The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday that Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's hearing in the ball-tampering controversy will be held on September 27 and 28.

The much-awaited hearing will be conducted by chief match-referee Ranjan Madugulle of Sri Lanka at a yet unspecified venue, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told reporters here.

Inzamam faces charges of ball-tampering and bringing the game into disrepute following the Oval Test fiasco when Pakistan refused to take the field in protest at accusations of cheating by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove.

The umpires awarded the match to England, the first forfeit in the 129-year history of Test cricket.

Inzamam, who has been retained as captain for next month's ICC Champions Trophy in India, faces a ban of 2-4 Test matches and 4-8 one-day internationals if found guilty.

Speed said he regretted the delay in the hearing and added "other forms of evidence", including umpires' statements, will be used as no video footage of ball-tampering had been found.

Speed, meanwhile, backed umpires around the world and called on players to respect their decisions.

He said that if players cut out sledging and do not dispute umpires' decisions, it would help safeguard the game's long-term future.

"What I am advocating is for players and officials to adhere to the ideals that this great game has been built upon for 300 years," he said.

"Respect for your opponents, respect for your own captain and team, respect for the role of umpires and respect for the game's traditional values.

"At the same time, it is against the spirit of the game to dispute an umpire's decision, to abuse an opponent or umpire, to appeal knowing a batsman is not out, to appeal aggressively or to distract a batsman."

Speed said a number of players had signed up to uphold the "spirit of cricket", including Test captains Brian Lara of the West Indies and Rahul Dravid of India.

(Article: Copyright © 2006 AFP)