Howzat: ex-test umpire Darrell Hair caught out stealing A$9,000 cash from liquor shop employer

The 65-year-old, who caused a storm when he no-balled Sri Lanka star Muttiah Muralitharan for an illegal bowling action in 1995, took A$9,005.75 (HK$54,700) between February 25 and April 28 this year.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Hair had a gambling problem and that he was fired when his bosses found CCTV footage showing him with his hand in the till.

Hair, who stood in 78 tests from 1992 to 2008, pleaded guilty to one charge of embezzlement and one of stealing on Monday, documents from the Orange Local Court showed.

“My client has been in the public eye for many years and this is a bit of a fall for him, to find himself before the court in these circumstances,” Hair’s lawyer Andrew Rolfe said, according to the Herald.

“This is an aberration in the life of a man who, prior to this, had a lifetime of service to the community and to a sport that he loved.”