On this day in 2006: Pakistan forfeit Test against England after ball-tampering charge

It’s been 16 years since Test cricket witnessed its first-ever forfeited encounter which was played between England and Pakistan at The Oval. It was the final Test of the four-match series which had been already bagged by England. The first Test failed to give any result while the hosts clinched victories in the following two. Pakistan were dominating the fourth match and were close to registering their first win of the series until an accusation of ball tampering hit the Inzamam ul Haq-led unit.

Pakistan had previously found themselves at the centre of a similar debate. England had accused Pakistan of tampering with the ball during the 1992 series, but no action was taken at that time due to ambiguous evidence. In the 2006 series, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove checked the ball's condition and gave England five penalty runs without issuing any sort of warning. England were permitted to change the ball as it was clear that Pakistan had tampered and altered the previous one.

Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and decided to bowl. Umar Gul (4/46) and Mohammad Asif (4/56) shone with the ball for the visitors, as the hosts were dismissed for 173 in 53.2 overs. Mohammad Yousuf smashed a century (128), and the team took a significant lead when they were bundled out after racking up 504 runs. England displayed patience during the second inning. In the 56th over, as Pakistan's lead was shrinking, umpires Hair and Doctrove examined the ball and requested a change. The match proceeded normally till the tea break.

After an hour, Pakistani players decided to persuade the umpires against the five penalty runs, but Hair and Doctrove refused to change their minds. Pakistan then forfeited the game. With the victory, England went on to win the series 3-0. In the wake of the incident, the ICC decided to drop the ball-tampering accusations against Pakistan since there was no solid proof.

Nevertheless, Inzamam Ul Haq was banned from the ODI series against England because of his refusal to return to the field after the tea break. Hair was also withdrawn from international umpiring duty. Later, he vowed to sue the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board, alleging racial discrimination.

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