Former cricket umpire Darrell Hair admits taking money from till

Former international umpire Darrell Hair has admitted to stealing money from a bottle shop he was working at to aid paying gambling debts.

The Australian was an international umpire for 18 years, taking charge of 78 tests, 139 ODIs and six Twenty20s before retiring in 2008.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the 65-year-old admitted in court to stealing from D'Aquino's Liquor in Orange, New South Wales, after facing a charge of taking AU$9005.75 during a two-month stint this year.

According to the SMH, Hair was fired in May after he was seen in CCTV footage taking money from the cash register and putting it in his pocket.

"[Hair] stated that he had no excuse for his dishonesty and he had let his gambling get too far out of control during the early months of 2017 and failed to react to the signs that it was out of control," the Orange Local Court heard in a document.

Hair was sentenced to an 18-month good behaviour bond.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.