OTD| Pakistan forfeited their game against England after ball-tampering allegations in 2006

On 20th August 2006, Pakistan became the first team in 129 years of Test history to forfeit a game after being accused of ball-tampering. It was the fourth day of the fourth and final Test of Pakistan’s tour of England at the Oval. On-field umpires, Darrell Hair of Australia and West Indian Billy Doctrove penalised the Pakistan team for five runs. But Pakistan considered it an insult and a matter of national pride as they refused to take the pitch after tea. Hair ‘melodramatically’ removed the bails to mark history’s first-ever forfeited Test match. 

England were leading the series 2-0 moving into the final game and following the controversial forfeit, the hosts were awarded the win as they won the series by 3-0. Pakistan, however, were dominating the final Test after winning the toss and electing to bowl first. Inzamam-ul-haq’s men rattled the English batter as they were all out for 173 in 53.2 overs, with Umar Gul (4/46) and Mohammad Asif (4/56) remaining the key performers. 

Pakistan were in a comfortable position in the final Test 

In reply, Pakistan scored a mammoth 504 runs with Mohammad Yousuf smashing a brilliant century. England tried to adopt a cautious approach in the second innings until the umpires mandated a ball check in the 56th over. England were allowed a ball change indicating that the Pakistan team had tampered with the original Dukes. The game progressed normally until the tea break. 

However, on resumption of play, the English batter waited for their opponents out in the middle. There was no sign of them returning to the field despite the 20 minutes that had passed since the scheduled restart. The umpires had to walk into Pakistan’s dressing room to have a chat. However, they returned with Hair removing the bails. The spectators in London were flabbergasted at the sight. 

About an hour later, Pakistan players returned to the field and tried to convince the umpires. However, they stood firm on their decision. As a result, Inzamam was banned for the subsequent ODI series, and Hair was banned from international duty.