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ICC: Hair wanted $500,000 to quit
 Hair (right) inspects the ball during the controversial fourth Test match. LONDON, England -- International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed has revealed that Australian umpire Darrell Hair offered to resign after the ball-tampering affair this week in exchange for "a payment of $500,000." Hair was the umpire who accused Pakistan captain Inzaman ul-Haq of ball-tampering and bringing the game into disrepute in the fourth Test against England at The Oval last Sunday. Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove first penalized Pakistan five runs for ball-tampering and then judged they had forfeited the match by failing to halt a sit-in protest when play was due to resume. The ICC were due to hold a disciplinary hearing for Inzamam on Friday but that was postponed because of the unavailability of ICC referee Ranjan Madugalle, with a new date expected to have been set. However, the ICC called a press conference at which Speed revealed Hair's actions. Speed said: "On Tuesday 22 August I was handed a letter written on that day by Darrell Hair to Doug Cowie, who is the ICC Umpires and Referees Manager. "When I received the letter it is fair to say I was extremely surprised by the content and concerned as to how I should deal with it. "In the letter Darrell Hair offered to leave his job as a top official in the ICC in exchange for a payment of $500,000." Speed is confident that Hair was acting "to find a solution in the interests of the game". He said: "Darrell Hair was under great stress when he wrote these letters and I am confident that Darrell Hair had no dishonest, underhand or malice intent -- he was seeking to find a solution in the interests of the game." Speed added: "This issue has been marked by a series of unnecessary and entirely avoidable over-reactions. "I've been concerned I was over-reacting to the content of these letters but I have been assured I am not." After receiving the offer from Hair, Speed was advised by lawyers to disclose the contents to the Pakistan Cricket Board as they were relevant to the disciplinary case against Inzamam. Having informed the PCB, Speed then felt compelled to make the documents public. In his letter, which was released to the media, Hair said: "I am prepared to retire/stand down/relinquish my position on the elite panel (of umpires) to take effect from August 31, 2006. "This payment is to be the sum of $500,000, details of which must be kept confidential by both parties. This sum to be paid directly into my account by August 31, 2006. "ICC may announce the retirement in any way they wish but I would prefer a simple 'lifestyle choice' as this was the very reason I moved from Australia to settle in the UK three years ago. "This offer in no way precludes me taking legal action and/or instigating libel suits against various sections of the electronic and print media for comments made either previously or in the future." Percy Sonn, the ICC president, told the meeting: "I find myself in London following a regrettable turn of events that started last Sunday. From my point of view at least things can only get better. "The question is what happens next? In the light of the developments, I called a meeting of the executive board. That matter will discuss this matter in detail. "In terms of what the board has the power to do, it has wide-ranging powers, however we are currently seeking legal advice. "We realise this makes Mr Hair's situation very sensitive. We have made avail to him security advice, counselling and media management to assist him." Sonn added: "Darrell Hair has been in a difficult position since Sunday and I'm stating the obvious by saying as a result of this disclosure that position has been made more difficult. "I said to Darrell today that while this is a serious issue, there are issues in relation to his contract and to the ICC's Umpires' Code of Conduct. "I said to him he's not sacked, he's not suspended and he has not been charged. We are in a very early stage of dealing with this issue." 
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