unjust was the manner the rules were applied, i.e. the procedures / processes.

There are two main accusations against umpires Hair and Doctrove: insensitivity and disrespect towards the Pakistani team. First off, umpire Hair must accept that he should not accuse people as cheaters without first getting some proof (and the condition of the ball is simply not enough). Cheating is a very serious accusation for Pakistan. It is extremely insensitive, and probably knowing how sensitive the current Pakistan team is about such accusations, I can only assume that is was meant to provoke. In this regard, I see many similarities between the racial slurs against South Africa in Australia, the Materazzi-Zidane incident during the World Cup, and the prophet Mohammed cartoons incidents in Europe.

Secondly, as Inzamam put it afterwards, it is about respect. Umpire Hair did not respect them (the Pakistani team) to even warn them of his suspicions, nor did he respect them when making his summary decision without informing the Pakistani captain, nor did he respect them by offering an explanation when he visited them in their dressing room after tea when asked by Inzamam, nor in informing them that they have forfeited the game, letting them assume the game was still on half an hour after it was called off. Pakistan was within their rights to demand such respect from both the umpires, as umpire Doctrove is guilty as accomplice for not opposing his colleague when it mattered most. Why should a team respect umpires that do not respect them?

The ICC must accept that it has to take responsibility for what happened, since umpires Hair and Doctrove are their employees. The current procedures do not allow players to protest such serious issues in a timely and transparent manner. If they don?t, they can expect similar, or worse, situations in future. Maybe not from teams or national cricketing boards, but they cannot control the behaviour of fans. It is not the rules per se, but the procedures and processes in which they are applied and the code of conduct of umpires that is at fault and needs to be addressed. I am both sorry and happy that it had to happen like this, as it is something that needs to be addressed in this modern era of professional sport and new technology.

I believe Inzamam, and by implication the Pakistani team, will be found guilty on Friday for bringing the game into disrepute. And I believe they will accept the punishment. However, if they are found guilty of cheating without supporting evidence, I would support them if they pack their bags and go home. They should not be forced to back-down on their principles. Simple as that. They will be fined for this, sure, but they should just have a collection at home to pay the $2m fine, or better yet, sue umpire Hair and the ICC for slander. Now, won't that be something?