Cricket: Pakistan drop demand for early hearing

Pakistan have dropped their plan to ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold a disciplinary hearing before Monday into captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's actions in the fourth and final test against England.

Team manager Zaheer Abbas said that after lengthy consultations, it had been decided Pakistan would wait until after the one-day series ended on September 10 for the hearing to take place.

"There was an opinion we should ask the ICC to have the hearing before the one-day series to close this issue, but since both boards have agreed on having Ranjan Madugalle as the adjudicator it has been decided to wait until he is available," Abbas said today.

Earlier, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said the PCB was willing to accept a replacement adjudicator to accelerate the process after a postponement was caused by the enforced absence of ICC chief referee Madugalle.

"Madugalle's sister has had a serious accident and the reasons for postponing the hearing are genuine. Our legal advisers also felt it was best to wait," Abbas said.

He added that today's (NZ time) tour match against Middlesex would go ahead as planned.

"We are definitely playing that match and the remaining ones also. The players are now just concentrating on the cricket and winning the one-dayers."

Earlier, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said Friday's planned hearing had been postponed since Pakistan and England preferred Madugalle to act as adjudicator.

"The difficulty relates to the availability of Ranjan Madugalle to chair the hearing as he is dealing with a private and personal matter that requires his urgent attention," Speed said.

"Pakistan and England, as the host country, have both expressed a preference for Ranjan to hear the case and on that basis we have agreed to the postponement."

Abbas said the name of former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd had been discussed as a possible replacement for Madugalle.

The hearing was scheduled by the ICC after the ball tampering controversy at The Oval on the fourth day of the final test on Monday (NZT).

Inzamam and coach Bob Woolmer had earlier suggested that the tourists could refuse to play the one-day series if the captain was banned.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has indicated that if the one-dayers are not held on the scheduled dates it could cost them about £10 million ($30.02 million).

The row centres around a decision by the umpires to award a five-run penalty against Pakistan for ball tampering.

Inzamam's team refused to emerge for the final session's play and the match was eventually forfeited by the touring team.

The Pakistan players vehemently deny any wrongdoing.

The ICC has charged Inzamam with bringing the game into disrepute, for which there is a maximum ban of eight one-day internationals and four tests.

- REUTERS