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Brit umpires want Donald's head

It ain't over till it's over -- and the fun and games, judging by evidence, is just beginning.

Leading umpires from England have come out strongly against Protean paceman Allan Donald, demanding that he be punished for his outburst against umpire Merv Kitchen, for certain controversial decisions handed down in course of the fourth Test between the two countries at Trent Bridge, last week.

"Umpires are outraged by what Donald said," said Barrie Leadbeater, chairman of the English Umpires' Association. "He is out of order, his comments are unacceptable!"

Leadbeater, thus, has demanded that the ICC take the toughest possible action against Donald -- and what is more, has urged that such action be taken, and announced, within 24 hours.

Contained therein is a veiled demand that Donald be punished by missing the fifth and final Test at Headingley, which gets underway Thursday. It is in this context that the 24 hour deadline is significant.

"Donald has breached the ICC code of conduct regarding players making public comment about Test umpires," said Leadbeater.

The senior umpire cited precedent, in the form of Mark Ramprakash who was fined 850 pounds, and handed down a suspended sentence of one match, for an aside to Darrell Hair after being given out recently. "What Donald has done is far more serious," said Leadbeater, adding, "If the ICC doesn't take prompt action, or the South African board doesn't deal with its player, then the umpires will have to call on the English board to intervene ahead of Thursday's Test."

Kitchen, who after watching replays of his decisions admitted that he could have been in error, is being backed four-square by the ECB, which has named him to stand in the England versus Sri Lanka one dayer at Lord's on August 16.

The EUA call, however, is untenable as per prevailing norms.

For starters, it is difficult to see what action the match referee can take, since his jurisdiction ends with the field of play whereas Donald's views were expressed later, in a radio interview.

Secondly, Donald has obviously got the permission of his cricket board to speak his mind, off the field of play -- so again, there is precious little the ICC can do about it. The code of conduct, referred to by the umpires, refers only to behaviour on the field.

The man in the eye of the storm, meanwhile, prefers to think of the upcoming contest, which he says could be the most important match of his 46-Test career.

"I haven't experienced a more important build-up since our return to international cricket," said Donald, ahead of the fifth and final Test at Headingley, Leeds, starting Thursday. "We desperately want to win the series but England, too, will feel they are on the verge of something huge -- their biggest series win for more than a decade."

"We cannot afford to have a single negative thought in any of the 11 players' minds in the whole build-up to the match," said Donald. " We have already had a team meeting to reinforce that point. The strongest team, with the most self-belief, will probably win the series."

Interestingly, Michael Atherton in his column in the Sunday Telegraph heaped praise on Donald, saying that the South African bowled as fast he has ever bowled during that torrid spell following the turning down of a caught behind appeal against the English opener, when Atherton was on 27.

"It was the most intense 60 minutes I have experienced in a Test," writes Atherton.

"Hansie (Cronje) asked me to give him five overs of all my worth, and I did. We exchanged looks and words, it was as hard as it gets. But he survived...somehow," Donald reflected.

Atherton, however, hedged the question of whether he had indeed gloved one from Donald to Mark Boucher behind the stumps, saying, "It was short, quick and at me. I've got in an almighty tangle. Big, big appeal. Not out. He (Donald) looks upset, they all look upset...Somebody turned the radiator up -- it's hot out here! Abuse from the fielders between overs. To be expected. This is Test cricket. Give some back."

Donald's focus, meanwhile, is more on the third Test at Old Trafford, where the England last pair held out to force a draw. "I still kick myself when I think back to Old Trafford. We should have won that game. Still, it only makes me more determined to win at Headingley," said Donald.

The South African pacemen -- Shaun Pollock was not at full steam in the fourth Test -- are looking at good conditions at Headingley. "But whatever the pitch looks like, and however it plays, I know this is my last tour to England and if we can win a five-Test series here, I know I will probably be able to rest happy for the remainder of my career," said an obviously determined Donald.

All of this, of course, gives rise to a very piquant situation. The ICC has flown in Javed Akthar as the neutral umpire for what is obviously going to be a very, very hotly contested five days of Test cricket. And Akthar, without mincing words, is not among the world's most competent of cricketing officials.

Indian cricket fans will, for instance, remember Akthar as the man who, in Sharjah earlier this year, cruelly truncated two sensational knocks, in successive games, by Sachin Tendulkar.

The first instance was in the last league game, when Tendulkar had single-handedly hauled India into the final with a blistering display of batsmanship and, having achieved that first objective, set out to try and pull off an even more improbable win. On that occasion, he was given caught behind off a ball that bounced well over shoulder height, and should have been no-balled.

Came the final and again, Tendulkar, having brought the team to the threshold of a famous win against Australia, found himself sent back by an LBW decision that, at the time, provoked laughter in the television commentary box.

This, then, the man who is going to be in the hot seat at Headingley -- where, sure as shooting, rival fielders are liable to go up for any and every little thing.

Akthar's performance in the game is going to have as crucial a bearing, then, as Donald's bowling.

Previous story: Donald blasts Kitchen, umpire talks of quitting

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