HAIR’S CONTROVERSIAL PAST
Diabolical debut
Hair debuted in 1992 when he officiated in the fourth Test match at the Adelaide Oval. The fourth Test of the 5-match series, that Aussies won 4-0, was according to the media, “marred by controversy over lbw decisions — eight times Indians were given out, while all but two of their own appeals were rejected. Hair, who found himself making controversial decisions, was criticised by newspapers for the next 4-5 days. On the final day, with Mohd Azharuddin leading India’s 372-run chase, four Indians were given lbw, three of which were by Hair. Dilip Vengsarkar stood there in shock with the commentator too expressing surprise.
Stumped off Murali
In 1999, Hair was found guilty of bringing the game to disrepute by ICC after he termed Muralitharan’s action diabolical. The Aussie umpire received death threats and wasn’t assigned any of Sri Lanka’s matches at the 1999 World Cup. The issue had first flared up when Hair no-balled Murali seven times in 3 overs for throwing in 1995.
Pakistanis take offence
In 2006, Hair was banned from officiating in international matches following an ICC meeting. He had earlier reportedly asked ICC to pay him $500,000 for loss of future pay as he was quitting following ball-tampering controversy at The Oval Test, 2006. Hair accused Pakistan of tampering with the ball during the Oval Test. He and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove awarded five penalty runs to England. Pakistan players protested and refused to take the field. When they returned, Hair and Doctrove said the game has ended and the match awarded to England. He later sued ICC, PCB.