LONDON: Darrell Hair, the umpire at the centre of the ball-tampering row, wrote to the ICC this week and offered to stand down as an umpire if he was paid $500,000 against future earnings.

This sensational statement was made at a press briefing in London on Friday when the media was summoned to a venue near Lord's ostensibly to be told the date of the hearing into the case against Inzamam-ul-Haq. Instead they heard one of the most sensational revelations in the history of the game.

"Hair has been in a difficult position since Sunday. This disclosure makes his position more difficult. I said to him that while this is a serious matter, he is not sacked, he is not suspended and he is not charged," said Malcolm Speed, chief executive of ICC. "We need time to absorb these issues and we will have a board meeting next Saturday."

Speed shocked

Speed admitted he was shocked when he first read the letter and Dave Richardson, umpire Hair's immediate boss, said his first reaction was that it was "typical Darrell."

He said: "When I saw it I thought typical Darrell. He has always believed in what he said, sometimes to his detriment."

But it is quite clear that Hair's chances of continuing as an umpire must be limited. Speed acknowledged that there were several ways of reading the letter and urged that there should be no over reaction. I cannot imagine that happening either in England with its piratical press posse; or in Pakistan where this offer is bound to be seen in the most vivid terms.

Detailed discussion

When asked what happens next, Speed said: "We want to discuss it in detail. The board has wide-ranging powers. Hair had no dishonest intent. We have not hung him out to dry but we know that Hair's situation is precarious.

"He has been offered every legal and clerical assistance. We need everyone to switch to on-field matters. On Friday we had a meeting with the Pakistan officials and have been assured the tour continues.

"I wanted Hair to have time to think about making a statement. He will be making a statement but will not be available for interview."

Richardson, his immediate boss at ICC, said Hair's contract continued for another three years.

Malcolm Speed flew into Heathrow on Thursday night to hold urgent talks with all the parties who had been trying to thrash the issues out on their own since the dramatic events of last Sunday.

Inzamam faces charges of ball tampering and bringing disgrace to the game by failing to lead out his side after tea on the fourth day of the final Test against England at the Oval. How he and Pakistan respond to the decision will be made clear later.

Friday's crowded press conference in the Denis Compton Room of a hotel was within shouting distance of the Grace Gates at Lord's where Compton was a darling of the crowds from 1937 to 1960.

What he would have thought of this row is impossible to guess even though he spent 30 years writing about the game after he retired long before the internet, which has played such a large part in the Inzamam affair by spreading the news of each development so quickly.

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