Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW Vol. 5 Num 810 Tue. September 05, 2006       Letters to Editor Hair controversy Saleque Sufi, Melbourne, Australia The forfeiture of a delicately poised Test match emanating from the umpire's controversial alleging of ball doctoring by Pakistani players at the Oval is the most unfortunate incident in cricket, after the infamous bodyline series . If one goes by the book, Inzamam and Pakistan could be penalised to the extent of match forfeiture, none can deny that. But if a team after losing a series and having fought back to a position of winning is unnecessarily blamed as cheats, the situation could be very different. Umpires are there to save a match and not to kill it. The role of the match referee was also dubious here. There is definitely a rat here, which is evidenced after Hair proposed to retire if he gets a handsome compensation. Well Ranjan Madugale may adjudicate, but how can he return the glorious moments that cricket lose on that fateful afternoon at oval. The Aussies here in Melbourne are backing up Hair in all possible ways. We can smell racism. If Pakistan did not have some dark track record, everyone would have been sympathetic towards them. Reverse swing is an art and bowlers must have the legitimate right to extract it in a fair manner. The ICC law of match forfeiture must be revisited. People come to see Test cricket, not to watch an impudent person like Hair.