Hair facing World Cup ban over Murali criticisms

The limited-overs World Cup in England starts in May and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) must nominate its umpire by the end of the month.

That is also when the International Cricket Council wants a resolution of Monday's decision taken at its Christchurch meeting to charge Hair with bringing the game into disrepute.

With Steve Randell facing child sex charges later this year, Daryl Harper is likely to get the World Cup appointment even though he has not officiated outside Australia and only stood in his first two Tests this summer.

ICC chief executive David Richards said Monday that Hair would be charged for comments in his recent book ``The Decision Maker''.

Hair labelled Muralitharan's bowling action as diabolical and said he would have called two more Sri Lankan bowlers for illegal actions if he had known Australia would later boycott its 1996 World Cup match in Colombo.

That left him open to accusations of not performing his duty.

Hair created worldwide headlines in December 1995 for no-balling Muralitharan seven times in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Umpires are barred from making comments detrimental to the game and Hair could face the same penalty as players, who can be suspended for three Tests or six one-day matches if found guilty.

Hair has already stood down from Sri Lanka's one-day matches here this season to avoid the ACB having to sack him.

The ACB has also deliberately not given Ross Emerson any Sri Lankan games. Emerson called Muralitharan in a one-dayer in Brisbane soon after Hair's rulings.

In Brisbane, Sri Lankan team manager Ranjith Fernando said the controvery over Muralitharan was finished.

The spinner himself would not comment on the possible disciplinary action facing Hair. But Fernando said: ``Muralitharan is the type of bowler who doesn't bother too much about the things that are extraneous, if one might call it, and I think he's handled multiple pressures brilliantly.''

News of the charge against Hair filtered into the Sri Lankan dressing room during Monday's four-wicket one-day loss to England, but the Sri Lankans chose not to speak publicly on the issue.

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board had called for Hair to be disciplined.