New Delhi, August 31 :

India will support any moves to dilute cricket umpires’ powers following the forfeited Test between England and Pakistan, an official said on Thursday.

“For the sake of spectators, TV viewers and the game’s sponsors, no match should be called off and certainly not by the umpires,” said Indian cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah. “Any decision to forfeit a Test should be made by the match referee or the ICC.”

The Oval Test in London ended in bizarre fashion on August 20 when Pakistan refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day in protest at being accused of ball tampering by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove.

The move led to the umpires awarding the match to England and triggering the biggest crisis in the sport since the match-fixing scandal in 2000. Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq was subsequently charged with ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute. His case will be heard in the second half of September at an yet unspecified date.

Shah said that in future any umpire or team which refused to play without “sufficient reason” should be penalised heavily.