ICC to clarify Hair cut

The International Cricket Council should confirm later on today whether Darrell Hair has been removed from their Elite Umpires Panel.

Reports from India on Friday suggested the controversial Australian had been dropped following discussions at the ICC's two-day board meeting in Mumbai, which concludes today.

The ICC refused to comment on Friday, a spokesman saying nothing will will be discussed until the meeting has reached its conclusion. "The ICC's annual board meeting is a two-day affair," he said. "Afterwards, ICC president Percy Sonn and chief executive Malcolm Speed will address the issues to have come up in that meeting."

Earlier this week, the world game's governing body confirmed they received a letter from the Pakistan Cricket Board urging them to hold an inquiry into Hair's conduct during this year's Oval Test against England.

The ICC planned to discuss the aborted Test - the first in the history of cricket to be forfeited - at Friday and Saturday's meeting.

It is the ICC's first opportunity to discuss the matter following the cancellation last month of a hastily-arranged emergency meeting to do so in the aftermath of the Test, which was awarded to England.

Pakistan were deemed by Hair and colleague Billy Doctrove to have forfeited the match when they refused to return to the field after being penalised five runs for ball-tampering.

A subsequent ICC hearing into charges of ball-tampering and bringing cricket into disrepute against Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq ruled he was guilty of the latter but not the former.

Pakistan have since refused to play any matches officiated by Hair, who controversially offered his resignation to the ICC in exchange for 500,000 US dollars in the wake of the match.