18 Sep 2010

NZ Cricket umpire reprimanded by ICC

11:00 am on 18 September 2010

Cricket's governing body the ICC's reprimanded New Zealand umpire Tony Hill for talking publicly about the betting scam surrounding the England-Pakistan test at Lord's.

In a recent newspaper interview, Hill said he didn't suspect anything inappropriate was going on, and that, in fact, given the no balls were so blatant, he suspected it was a tactic to unsettle the England batsmen.

But Hill says the ICC has told him not to comment further until the investigation into the matter has been completed.

The Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been accused of spot fixing during the Test series and have been suspended.

The betting scam overshadowed what was a career highlight for Hill who along with fellow New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden became the first neutral umpires from the same country to officiate in a test at Lord's.