The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Hair issue: British media cry foul

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Monday, Nov 06, 2006
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Hair issue: British media cry foul

Melbourne : The Australian and the British media cried foul over the unprecedented sacking of its elite panel umpire Darrell Hair, accusing the Asian bloc of getting what it wanted through its financial clout.

``We have been whispering it for years but now it's official — the Asian nations run cricket,'' cricket writer Robert Craddock started his article thus in The Sunday Mail.

``Whether it be chasing the rights to host a World Cup, getting officials in important positions or getting rid of an umpire, the Asia bloc gets what it wants,'' he wrote.

``The removal of Hair as an umpire is a classic example of this and it's sad for all sorts of reasons. ''

``Hair's axing sets a chilling precedent, as other umpires will now be running scared of offending any or all of the four sub-continental nations, who might, at times, loathe each other, but invariably vote together on important issues.''

The Daily Telegraph of London screamed ``Asian bloc flex their muscles to remove Hair''.

British scribe Scyld Berry also echoed the views of Craddock and said the sacking had set an ``unfortunate'' precedent.— Agencies

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