Inzamam-ul Haq at Lord’s on Wednesday

London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected the demand to bar umpire Darrell Hair from officiating in matches involving Pakistan and said it would not entertain any interference in the appointment of umpires from member countries.

Toughening its stand against Pakistan following the sensational ball-tampering row, the ICC also came out in support of the two on-field umpires, saying their decision to award the match to England was a “correct one”.

“It is not the role of the ICC to overturn the decisions of on-field umpires, the people who are enshrined in the laws of cricket as the sole guardians of fair and unfair play, the ultimate arbiters of the game,” ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement. “In this instance, the decision made by Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair to award the match to England was the correct one under the laws.

“It is hugely regrettable that the match did not end with a great finish in front of a full house. That is something that would have acted as an appropriate conclusion to a series full of exciting and absorbing cricket,” he said.

Speed said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Shahrayar Khan, had written to the ICC not to appoint Hair in matches involving Pakistan.

“However, it remains the role of the ICC and not our members to appoint umpires in Tests and one-day Internationals. The appointments are made without fear or favour and are based on the performances of the umpires in international matches.

“This process has been approved by the ICC’s executive board, which includes representatives of all the Test-playing teams”, he said.

Speed also said there was no “vested interest” in the Code of Conduct hearing of Inzamam and it was purely a cricketing matter. “It should be borne in mind that the hearing is not a political, racial or religious matter but a cricketing one.” (PTI)