Cricket: NZ icon upsets Pakistanis

By RICHARD BOOCK

Another New Zealand septuagenarian has been caught up in an international sporting bun fight.

Hard on the heels of soccer boss Charlie Dempsey's troubles, Pakistan's cricket authorities have confirmed their intention to complain to the International Cricket Council about New Zealand match referee John Reid, who at the weekend imposed a one-match suspension on Waqar Younis for allegedly altering the condition of the ball.

The first international cricketer to be suspended for ball-tampering, Waqar was also fined 50 per cent of his match fee, while team-mate Azhar Mahmood was relieved of 30 per cent of his fee for a similar offence and captain Moin Khan severely reprimanded for "allowing the spirit of the game to be impaired."

The 71-year-old Reid apparently imposed the penalties after viewing television footage which showed, amongst other things, Waqar running his thumb over the quarter-seam of a replacement ball during Saturday's Singer Trophy one-dayer against South Africa in Colombo.

However, Pakistan Cricket Board director of operations Yawar Saeed said he would not only protest to the ICC about the findings, but also about Reid's involvement in the series, and the apparent bias he held towards players from the sub-continent.

"I think John Reid has been a bit biased against Pakistan and we will certainly take up this matter with the ICC," Saeed said yesterday. "It is very disturbing. Pakistani bowlers have been criticised previously in certain quarters but never officially."

Pakistan were incensed by Reid's role in reporting fast bowler Shoaib Ahktar for a suspect action during last summer's tour of Australia, and then sitting on the ICC panel which decided his fate. They subsequently objected to Reid's posting as match referee in the home series against Sri Lanka last March and had him replaced.

At the time, PCB ad-hoc committee chairman Zafar Altaf said that his organisation had informed the ICC of their concerns regarding Reid's impartiality.

"He had an unbalanced attitude towards the two teams," said Altaf. "I think he is a strong believer of the phrase 'You show me a face and I'll show you the rule,' because that's what he applied in the series [against Australia]. There were apparently different rules for each side."

Altaf said the PCB had a moral obligation to safeguard their players' interests, and that the establishment would "always back them whenever it felt they were not getting a fair deal."

Reid captained New Zealand in 34 of his 58 tests, and has acted as match referee in 46 tests and 84 one-day internationals.

New Zealand Cricket umpiring director Brian Aldridge said that, given Reid's reputation for being tough, he was not altogether surprised by the latest controversy in Colombo.

"John is known for administering the ICC's code of conduct to the letter of the law.

"He administers it as many people believe it should be administered, although others clearly feel he takes it too far."