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ICC to declare forfeited match a draw

02/07/2008

Two years on from the ugly scenes at the Oval the match between Pakistan and England which ended in forfeiture is to be declared a draw.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is holding its annual meeting in Dubai and officials are discussing the prospect of declaring the match a draw following pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board to do so.

The forfeiture was the first in cricket's history and the Pakistani board are keen to remove the blemish from their name.

Play was abandoned after tea on the fourth day of the match after umpire Darrell Hair refused to allow the game to continue. This was because Pakistan themselves had delayed the game in protest against Hair's accusation of ball tampering.

Since then the ball-tampering charges have been dropped due to lack of evidence, while Hair was suspended from umpiring international matches until his recent appearance in the England versus New Zealand series.

An ICC source told cricinfo.com that the match will be declared a draw, he said: "England and Pakistan have agreed to declare the Oval Test as a draw to maintain the dignity of Pakistan in world cricket, especially after the ball-tampering charges were dropped."

The Pakistani board are delighted with the outcome after Hair's accusation had been discredited and believes justice has been served.

A PCB source told PTI: "Members of other boards supported us in our stand that the result should be officially changed to a draw as an ICC adjudicator later found Hair guilty of transgressing his authority and not behaving properly during the entire episode. The board agreed the result should be a draw not a forfeited win for England."

However, England's agreement to turn a loss into a draw could affect their standing in the ICC Test Championship.

They are currently third in the table on 110 points, one ahead of South Africa, who they will face in four up-coming Tests, who are on 109.