The International Cricket Council on Sunday did a volte-face and re-awarded the infamous 2006 Oval Test to England, a match that was originally deemed forfeited by Pakistan but declared a draw by the ICC last year.

“After reconsideration of the matter, which included consideration of legal advice and input from the MCC, the custodians of the Laws of Cricket, the Board decided that the original umpires’ decision to award the match to England, should apply,” the ICC said in a statement after a two-day Executive Board meeting that ended on Sunday.

Interestingly, the ICC Board had earlier changed the result to “match abandoned as a draw” in July last year.

The Oval Test became the first forfeiture in the history of Test cricket after controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair and his West Indian colleague Billy Doctrove awarded it to England on the fourth day.

The umpires’ move was prompted by Pakistan’s refusal to take the field after Hair had accused them of ball tampering and penalised them of five runs, a decision that infuriated the then Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said re-awarding the match to England will “uphold the laws of cricket” and thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board for accepting the decision.

“I’m gratified the Board reached the conclusion it did as this ensures the integrity of the game and the Laws of Cricket have been upheld. I am especially grateful to the PCB for its understanding in this matter,” he said.

The decision left Hair, who was sacked from the elite panel, vindicated. The Australian won a legal battle against the ICC to get himself reinstated last March before quitting the panel.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt will vehemently resist any move to once again reverse the result of the infamous Oval Test against England during the International Cricket Council board meeting in Perth Saturday.

A senior PCB official said on Thursday that Butt has gone to Australia with legal opinions taken from a team of lawyers on The Oval Test and will request the ICC not to change the match result again.

“He has carried two separate legal opinions. He would be resisting any move to reverse the result of the Oval Test,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

The ICC executive board is scheduled to discuss the issue of reversing the result of the Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006.

The Test was first awarded to England by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove after Pakistan refused to take the field on the fourth day as a mark of protest against ball-tampering charges levelled by the umpires.

However, after much lobbying by the PCB, the ICC voted in favour of reversing the result and it was decided last year that the Oval Test would be referred as a draw rather than forfeiture.

But the story didn’t end there.

The Marylbone Cricket Club (MCC) – the guardian of cricket laws – told the ICC to reverse the result to a win for England as Pakistan had refused to take the field which later forced the on-field umpires to award a victory to the home team, as per cricket laws.