UMPIRE Aleem Dar of Pakistan defends Hair on pakstop.com

Aleem Dar, one of two Pakistani umpires on the ICC's Elite Panel, has said that Pakistan's decision to protest and stay off the field on the fourth day of the fourth Test at the Oval last week, was wrong and may harm the game in the long-term. Pakistan refused to take the field after Darrell Hair penalized them for ball tampering, a decision which ultimately led to the Test being forfeited. But Dar told Cricinfo: "By law Pakistan was wrong. There are other ways of protesting and the avenue they chose I believe was the wrong one." Opinion on Pakistan's decision to protest and refusal to come out after tea has been mixed. The protest galvanized much of the nation; it was seen by many as a protection of their honour. But some ex-players, such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram have struck discordant notes; the latter two agree with Dar in that it shouldn't have happened at all. "The problem is that if one country attempts it, then others will follow and that cannot be good for the game in the long-run," Dar said. Dar also argued that the spotlight has unfairly focused on Hair, after the Test became the first in the history of the game to be forfeited. "It is not about one umpire. It can't be about just one. Both umpires and even those off the field are involved. Those decisions on ball tampering and the forfeit were not taken by Hair alone." Amid scenes like this Aleem Dar has been the voice of reason