The forfeiture of the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at the Oval on Sunday was the latest controversial chapter in the career of 53-year-old Australian umpire Darrell Hair.
Following are the major incidents in which he has been involved since making his debut as a first-class umpire in 1988:
* A year after standing in his first Test, Hair gave Craig McDermott out with a contentious caught behind decision off Courtney Walsh's bowling to give the West Indies a one-run victory in the fourth Test in Adelaide on January 25, 1993. McDermott and Tim May had added 40 for the final wicket when Hair deemed the delivery to have brushed the fast bowler's glove contrary to the evidence of TV footage.
* Hair no-balls Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing on seven occasions during the Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 1995. Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga led his players off the field in protest only to return and bowl Muralitharan from the other end where umpire Steve Dunne was officiating.
* Hair describes Muralitharan's action as 'diabolical' in his 1998 autobiography, a charge which prompts the Sri Lankan board to ask the International Cricket Council to charge him with bringing the game into disrepute. He is stood down from a tri-nations series involving England, Australia and Sri Lanka and accuses Sri Lankan Board president Thilange Sumathipala of a 'smear campaign'.
* Adjudges Inzamam-ul-Haq run out by Steve Harmison in the second Test against England in Faisalabad when the Pakistan captain seemed to be trying to evade the bowler's throw in November last year.
* Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove rule Pakistan bowlers have tampered with the ball in the fourth Test against England at the Oval in August 2006. The umpires impose a five-run penalty for the infringement and decide the match is forfeited when Pakistan's players fail to return to the field in protest at the decision.
More from rediff