Sandpaper, dust, mint and 'mouthwork'… many veterans got entangled in ball tempering.

Ball tampering is a level-2 offense in cricket. If a player is caught ball tampering, action is taken on him like fine, demerit points and ban of some matches. Although, some time after the beginning of Test cricket, isolated complaints of 'ball tampering' started coming to the fore, but the term 'ball tampering' got the maximum discussion when the England team's 1976-77 tour of India. Captain Bishan Singh Bedi accused English fast bowler John Lever of making the ball swing more by hitting the baseline. Bedi had alleged that Lever put baseball in his headband and got extra swing by shining the ball. At that time, countries like England and Australia had dominance in cricket, hence Bedi's complaint was not taken very seriously. With the passage of time, complaints of ball tampering in cricket increased and many teams and veteran players/captains were accused of ball tampering for their own benefit and some had to face bans.

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Let's take a look at some unique methods of ball tampering and the players/captains who have come under the scanner for action in these cases.

'Sandpaper' scandal tarnishes the image of Australian cricket

The 'Sandpapergate scandal' that came to light in the Cape Town Test during the 2018 South Africa-Australia series had put a bad stain on the image of Australian cricket. In the test, Australian player Cameron Bancroft was caught by the cameras rubbing sandpaper on the ball. Naturally, a player like Bancroft himself cannot be involved in such a crime. The investigation revealed that Australia's then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were also involved in this plan and on the behest of both of them, Bancroft had tried ball tampering. This incident created a storm in world cricket and everyone's target was the masterminds of the plan, Smith and Warner. It was also alleged that some other players and the then coach of the Australian team were also part of this conspiracy but this could not be confirmed. Later in a press conference, Smith tearfully admitted his mistake. In this case, both Smith and Warner were banned from international cricket for one year and Bancroft for 9 months. Along with this, Smith was banned from captaining the Australian team for one year and Warner for life.

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Boom Boom Afridi was spoiling the shape of the ball with his teeth.
It is impossible to talk about ball tampering and not mention Pakistani players. Pakistan's veteran bowlers like Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi have been accused of ball tampering. In 2010, during the Perth ODI against Australia, Afridi was seen in front of everyone, distorting the shape of the ball by biting it with his teeth. Considering this as very serious, Afridi was banned from two T20Is. Earlier, during the Oval Test during the 2006 tour of England, umpires Daryl Hair and Billy Doctrove had accused the Pakistan team of ball tampering and awarded 5 runs to England. In protest, Inzamam Ul Haq's team entered the field after the tea break. Had refused to come. As a result, England was declared victorious in the match. Similarly, in the triangular series held in Sri Lanka in 2000, Waqar Younis was found guilty of ball tampering in the match against South Africa. He was the first bowler to be suspended for ball tampering. Also, 50 percent of his match fee was deducted. Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has also been suspended by ICC for ball tampering.

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use of dust to rough the ball

In 1994, during the series against South Africa in the Lord's Test, the then captain of the England team, Mike Atherton, was accused of 'roughing' the ball by using dust kept in his pocket. Atherton was 'captured' by the cameras secretly putting his hand in his pocket, taking out dust and rubbing it on the ball. When the matter escalated, the England captain said in defense that he used dust to keep his hands dry. However, he could not give a satisfactory answer to the question of rubbing dust on the ball. This can be considered the effect of England's dominance in world cricket and it is Atherton's luck that he was only fined in the case and was saved from the ban. Despite his conduct against the rules of cricket, he was retained as captain.

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Dravid was also accused of using 'cough lozenges' on the ball.

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, who have the image of 'gentleman cricketers', have also been accused of ball tampering. In 2004, during the India-Zimbabwe tri-series in Brisbane, Dravid was seen rubbing a cough lozenge on the shiny part of the ball. Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering and was fined 50% of his match fee in this case. Similarly, Sachin Tendulkar was also seen 'moving' his fingers on the seam of the ball during the 2001 India-South Africa series. In this case, he was suspended for one match and fined 75 percent of his match fee. Sachin had declared himself innocent and said that he was removing the pieces of grass stuck in the seam of the ball. BCCI had expressed strong protest against the action of match referee Mike Denness in the matter and later the ban on Sachin was lifted. The ICC had said that Sachin was not guilty of ball tampering but he should have taken the umpire's permission to remove grass from the seam.

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Ball tampering with mint and zip, Faf du Plessis entangled twice

South Africa's Faf du Plessis has been accused of serious ball tampering in 2013 and 2016. During the Test against Pakistan in 2013, Du Plessis tried ball tampering by rubbing the ball with the zips of his pants, after which the umpires changed the ball, awarding 5 runs in Pakistan's favor and charged the South African player a match fee. A fine of 50 percent of the amount was imposed. Similarly, in the Hobart Test against Australia in 2016, Du Plessis was caught using mint or lollipop saliva on the ball. As a result, his entire match fee was deducted.

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tag: david warner, faf du plessis, pakistan cricket team, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Shahid Afridi, -Shoaib Akhtar, steve smith