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Darrell Hair told the Central London Employment Tribunal that he was barred from standing in top-level matches because of decisions “motivated along racial lines”.Giving evidence on the second day of his claim of racial discrimination against the ICC, Hair, who argues that his colleague at The Oval in 2006, Billy Doctrove, was treated differently by the ICC because of the colour of his skin, said: “If I had been from West Indies or Pakistan or India, I might have been treated differently, like Doctrove.”At the time we told Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, that we believed the marks we found on the ball were deliberately put there. After the match I was continually pilloried in the media by Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and Inzamam, which was clearly in breach of ICC conduct … and yet it did nothing to prevent this.”In the week after the Oval Test, Hair said that he was not given time to consult lawyers before his email exchange, in which he offered to stand down for payment of US$500,000, was made public. He added that Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive who was in the hearing, listening to the evidence, told him in the aftermath of the Test: “We have something in common … the ICC wants to sack both of us.”Under cross-examination, Hair revealed that he would lose about £1.7 million (US$3.4 million) in fees for Tests and one day internationals on the assumption his career as an ICC umpire did not continue after his contract with the ICC ends next March. Hair said that while he has been retained on the ICC’s panel of elite umpires since August 2006, he has not received any match fees in that time.

Had he officiated in the number of games he would usually have been expected to stand in, he estimated that in 2007 his income would have been around £50,000 (US$100,000). “My projected earnings from fees in ICC Associate matches in this year would now appear to be a maximum of US$30,000 (£15,000),” he said. “Since returning to Australia I have been trying to find permanent employment without success. I have applied for positions at the Australian Rugby League and with a charity as a fund-raising manager, but I have been unsuccessful on each occasion. I do not have any confidence in being able to find a suitable place in the workforce for some considerable time, if at all.”I feel devastated and let down by the ICC. Since … the final Test at The Oval, no-one from ICC has shown any concern for my welfare or for the welfare of my family. My family has suffered the pain of reading headlines such as ‘disgraced former umpire’ and ‘sacked former umpire’ and I have found it difficult to cope with daily life in the knowledge that I have not been given a reasonable opportunity to defend myself or make a representation to the board in person.”Hair explained that at no time has his ability as an umpire been questioned by the authorities. “There has never been any criticism about my match management capabilities by either Doug Cowie, the ICC umpire manager, the match referees or the captains. I find it incredulous that an ICC sub-committee adopted a position leading to my removal from umpiring top level cricket without me being given a chance to defend the charges against me or even to know what I am alleged to have done wrong.

“Even more astonishing to me is the fact that the ICC maintains there are no minutes or transcript of either the sub-committee’s discussion or the subsequent board discussion or the voting on the resolution.”I asked Speed if it could possibly be performance related but he agreed that my performances since joining the elite panel had been generally very good and I had been continually ranked in the top three umpires. I was at a loss to understand how my career could possibly be effectively ended unless it was by a racially motivated and racially-discriminated process.”In his cross examination, Michael Beloff QC, the ICC’s barrister, stated to Hair that the decision to sack him had been unanimous – it had not, and he also asked if he thought it appropriate to call the action of Muttiah Muralitharan, who Hair infamously no-balled during a Test in Australia, “diabolical”. Hair replied that he was applying the Laws of Cricket as they existed at the time.The hearing continues on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court today restrained Doordarshan from downlinking the live feed of the upcoming India-West Indies Test and ODI matches, the exclusive telecast rights of which are with TEN Sports.TEN Sports had filed a petition seeking stay of the government guidelines making it mandatory for sports channels to share feed of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharti.A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan directed that Prasar Bharti should not take any coercive step or action for obtaining the live feed of the matches.TEN Sports had challenged the Bombay High Court order of December 21, 2005. The matter pending before the high court was later transferred to the Supreme Court. The private channel contended that if the matches were telecast on Doordarshan it would suffer huge losses.Earlier, the court had allowed live telecast of India-Pakistan ODIs on Doordarshan after TEN Sports and Prasar Bharti reached an agreement that the latter would deposit a sum of Rs 15 crore in court.However, the bench justified the previous decision saying that “matches of an Indo-Pak series are different from the others … For West Indies, many people may not be interested.”

A fresh hearing will take place to decide Shoaib Akhtar’s fate after the two-member appellate tribunal looking into two charges of indiscipline against the fast bowler set one charge aside while handing the other back to Talat Ali, the team manager.”The charge of not appearing before a disciplinary hearing has been set aside,” Ahsan Malik, PCB’s director of communications, told Cricinfo. “The other charge, of leaving the camp without permission, has been remanded back to the manager Talat Ali. He will now issue a fresh notice and there will be another hearing.”The appellate tribunal, comprising of Mueen Afzal, a member of the board’s ad-hoc committee and Imtiaz Ahmed, the former Test wicketkeeper, was set up by the PCB after Shoaib appealed against his Rs 300,000 (approximately US$5000) fine for leaving the training camp without informing the management as well as failing to turn up for the disciplinary hearing.The date for the next hearing has not yet been specified.

Australia have thrown out the possibility of using two spinners and asked for fast-bowling reinforcements as they search for a 2-0 Ashes lead in Adelaide from Friday. The national selectors met over two days to consider their options following Shane Watson’s second consecutive withdrawal with a hamstring injury and Shaun Tait joined Mitchell Johnson in the 13-man squad.Tait was part of the outfit before leaving Brisbane ahead of the first Test, which Australia won by 277 runs at the Gabba, and Johnson was released for Pura Cup duty when a seam attack of Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark was preferred. McGrath and Clark excelled with seven wickets each, but the expanded squad indicates the selectors are concerned with McGrath’s bruised heel.McGrath had a pain-killing injection in his left foot on Sunday and returned 1 for 53 to follow his 6 for 50 that rocked England’s first innings. Lee was the most disappointing of the trio, but he is unlikely to be overlooked after one below-par performance and the option of a five-man frontline attack disappeared with Watson’s slow recovery.Shane Warne is currently irreplaceable, especially on a surface in which he has 25 wickets from his past four Tests, and only an injury or doubts over fitness can realistically provide an opening for Tait or Johnson. Stuart MacGill tipped yesterday that he would miss the squad and his hunch was correct.”The possibility of using two specialist spinners continues to be discussed,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “That decision is made more difficult while Watson is unfit, but it will be reviewed depending on the particular conditions we will face at each venue.” There is a chance Watson and MacGill could be required in Perth for the third game following the WACA’s transformation from a fast-bowling haven to a batsman-dominated arena.Michael Clarke retained his spot at No. 6 following his 56 in the first innings at Brisbane and his left-arm spin will be a handy asset during the second Test. “I’ve been ultra-impressed with the way Clarke’s gone about his cricket over the last 12 to 18 months,” Ricky Ponting said after the victory. “He’s extremely hungry and he’s trained hard and he’s worked on his technique for the longer form of the game. It’s great to see him play well.”Australia squad Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait.

Scorecard

South Africa’s bowling limitations were further exposed in a warm-upmatch at Centurion on Sunday, as the Titans swept to a 26-run win to raise concerns over the side’s form and preparations ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy.After electing to field first Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and JacquesKallis kept things relatively tight but there are concerns as to the backup bowlers. As was the case against a relatively weak Zimbabwean team the South African support bowlers lacked the cutting edge in the middle and latter stages of the Titans’ innings, and were incapable of closing off the match. Andrew Hall, for example, was only disciplined for five out of six balls, the last being severely punished. Andre Nel also has a lot of work to do, both in terms of line, length and especially pace, while Robin Peterson simply cannot be relied to tie up one end for 10 overs.Early wickets had the Titans struggling at 30 for 2 after 10 overs but AlbieMorkel soon put paid to that as he played aggressively for 37 runs off 33balls and twice hit Nel for towering sixes. Goolam Bodi paced his innings well andpunished wayward balls to reach 100 off 129 balls but threw it away with awild swing at Nel in the final overs.Johann Myburgh was similarly untroubled, breezing to a 55-ball fifty and shared a 100-run partnership with Bodi at a run-a-ball. Myburgh batted through to the end and finished with 75 off 76 balls as the Titans set the South Africans a target of 270.But South Africa’s innings never really got going with the top four only managing twenties. Both Loots Bosman and Boeta Dippenaar fatally chased wide deliveries while Jacques Kallis was too late in defence. AB de Villiers, his first outing of the season, was clearly very rusty and will need more time in the middle if he is to be a threat in India. Mark Boucher and Kemp could not recreate their form of late and suddenly the South Africans, thanks to 25 extras (11 wides and 12 no balls) from the Titans, found themselves at 156 for 6 after 29 overs. It became 177 for 7 when Hall held out at mid-on and the writing was on the wall.Shaun Pollock was the one, last hope for South Africa and he took control of proceedings, smashing 50 from 56 balls and starring in a 48-run partnership with Makhaya Ntini – whose contribution to their stand was just two. However, it was too little, too late and South Africa were dismissed for 243.To add to all the woes, the South Africans were once again slow in bowlingthe 50 overs in the required time, but were excused because a rather lenient19 minutes were added for a few hold-ups in play. Will those in control beas lenient during the Champions Trophy? Only time will tell.

The graded-payment system for India’s international cricketers could be implemented soon. Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Indian board, has announced that the BCCI and the players have agreed on the details of the new system.Speaking to the media after meeting the players in New Delhi, Dalmiya said: “We’ve agreed on all the points and nothing more is left to discuss. It’ll now be sent to the board’s lawyers who’ll give it legal shape. The details are confidential. Nobody is in a hurry to implement it.” According to a report in the Times of India, sources in the board indicated that the new contracts will be implemented before India’s tour of Australia later this year.The players were represented by Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, while Dalmiya, Amrit Mathur, the media manager, and Ratnakar Shetty, joint secretary of the BCCI, represented the board.Under the new system, the players would be slotted into one of three grades, and would receive an annual retainer fee. For players in the top grade, the sum is expected to be Rs 60 lakhs (US$130,000 approx), while those in the second and third tiers would receive Rs 30 lakhs and Rs 15 lakhs. The team would also receive bonuses for wins – with the amount varying according to the rank of the opposition – while every defeat would result in a penalty which would be deducted from the match fee.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

An action-packed day of Test cricket ended with Sri Lanka edging the honours, as South Africa were bowled out for 361 in the last over of the evening. Fifty-six fours, two sixes, and ten wickets meant there was plenty of entertainment on offer for the crowd at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, the venue where Sri Lanka had played their first Test match 25 years ago.The day was clearly split into three parts: the first one belonged to Sri Lanka, as their seam attack, bolstered by Chaminda Vaas’s return from injury, struck three times within the first hour. South Africa then hit back in the afternoon session, as Ashwell Prince (86) and AB de Villiers (95) combined in a magnificent 161-run stand for the fifth wicket, getting their runs at more than four an over and making even Muttiah Muralitharan look ordinary. That was too good to last, however, as Sri Lanka fought back in the final session, nailing six wickets, though Shaun Pollock’s entertaining unbeaten 57 kept them in the field the entire day. Muralitharan finished with yet another five-for – the 55th of his Test career – but it cost him 128, with the runs coming at nearly four an over.The conditions at the ground had a huge role to play in the kind of action on view: the pitch, while being a good batting strip, had more pace and bounce than the one in the first Test, helping the bowlers but also ensuring that the ball came on to the bat and facilitated strokeplay. The outfield was fast too, so that almost every time the batsmen pierced the gaps, the ball sped away to the fence.Asked to bowl first after losing the toss, Sri Lanka got off to a sensational start: Vaas celebrated his return to the side with a second-ball dismissal of Herschelle Gibbs, trapping him in front with a typical delivery which swung back in after pitching on middle and leg. It was the 12th time Vaas nailed Gibbs in international matches – his three dismissals in Tests have all been for ducks, while in the nine ODI innings in which Vaas has dismissed him, he averages 3.11.Andrew Hall was a walking wicket from the first delivery – he played and missed at six out of eight balls from Malinga, before finally edging the ninth to second slip. Jacques Rudolph left soon after, beaten for pace and movement by Malinga, and at 31 for 3, the innings was in danger of crumbling just like it had in the first innings of the first Test. Prince then began the recovery with Amla, who played with excellent poise and assurance for his 40, clipping the ball sweetly off his pads and defending solidly. The real resistance, though, started after Amla fell.de Villiers, especially, was intent on taking charge from the moment he walked to the crease. His first scoring shot – off the second ball he faced – was a beautifully timed punch down the ground off Muralitharan, and that set the tone for what was an innings highlighted by superb footwork, crisp cuts and drives through the off side, and splendid shot-selection. His handling of Muralitharan was quite exceptional: before the series, he had bravely commented about how Muralitharan could be rattled by an attacking batsman, and here he walked the talk, either going down the pitch to smother the spin, or going right back and playing with the turn. He used the sweep shot to good effect too, and in all scored 31 from 51 balls off Muralitharan. The other bowlers were even easier to handle, with the listless Maharoof being repeatedly creamed for cuts and square-drives.Prince started off more circumspectly, content to defend and nudge the singles, but gradually he opened out too, playing some rasping drives down the ground and through cover when the bowlers offered width. Muralitharan’s threat was negated by some twinkle-toed footwork, which allowed him to either make room and drive through the off side, or work him off his legs for runs. He offered one chance, when on 69, driving through Sanath Jayasuriya’s hands at gully, but other than that one lapse, the knock was quite blemishless.With the score reading 231 for 4 at tea, South Africa were on the ascendancy, but things went pear-shaped after the break, as Prince went second ball after tea, edging a cut. de Villiers fell in the nineties for the fourth time in his brief career, unluckily given out when bat had only made contact with ground.Muralitharan and Maharoof then made further inroads, before Pollock stamped his presence on the game. Back in the side after missing the first Test due to the birth of his second child, Pollock celebrated by carting the ball to all parts en route to an entertaining knock, hoicking Muralitharan over midwicket for six, and top-edging over the wicketkeeper for another. Makhaya Ntini gave him excellent support in a last-wicket stand that fetched 34 and frustrated Sri Lanka late in the evening. Ntini’s dismissal in the last over of the day ensured, though, that Sri Lanka won’t have to take the field again on the second morning.

Herschelle Gibbs lbw b Vaas 0 (0 for 1)
Andrew Hall c Dilshan b Malinga 0 (4 for 2)
Jacques Rudolph b Malinga 13 (31 for 3)
Hashim Amla lbw b Muralitharan 40 (70 for 4)
Ashwell Prince c P Jayawardene b Muralitharan 86 (231 for 5)
AB de Villiers c P Jayawardene b Malinga 95 (256 for 6)
Mark Boucher b Muralitharan 32 (273 for 7)
Nicky Boje c Sangakkara b Maharoof 11 (307 for 8)
Dale Steyn c Jayasuriya b Muralitharan 6 (327 for 9)
Mahkaya Ntini c Maharoof b Muralitharan 13 (361 all out)

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

The incomparable Glenn McGrath homed in at regular intervals, and despite a chancy innings of great character from Devon Smith, West Indies were staring at a considerable first-innings deficit by stumps on the second day at the Gabba. When play ended 45 minutes past the scheduled close, they were 6 for 182, still 253 in arrears, with McGrath having scalped 4 for 54.Having defied the Australians for four hours and 175 balls, Smith was finally undone by McGrath going round the wicket, and he stared in bemusement at his tormentor as he walked back to the pavilion. There had been some handsome drives through cover and point early in his innings, especially against a lightning quick but erratic Brett Lee, but Smith was frequently clueless against Shane Warne getting the ball to spin like a top out of the rough.Having just about survived a stumping chance off a slider, and then seen Ricky Ponting put down a tough chance at silly point, Smith was still alert enough to take full toll of the chances that came his way. After being clunked on the helmet by a ferociously fast (151.3 kmph) bouncer from Lee, he added 60 with Brian Lara – the victim of a very ordinary umpiring decision – and then went on to see Warne and McGrath squeeze the life out of the West Indian innings.Earlier, both Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan had looked in ominously good touch, but McGrath eventually wore both down with his patented line of attack outside off stump. Sarwan’s dismissal was especially important given that he and Smith had been motoring along at close to six an over after giving Lee a real pasting. But once Nathan Bracken helped stemmed the run flow, and Warne came on to display his inimitable wares, it was backs-to-the-wall time.Lara was circumspect rather than dashing until a full-length delivery from Lee trapped him on the crease, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul attempted to hit his way out of stroke-less quicksand. Most unfortunate was Marlon Samuels, who had scored 257 against Queensland in the warm-up game. Having started with a peachy drive through the covers off McGrath, he perished to a ball that could only be described as perfect.In truth, it had always seemed a question of when, rather than if, the West Indies would crumble, especially once Australia’s tail wrested the momentum by refusing to subside in the morning session. After rain had caused a half-hour delay, both Warne and Lee were jittery against the second new ball, but a combination of luck and stout defence kept Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore at bay.When the bowlers strayed, they were usually made to pay, and a Lee straight-drive off a Collymore full-toss set the tone for what was to follow. Warne, who had edged, driven and glanced his way to 47, finally succumbed to Daren Powell’s first ball of the day, but by then the partnership was worth 75. And if West Indies assumed that Warne’s exit meant the end was nigh, they were swiftly set right by Bracken, who started by pulling Powell for four, and then dismissively thumped Collymore over extra-cover.The odd delivery continued to zip past the outside edge or swaying helmet, but as both men grew in confidence, the scoreboard started to tick over. Lee unveiled a sumptuous on-drive off a Powell half-volley and after a vociferous leg-before appeal was turned down, he slashed one over the slips for four more.Bracken wasn’t idle either, getting some beefy blows in, but the definitive shot of the morning was left to Lee, a monster hit over midwicket that resulted in the ball being lost. Powell, who had earlier had Bracken snick a no-ball behind the stumps, had his revenge with the replacement ball, but as Lee walked off to a standing ovation, West Indies were left to ponder a morning session where the best-laid plans had gone awry. And in would get no better, with McGrath – who now has 101 wickets against West Indies alone – intent on proving just why he’s been in a fast-bowling league of his own for so very long.

AustraliaShane Warne c Ramdin b Powell 47 (8 for 369)
Beaten by away movement, edged behindBrett Lee c Collymore b Powell 47 (9 for 417)
Mistimed pull caught over his head at mid-onNathan Bracken c Sarwan b Edwards 37 (435 all out)
Hint of away movement, edged drive well caught at second slipWest IndiesChris Gayle c Gilchrist b McGrath 10 (1 for 21)
Big flail results only in a thin edge behind the stumps Ramnaresh Sarwan c Gilchrist b McGrath 21 (2 for 74)
Drawn into a tentative prod, and a thin edge behindBrian Lara lbw Lee 30 (3 for 134)
Struck on the back pad by Lee bowling round the wicket. The angle would most likely have taken the ball past leg stumpShivnarine Chanderpaul c Bracken b Warne 2 (4 for 149)
Mistimed a pull to a short ball, brilliant caught on the dive inches from the ground at wide mid-on Marlon Samuels c Gilchrist b McGrath 5 (5 for 161)
Edged a perfectly pitched leg-cutterDevon Smith b McGrath 88 (6 for 174)
Shouldered arms to a round-the-wicket delivery that shaped back a touch

On a pitch tailor made for their quartet of spin bowlers, Tamil Union look set to spring a surprise in the first semi final of the Premier Limited Overs tournament at Premadasa International Stadium tonight. They have bowled out the tournament favorites, Colts Cricket Club, for a meager 174 in 48.4 overs.Tamil Union have one of the strongest spin attacks in the land. Led by the irrepressible Mutiah Muralitharan, who picked up five wickets for 15 runs in 9.4 overs, the spin bowlers took nine of the wickets to fall. The Colts batsmen struggled to play them on a slow paced pitch that spun extravagantly.Colts CC had won the toss and begun confidently, despite the loss of Romesh Kaluwitharan for just six runs in the sixth over of the innings. Chaminda Mendis and Kulatunga compiled 67 runs for the second wicket and Colts CC looked set for another impressive total.However, Upul Chandana turned to Mutiah Muralitharan in the 16th over of the innings and in partnership with left arm spinner, Niroshan Bandaratilake, he turned the course the course of the match. Colts CC lost four wickets for just six runs and slumped to 92 for five.Kulatunga had played some sparkling shots including a brace of boundaries in Ranga Dias’s first and last over. However, he was less assured against the spinners, and started the slide when he charged down the wicket to Muralitharan and was caught at cover. He had scored 35 from 52 deliveries.Sajith Fernando walked to the crease in confident fashion but was caught in the very next over as he top edged a sweep. Then, Chaminda Mendis, who had scored a solid 35 from 69 balls, was clean bowled by Muralitharan four balls later. In the same over Sujith Janaka looked unlucky to have been adjudged caught behind.Were it not for Chaminda Vaas (18) and Eric Upashantha (34), who added 45 runs for the seventh wicket, Colts would not have even surpassed 150. The pair batted patiently and sensibly. Aware of the responsibility that now lay on their shoulders, they eschewed risks and concentrated on picking up singles.Just when they looked like they were on the verge of grasping the initiative back, Chaminda Vaas tried to pull sweep Upul Chandana and was brilliantly caught by a tumbling Brijesh Jeganathanan on the mid wicket boundary.The skipper wasted no time in recalling his premier bowler and Muralitharan just proved too good for the Colts lower order. They lunged and prodded as best they could but were eventually bowled out for a total that looks too small.

Points TablesCarl Hopkinson led Sussex to a place in the final of the C&G Trophy on August 26 with a five wicket victory over holders Hampshire at Hove. His unbeaten 69 helped Sussex seal their first appearance in a major final for 13 years.Hopkinson and Mike Yardy (41) shared a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 95 in 19 overs as Sussex, set 255 to win, got home with seven balls to spare at Hove.Sussex skipper Chris Adams paid tribute to his team. “I can’t give enough credit to the youngsters in the side. It’s going to be a great day out for us so bring on whoever.”Sussex, who qualify for the final without having to win their last Southern Conference game against Gloucestershire, started strongly with Matt Prior (54) sharing an opening stand of 95 with Richard Montgomerie (44) in 16 overs. But the hosts later slipped to 120 for 4 with Adams, Murray Goodwin and Montgomerie all falling in the space of five overs.Hampshire, who chose to bat, were bowled out for 254 with three balls of their innings remaining. Michael Carberry and Sean Ervine had given them a solid start by sharing in a second-wicket stand of 106 in only a dozen overs.Hampshire, who needed to win to have any chance of reaching the final, lost Dominic Thornely and Greg Lamb cheaply before Dimitri Mascarenhas (42) and Nic Pothas (43*) took them past the 250 mark by sharing a sixth-wicket stand of 73 in 12 overs. But the innings ended tamely with Kirtley bowling Shane Warne, Shaun Udal and James Tomlinson for ducks in his final over.In the Northern Conference, Leicestershire eased to a four-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Grace Road, with a comfortable 8.2 overs to spare. After being sent into the field, Leicestershire’s bowlers hunted in a pack, each of them snaring a wicket to dismiss Yorkshire for 185.Alamgir Sheriyar continued to impress for his new/old county, trapping Craig White lbw with the very first ball of the innings. Matthew Wood followed quickly after and wickets continued to tumble regularly.David Masters was the pick of the bowlers, scalping 2 for a measly 22 from ten overs. Only Andrew Gale offered any resistance, stirring a minor storm with 63.There was no urgency in Leicestershire’s innings, but neither was there any need for them to hurry and they knocked off the runs in inevitable fashion, Tim New leading the charge with 51.