Umpire Hair (right) discusses the ball with colleague Billy Doctrove

The International Cricket Council said it would not keep the Australian away from Pakistan games in the wake of the Oval ball-tampering row on Sunday.

But Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan said: "It has happened before, with the Sri Lankans.

"Mr Hair was out for a year. We will say that - and probably much more."

Hair took a break from officiating in Sri Lanka matches after his decision to report off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for a suspect bowling action in 1995.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed insisted on Wednesday that the game's governing body would not be dictated to on such decisions.

"It remains the role of the ICC and not our members to appoint umpires. The appointments are made without fear or favour," he said.

Pakistan were incensed by Hair's decision to penalise them for ball-tampering during the fourth Test against England.

This process has been approved by all Test-playing teams and has proved successful Malcolm Speed

And the team's decision to remain in their dressing room instead of taking the field following the tea interval resulted in Hair and colleague Billy Doctrove awarding the game to England by forfeit.

Speed said it was "hugely regrettable" that the game at The Oval, in which Pakistan had the upper hand, did not end with a "great finish in front of a full house."

But he reiterated that on-field umpires were the "sole judges of fair and unfair play, the ultimate arbiters" as "enshrined in the laws of cricket".

He continued: "In this instance, the decision made by Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair to award the match to England was the correct one under the laws."

Speed and Sunil Gavaskar, the chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee, are responsible for appointing umpires for Tests and one-day internationals.

"This process has been approved by the ICC's Executive Board, which includes representatives of all Test-playing teams, and has proved successful," Speed added.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed concerns about Hair's umpiring in the past, but this was the first time they had done so in writing.

The Australian is not scheduled to stand in the forthcoming one-day series against England.