Article:Win Overturned To A Draw After 2 Years! Fair?

Cricket fans remember the day when Pakistan refused to come out to play after being accused of ball tampering in the third test against England at the The Oval. The match was awarded to England when the Pakistani team did not come out to play after tea. The ICC in its meeting in Dubai plans to change the win into a draw. How absurd! "The umpires went into their room and said 'You must come out to continue the game', they did not and, under the laws of any sport, if you refuse to play, you lose the game."

"Match abandoned, they're saying, as a draw, - well, abandoned on what grounds? It wasn't the weather, it wasn't anything else, it was that Pakistan wouldn't come out to play for whatever reason.

"That game has now been classified as a draw, so if you're losing, you sit in the dressing room, don't come out and you can get away with a draw." This was spoken by BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew in an interview to BBC Radio 5 Live. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/7485935.stm

Former Chairman of the PCB who was at the center of the controversy in 2006 resented the claim that they had refused to come out and play and were just delaying their coming on to the field after being accused of ball tampering. He also said he would welcome any decision to change the result.

Pakistan blamed Darrell Hair, one of the umpires on field that day for the outcome if the game. Earlier, along with fellow umpire Billy Doctrove, Hair had penalised Pakistan 5 runs on accusation of ball tampering just before tea with England at 293 for 4. The game was awarded to England who won the series 3-0. Inzamam Ul Haq was later cleared of all charges of ball tampering but was banned four matches for bringing the game into direpute. But after all this can the ICC change the win status to a draw? Pakistan refused to come out and they should have lost on grounds of forfeit regardless of the accusations. They could have finsihed the game and then taken up the case, or was it merely an escape route?