Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul Haq was on Thursday cleared of the ball tampering but banned for four One-Day Internationals for bringing the game into disrepute.
International Cricket Council match referee Ranjan Madugalle said Inzamam was not guilty of ball tampering.
"In my judgment, the marks [on the ball] are as consistent with normal wear and tear of a match ball after 56 overs as they are with deliberate human intervention," he said in a statement.
He, however, banned Inzamam for four one-dayers, since the Pakistan team refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day of the fourth Test against England at The Oval last month after being penalised five runs for alleged ball tampering.
Inzamam has 24 hours to appeal against the verdict, but decided not to do so, effectively ruling him out of next month's ICC Champions Trophy.
"I am satisfied with the way things have gone. I don't think four matches ban is too big a punishment," he said after the verdict.
Do you think the punishment meted out to the Pakistan skipper is justified? Or is it just too lenient?
Now that Pakistan have been cleared of ball-tampering charges, shouldn't Australian umpire Darrell Hair too face the charge of bringing the game into disrepute for his role in the episode?
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