KARACHI Pakistan and England have agreed on two local umpires for the third Test, averting the threat of another row, a senior Pakistani cricket official said on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Board Secretary, Mr. Eraj Butt, told reporters that England manager Peter Lush had been offered Mahboob Shah and Khizar Hayat for the game and had accepted.
“The touring team had no objection to the two umpires”, he said.
Butt sai attempts to bring umpires from India had been unsuccessful as the officials approached were not free to come.
Monday’s clear their talks between Subba Row, Smith, and the tour party has undoubtedly lifted the spirits of Gating and Co.
But Stewart admitted: “I don’t think there’s any chance at all on this tour of England team being in exactly the required frame of mind to play a Test”.
‘And Gating on Monday given the assurance that he has the full backing of a Board which ordered his unconditional apology to umpire Rana during the second Test underlined that view.
“We want to get on with the tour and get back to our families”, he said.
England’s physical state is hardly encouraging either. Pace man Neil Foster (ankle) and all-rounder David Capel (knee) are both doubtful while spinner John Emburey is troubled by a back problem.
‘Assuming the match does go ahead, fast bowlers Graham Dilley and Phillip Defreitas look set for recalls. ‘And Lancashire’s 24 year old left-handed batsman Neil Fair brother could win his second Test cap at the expense of out of form Tim Robinson.
The Karachi pitch looks more durable than those served up at either Lahore or Faisalabad and there would seem little point in England using three spinners.
Pace, reinforced by controlled anger and a spirit of determination, might be their best hope of leaving the series and putting one across Pakistan at long last.
In Bombay the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Mr. Ranbir Singh, said the request of Pakistan for sending Indian umpires was turned down.
“The Board feels the time is too short to consider the request,” he said, adding that a telegram had been sent to the Pakistani Board informing them of the decision.
The issue had threatened to cause a new dispute at the end of a tour marred by clashes over the umpiring.
They Pakistan Board had initially named Hayat and Shakil Khan, the umpire at the center of a blazing row during the first Test in Lahore, according to informed sources.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 1, 1988
