Shakoor Rana
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| Shakoor Rana | ||||
 Pakistan |
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| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shakoor Rana | |||
| Born | 3 April 1936 | |||
| Amritsar, India | ||||
| Died | 9 April 2001 (aged 65) | |||
| Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan | ||||
| Umpiring information | ||||
| Tests umpired | 18 | |||
| ODIs umpired | 22 (1977–1996) | |||
Shakoor Rana (born April 3 1936 in Amritsar, India, died April 9 2001) was one of the most controversial cricket umpires in history.
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[edit] Playing career
Shakoor Rana did not have a particularly distinguished playing career, making only 11 first class appearances and accumulating just 226 runs and 12 wickets. He was overshadowed by his brothers Shafqat Rana and Azmat Rana who both represented Pakistan at test level.
[edit] Umpiring career
Shakoor Rana became much more notable for his umpiring than his playing career. He made his international debut as an umpire in 1974 at Lahore, the city that had become his hometown. The match was between Pakistan and the West Indies. His career continued until his last match between Pakistan and New Zealand in 1996 also at Lahore. He stood in 18 test matches and 22 One Day International. He was well-known for the quickness of giving visiting batsmen out, sometimes before the bowler even started to appeal.
[edit] Gatting controversy
In one of the most controversial incidents in cricketing history, Shakoor Rana notably came face-to-face with Mike Gatting in the finger-wagging incident that stopped the Faislabad test in 1987. The image of the English cricket captain and an international umpire shouting at each other with fingers waved in the other's face was a shocking one for the image of the game.
The incident in question occurred on the second day of the test as Gatting made an alteration to the fielding positions as Eddie Hemmings ran in to bowl. Rana stopped the game and accused Gatting of cheating. Rana had already upset the English by wearing a Pakistan sweater and placing Mudassar Nazar's cap on his own head. The game was stopped by the incident and only resumed the following day. Rana and Gatting were both accused of using foul language [1]. Shakoor refused to stand again in that Test until he received an unconditional apology from Gatting for the language used in the dispute. Gatting was threatened with being stripped of the England captaincy and was forced into issuing a written apology to Rana. Gatting has since expressed regret at his part in the row.[2]
According to one BBC article, England players who were there have always maintained that Shakoor was egged on by the Pakistan captain Javed Miandad because Pakistan were in danger of losing that Test [3].
[edit] Coney incident
Gatting was not the only international captain to have had a run-in with Rana. New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney threatened to lead his side from the field following a controversial decision of not-out for Pakistan player Javed Miandad.[4]
[edit] Legacy
The controversy surrounding Shakoor Rana was a driver in the move towards neutral umpires at test matches. The home side had previously supplied the umpires but the ICC have since brought in neutral officials.
