Angry Speed issues warning to Inzamam

Malcolm Speed: no disguising his growing anger © Getty Images

Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, has issued a terse warning to Inzamam-ul-Haq over making public comments about incidents at The Oval pending the ICC's Code of Conduct hearing.

"I have been very disappointed by some of the public comments that have been made by members of the PCB, team management and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq following the Oval Test," Speed said in a media release. "Over the course of the last two weeks there has been a stream of unnecessary and inappropriate public comment from the PCB, much of which could be seen as prejudicial to the pending Code of Conduct hearing.

"We have in place a fair and independent process for dealing with the matters that arose out of the Oval Test and all concerned parties will have an opportunity to present their evidence during the hearing later in September.

"Ahead of this hearing it is wholly inappropriate for officials or players to comment on the issues that will be addressed, particularly as the ICC Code of Conduct includes a specific offence of 'public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on, a match-related incident or match official'."

This raises the rather surreal situation in which Inzamam could find himself facing Code of Conduct charges for commenting on a Code of Conduct hearing that might turn out to have been directly caused by incidents for which he might be cleared.

But there was no doubting that Speed had had enough. "The acute international diplomatic and political sensitivity of this issue has persuaded me not to lay a charge to date but despite the exceptional circumstances I will not hesitate to lay a charge should further inappropriate public comments be made ahead of the hearing."

He added that this issue had been raised twice in the last ten days with Shaharyar Khan, the PCB's president, and that Mike Procter, the ICC match referee, had been asked to speak to the Pakistan team and management.

"There will be plenty of opportunity for Pakistan to put its side of the story in the fair environment of the Code of Conduct hearing," Speed concluded. "That is the appropriate forum for its views on these matters."