Reconciliation or sell out? Nick Hurley and Will Nash review the collapse of Darrell Hair’s discrimination claim
The recent collapse of cricket umpire Darrell Hair’s discrimination claim was as surprising as it was well publicised. Umpire Hair’s high profile in the international cricketing world resulted in his tribunal claim receiving broad coverage across the international media. Cricket took a rare centre stage in the world of sport following Hair’s claim that he was discriminated against by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the grounds of his race and colour.
Hair’s problems started with the forfeited test match between England and Pakistan in August 2006. Pakistan was accused of tampering with the ball by the two umpires officiating the match, Hair and Billy Doctrove, and deducted five runs as a penalty. Pakistan refused to play on. After much confusion, the umpires removed the bails and awarded a win to England. An investigation by the ICC followed and Hair was effectively barred from officiating in main Test matches. Doctrove continued to umpire at the highest level, apparently with no reprimand or sanction.
