BALL TAMPERING SCANDALS THAT ROCKED THE CRICKET WORLD
Ball tampering, a term quite familiar in the cricketing world but not for good reasons. Ball tampering has always sparked controversies and has made the people think that Is Cricket really a fair game. Ball tampering has always made cricket popular but for all wrong reasons. Cricket which is often considered as a gentleman's game has been put to shame by these controversies and scandals.
For those who don't know what ball tampering is, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. The primary motivation of ball tampering is to interfere with the aerodynamics of the ball to aid swing bowling. Generally, the purpose of altering the state of the ball is to achieve more favorable bowling conditions.
According to the Laws of Cricket, If a bowler is found to be guilty of repeated ball-tampering he can be prohibited from continuing to bowl in that innings. Following the conclusion of the play, additional sanctions are usually brought against a ball-tamperer, as it is considered a serious offense. The captain may also be penalized if he is also responsible for the conduct of his players on the field.
#1: MICHAEL ATHERTON,1994
In 1994, then England captain Atherton was fined when pictures emerged showing him rub loose dirt on the ball during the first Test against South Africa at Lord's. He was fined but he was lucky enough to be not suspended by the match referee.
#2: WAQAR YOUNIS,2000
Pakistan pacer and one of all-time great Waqar Younis became the first player to be suspended for ball tampering when it was found that he worked on the ball with his fingers in a match against the Proteas and after being found guilty, he was also fined 50 percent of his match fees.
#3: MARCUS TRESCOTHICK, 2005
In his autobiography Coming Back To Me, the former England Batsman revealed that he used a special type of mint called the Murray Mint to keep the shine of the ball for a longer time. No charges were levied against him because he retired before his book was published.
#4: INZAMAM-UL-HAQ, 2006
Then captain of Pakistan Inzamam-ul-Haq was banned for 4 matches after the umpires found that the condition of the ball was illegally altered by the tourists during the fourth test match between England and Pakistan. To show their protest, Pakistan team did not take the field and that test match became the first forfeited test match. Later Inzamam was cleared of all charges that were levied against him.
#5: SHAHID AFRIDI, 2010
In one of the most bizarre incidents of ball-tampering, Shahid Afridi Afridi was caught by TV cameras biting the ball during the fifth ODI between Australia and Pakistan in Perth. Afridi pleaded guilty in front of the referee and consequently, he was banned for two Twenty20 Internationals.
#6: FAF DU PLESSIS, 2013
South African batsman Faf du Plessis was fined half of his match fees for illegally tampering the ball by scuffing the ball on the zip of his trousers in a 2013 Test against Pakistan. On field umpires also awarded Pakistan five penalty runs.
#7: FAF DU PLESSIS, 2015
Faf du Plessis was charged for ball tampering yet again after the South African skipper applied saliva from a mint onto the ball during the second Test against Australia at Hobart. Although Du Plessis pleaded not guilty before the match referee he was fined 100 percent of his match fee in addition to being handed three penalty points.
#8: CAMERON BANCROFT, 2018
During the third Test of the 2018 series between South Africa and Australia, Australian opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera placing a sticky yellow tape, which he used to rub the surface of the ball, down the front of his pants. Captain Steve Smith and Bancroft admitted to the offense in a press conference, saying that senior Australian players had planned the tampering.
Initially, The ICC suspended Smith for one Test and fined him 100 percent of his match fee while Bancroft was fined 75 percent of his match fee but later on Smith and Warner were then banned from all international cricket and domestic cricket in Australia for twelve months while Bancroft received a nine-month ban.
#9: DINESH CHANDIMAL,2018
On the third morning of the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka in June 2018, the umpires replaced the match ball and awarded West Indies 5 runs when they deemed the Sri Lankan team to have been guilty of ball-tampering on the previous day. The Sri Lankan team initially refused to take the field in protest, though they completed the match. Their captain, Dinesh Chandimal, was charged with altering the condition of the ball by the match referee. Chandimal has been suspended from the third and final Test of the series.
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