Play had to be halted in Dubai during the Asia Cup Group A match between Pakistan and the UAE after umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge was struck on the ear by a throw from a fielder playing for the former. The incident happened in the last over of the powerplay in UAE’s innings, when a throw back to the bowler ended up hitting the umpire instead.
Saim Ayub was the bowler and he showed immediate concern, as did the rest of his teammates. Ayub removed Palliyaguruge’s hat and the 57-year-old could be seen holding the area around his left ear. The Pakistan physio was called upon and he seemed to be conducting a concussion test on Palliyaguruge. Eventually, the umpire was ushered off the field, although he didn’t look too disoriented while doing so. Bangladesh’s Gazi Sohel, the reserve umpire, took his place for the remainder of the match.
Pakistan’s Saim Ayub removed Palliyaguruge’s hat and the 57-year-old could be seen holding the area around his left ear. (AP Photo)
Pakistan were restricted to a score of 146/9 by a spirited UAE, with pacer Junaid Siddique taking four wickets for 18 runs and spinner Simranjeet Singh taking three for 26. The match itself had been delayed by an hour with Pakistan not coming to the stadium amid a standoff with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over match referee Andy Pycroft.
The dramatic afternoon began with the Pakistan squad staying put at their hotel, as the ICC refused to meet the PCB’s demands of removing Pycroft and setting up an inquiry into the no-handshake row during the match against India on Sunday, which came “without any documents or evidence,” according to sources.
Soon, a video of Pycroft supposedly apologising to Pakistan coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha surfaced, even as current and former board administrators huddled in Lahore and started talks with ICC officials.
Just after the Pakistan team departed from the hotel to the ground, the PCB’s official media handle tweeted that “ICC’s controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologised to the Pakistan cricket team’s manager, coach and captain.”
It read: “Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India-Pakistan match. The PCB has strongly reacted to Pycroft’s actions. Pycroft described the incident on September 14 as a result of mis-communication and apologised. The ICC has expressed its readiness to investigate a breach of the Code of Conduct during the match on 14 September.” Pycroft remained referee for the Pakistan-UAE game.
