Australian umpire Darrell Hair has certainly been the most controversial umpire of his era, and the saga has taken another twist with his recall to the Elite Panel by the ICC.
Big Darrell has been a good friend of Irish cricket over the years and you don't have to be in his company for too long to know he is passionate about his sport and that he's unscrupulously fair. He's been to Ireland many times and he's officiated at numerous games involving Irish teams so we are in as good a position as anyone to evaluate his ability and his sense of fair play. And when all's said and done, the New South Wales official comes out with flying colours because he has the courage of his convictions and he's prepared to take a stand against the throwers and the ball tamperers.
Inevitably this was always going to produce a collision with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but while other umpires have been content to steer clear of controversy, Darrell has taken a stand and he's suffered the consequences. His calling of Muttiah Muralitharan's for throwing has dammed him for eternity in Sri Lanka, and he's certainly not going to be forgiven by the Pakistanis forpenalising them against England in 2006 for ball tampering. The ensuing uproar after this controversial match saw the powerful Asian countries close ranks when the ICC gave the Australian a 'sabbatical.' Darrell himself then threw a couple of wobblers and took the ICC to court for discrimination, but everyone sighed with relief when this action was eventually dropped and the Australian accepted a period of 'rehabilitation.'
Whether this was a cooling off period or an indirect suspension matters little, because it removed one of the best umpires in the business from the Elite Panel, and his absence has certainly showed with a plethora of high profile mistakes from his contemporaries in recent times. Umpires are fallible and they are on a hiding to nothing with trial by television, but officials like Darrell Hair are badly needed in the game as they have the courage to make the big decisions and suffer the consequences if it goes wrong. Top players respect that, but inevitably those who lose out are less gratuitous.
The biggest tragedy in the Darrell Hair saga is the lack of support he has received from his peers and the establishment. In an era when the role of the umpire is so crucial to the integrity of the game, officialdom has lacked the courage to move with the times and empower the men that matter most in the course of a game. Players at the highest level regularly stoop to the lowest level to steal an advantage on their opponents, and the umpire has almost negligible power to take punitive action. And when they report players for serious indiscretions, match referees tend to hand out meaningless fines or paltry one match suspensions, sometimes suspended. We even had the farce in the Australia versus India series last winter of player power removing the highly-respected Steve Bucknor after a few bad days at the office.
Where was the respect for such an experienced official and where was the solidarity from his colleagues? Sadly, it was well hidden in similar fashion to the lack of support that Darrell Hair has received when he has taken his stand against the cheats. The time has surely come for cricket umpires to be given similar powers to officials in contemporary sports like football, rugby and hockey. They should be allowed to punish abusive language, sledging, cheating, gamesmanship and orchestrated appealing when they feel the laws of the game have been broken. They should be allowed to caution and sin bin and then officialdom should support the umpires with appropriate suspensions.
Times have changed and the game is a much different animal than it was fifty years ago. It is certainly not a sport at the highest level but a business involving huge finance, and in this business we need a lot more strong characters like Darrell Hair.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
