The 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan witnessed an ugly incident involving ball-tampering allegations against Inzamam-ul-Haq’s team.
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When it comes to cricket rivalry and volatility, the England vs Pakistan contest has been hostile for many decades. In 1987, the series between England and Pakistan in Pakistan was marred by the ugly altercation between Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana. The 1992 series saw allegations of ball-tampering as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis mastered the art of reverse swing. There were instances of crowd trouble in the 2001 series, with the ODI tri-series being marred by frequent pitch invasions. But, all this paled with the outrage of the 2006 series.
The 2006 series between England and Pakistan saw the hosts dominating. In the first Test at Lord’s, Paul Collingwood hit 186 and he was aided by tons from Ian Bell and Sir Alastair Cook. But, Mohammad Yousuf hit 202 to push Pakistan to safety. Andrew Strauss hit 128 to ensure England declared for the second time in the match. Pakistan held on for a draw. However, in the second Test at Old Trafford, Pakistan was blown away by Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar. Harmison and Panesar took 11 and eight wickets respectively as England won by an innings. Cook and Bell were the other stars with centuries.
The Leeds Test saw another high-scoring encounter and a dramatic collapse. Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen hit centuries to help England reach 515. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan smashed 192 and 173 to help Pakistan take a 23-run lead. England was boosted by another century from Andrew Strauss who hit 116 as England ended on 345. Pakistan needed a target of 323.
Sajid Mahmood took 4/22 and Monty Panesar took 3/39 to bowl Pakistan out for 155. England had taken a 2-0 lead in the four-match series with one to play. However, the match was marred by taunts of ‘traitor’ against Sajid Mahmood by a certain section of the Pakistan fans in Leeds. The fourth Test at The Oval saw England being bowled out for 173, with Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul taking four wickets apiece.
Pakistan dominated the match, with Yousuf scoring his third century of the series. Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez hit 90s as they ended on 504, a lead of 331. In the second innings, England put up a dogged fight. Strauss hit a fifty while Cook was dismissed for 83. Pietersen looked good for a century but he was dismissed for 96 by Shahid Nazir. Paul Collingwood and Bell looked to steady the ship, but there was trouble brewing.
On the fourth day just before the tea break, the first signs of trouble came. Umpire Darrell Hair looked at the ball and decided to change it. However, what caused controversy was that umpire Hair signaled five penalty runs when he changed the ball. This tremendously upset Pakistan at the tea break.
For Inzamam-ul-Haq, the penalty of five runs represented allegations of cheating. It was presented as a slur on the honour of his team and his country. Following the end of the tea break, Pakistan refused to take the field. Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach at that time, went to match referee Mike Procter’s room with the rule book. The Pakistan team refused to take the field.
In that time, umpire Darrell Hair removed the bails, indicating that Pakistan had forfeited the game. After heated consultations between Pakistan and England Cricket Board officials, Pakistan decided to come out on the field. But, umpire Darrell Hair refused to come. The match was forfeited and England was declared the winners. Both Woolmer and PCB chairman Shahrayar Khan stated that Pakistan was hurt by the allegations. It represented the first forfeiture in nearly 130 years of Test cricket at that time.
The match was over but the recriminations continued. There was no proof that Pakistan had tampered with the ball. No individual was ever blamed. The ICC cleared Pakistan of ball-tampering but Inzamam was handed a four-match ban for bringing the game into disrepute. Two years after the ball-tampering scandal, the ICC board turned the win into a draw at the insistence of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
But, the MCC did a u-turn and reinstated the original result. They stated that such changes would be ‘unprecedented and dangerous’. Darrell Hair, the umpire at the center of the storm, was sidelined out of international umpiring. This led him to sue over alleged racial discrimination. Hair did umpire in international cricket, but he became a divisive figure.
The 2006 ball-tampering scandal represented the ultimate low-point in England-Pakistan relations. But, it got worse four years later. The spot-fixing scandal at the Lord’s Test which involved Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt saw Pakistan’s image getting tarnished. Yet again, a series against England became a flashpoint. It has been 15 years since the ball-tampering scandal and the wounds still remain fresh among Pakistan and England fans.
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