I AM of the same mind as Mansoor Rizvi who, in his letter, 'No fair play' (Oct 6), has mentioned the injustice done to the Pakistan cricket team by Australian Umpire Simon Taufel, who wrongly adjudicated the young and exciting Umar Akmal 'out' LBW at a very crucial stage of the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final.

The writer has also mentioned about the hypocritical behaviour of the International Cricket Council and the cricket representatives of different countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and India towards Pakistan.

In this context, I would like to add that though they have won the ICC Fair-play Award, New Zealand and their Captain Daniel Vettori have been hostile towards Pakistan.

It is worth mentioning that in an ICC World Twenty20 match in the super-eight stage when Pakistan's fast bowler Umar Gul destroyed the Kiwi batting lineup by grabbing five wickets for six runs in just four overs, Vettori raised concerns with the umpires that Pakistan were cheating.

After the match he said “I have never ever seen someone reverse the ball after 12 overs.”

However, Vettori's accusations were turned down by the umpires as Umar Gul's art was responsible for his performance and not ball-tampering.

Nevertheless, this instance puzzles me again and again that on which criterion New Zealand have been awarded the ICC Fairplay Award.

The ICC too has always been dodgy when it comes to dealing with Pakistan. In 2006, in a Champions Trophy match at Mohali, India, the Pakistani team was given a green-top pitch to play on against the South African one.

The same was the case when Pakistan took on Ireland in a 2007 World Cup match in West Indies and when Pakistan faced West Indies in the semi-final of Champions Trophy at Southampton, England, in 2004.

As a result, Pakistan lost these important matches which resulted in their ouster from such important tournaments.

It should be kept in mind that the ICC is responsible for the preparation of pitches in its tournaments.

It should also be noted that in all the above-mentioned tournaments, only Pakistan were made to play on green pitches -- which usually favour weaker bowling teams as playing on such pitches makes their bowling as effective as that of the stronger ones -- while all the other teams enjoyed the luxury of playing on normal batting tracks.

If the ICC is to promote fair play in the game of cricket, it must then seek to promote the true and unbiased spirit of the game. A biased attitude and unfairly handing Fair-play Awards to the unfair teams is not going to help its cause.

MIRZA IBRAHIM BAIG
Karachi

(II)

THIS is about the newly-built football stadium in Charsadda district which is being used illegally for a floodlight cricket tournament by some sports diplomats to convert it into a stadium despite a cricket ground lying nearby.

The smoothness and beauty of this lush green stadium no longer remains due to the ground having been dug for the electricity poles. Apart from this, tyre marks of motorcycles can also be seen on the ground which has totally damaged the grass.

The authorities concerned are, therefore, requested to do something about it on an urgent basis.

SYED MUNAWAR SHAH
Charsadda