West Indies' [Images] umpire Billy Doctrove was omitted on Thursday from the list of officials for the ICC [Images] Champions Trophy starting in India on Saturday.
Doctrove and Australia's Darrell Hair were at the centre of the row which led to Pakistan forfeiting the fourth Test against England [Images] at The Oval in August.
Pakistan refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day after Doctrove and Hair penalised them five runs for alleged ball-tampering.
An International Cricket Council hearing last month cleared Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq [Images] of ball-tampering and the ICC then announced that Hair would not be standing in the Champions Trophy for security and safety reasons.
In a statement on Thursday the ICC said eight of its 10-man elite umpires panel would stand in the tournament.
An ICC spokesman said Doctrove's absence had nothing to do with the controversy.
"Don't read anything into Billy Doctrove's absence," he said, adding it was easier to rotate eight umpires.
Would you like to join the Cricket and Cricket Lovers Discussion Group and discuss your cricket views with other cricket freaks? Click here. Have fun!
© Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
|