Breaking news
9.10pm After the news that the Test was off there are again further conflicting reports coming out of the The Oval with sources saying the match is still on. The amazing events continue to unfold.
8.50pm The Test match has finally been called off after a farcical afternoon and evening on the fourth day. The actual result is, as yet, unknown, but we will keep you posted.
8.30pm The status of the match is being reviewed; they may strip it of Test status - that's all we know from the meeting so far. Darrell Hair has gone home, so the top brass are reviewing the situation now. We still don't know if they're going to make a decision tonight. A room has been set aside for a press conference, although they may not yet be needed.
If they have to do have to appoint a new umpire, to call it a Test match could prompt anarchy. There is speculation among the press corps that Darrell Hair may be replaced mid-Test. It's up to the ICC to decide whether they can change the rules mid-match, but that could set a dangerous precedent.
In 2001 the final Test between South Africa and India, at Centurion Park, was stripped of its Test status after India refused to play with Mike Denness as match referee when he brought charges against six Indian players, including a claim that Sachin Tendulkar had tampered with the ball. Denness, and the neutal umpire George Sharp, flew home and the ICC refused to call it a Test.
7.50pm The vice chairman of the ECB, Mike Soper, has just announced that he believes that the fourth and final Test is likely to be called off after today's extraordinary scenes.
Now Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul have all left the building; they didn't stop to speak to anyone but also they had no kit with them. Once again absolutely no information is coming out at all and all the signs are utterly conflicting. The high-level meeting is still taking place in the players' dining room, but there has been no announcement coming out of it as of yet.
Duncan Fletcher and Matthew Maynard have just walked past and they spoke to the journalists to say they didn't know what the situation is.
It's just been noted that the ICC office will be closed tomorrow. As the press release has it: "The day has been declared a holiday in Dubai to mark the Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH). The office will be open as normal on Sunday 20 August (8.30am - 5pm) and, after the day off, it will reopen at 8.30am on Tuesday 22 August." Could this situation get much more farcical? Probably not...
We will keep you updated with progress.
Let me tell ya one thing...........
This is the most enigmatical, ambiguous, and grotesque incident ever witnessed in cricket history, something which the ICC shall never be proud of.
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