Ball tampering is an illegal practice of altering the seam
or surface of the ball on the field, a move directed at affecting the
trajectory of the delivery. In technical terms, this is performed to interfere
with the aerodynamics of the ball. One doesn’t need to have great knowledge in
Physics to understand the term ‘aerodynamics’!! It is just the more swing (or
deviation) that a bowler gets with a tampered ball.
To keep the ball condition normal and officiate a match
under fair conditions, the on-field umpires shall make frequent inspections of
the ball for any irregularities. The irregularities that umpires inspect of
could be because of any illegal tampering by any player or could be due to ball
hitting the stands while a boundary was hit!
Image credits: Cricket Australia
Moreover, umpires shall immediately inspect the ball if they
suspect any player is involved in an attempt to change the condition of the
ball. In the cricketing world, it is generally considered a punishable offence
to change the condition of the ball. As per the MCC law, ‘Except in carrying
out normal duties (batting, bowling or fielding), no player is allowed to
willfully damage or change the condition of the cricket ball’.
Meanwhile, a player is allowed to perform certain activities
on the cricket ball which are not considered ball tampering.
Practices that are
not considered ball tampering:
Polish the ball on a smooth cloth other than a rough object.
Moreover, the polishing should not waste too much time!
Remove mud from the ball under the supervision of an umpire
or dry a wet ball on a piece of cloth that has been approved by the match
officials. This generally is a case during the Day/Night games where dew makes
an uninvited appearance!
What if the ball is
found to be tampered:
First and foremost, any practices that are followed than the
ones mentioned above are considered to be illegal or unfair! On the other hand,
the following two practices are also considered illegal.
A player chewing a gum or a candy trying to use saliva to
shine the ball, even then the on-field umpires can have an objection about the
practice which was used to shine the ball. This exactly has happened when South
African captain Faf du Plessis was found to have chewing gum while attempting
to shine the ball during South Africa tour of Australia in 2016.
A player who has applied sunscreen lotion or even a lip balm
and if the player is trying to use sweat from to shine the ball, even in that
case the umpires can have an objection about the way ball is being shined.
If the condition of the ball has been changed willingly, the
on-field umpires shall ask the rival captain if they like the ball to be
replaced. Generally, the batsmen in the middle would play the role of ‘acting
captain’ if the fielding side is involved in ball tampering. If a replacement is
requested, umpires shall bring in a ball with similar ‘wear and tear’ as the
previous one.
Penalty for ball
tampering:
The on-field umpire shall award five penalty runs for the
batting side if the bowling team is found to have tampered the ball. The same
(change of ball and penalty runs) shall be informed to the batsmen (or his
captain) as well as the fielding captain.
If such an offence is further committed in the same innings,
the on-field umpire shall ask the fielding captain to immediately suspend the
bowler who delivered the previous ball (if in the middle of an over). During
the change of an over, the bowler who is coming to bowl is expected to be
barred from bowling in the remaining part of the match.
The on-field umpires together shall report the occurrence of
any ball tampering incident as soon as possible after the match to the
Executive of the side that committed the offence. And also to any Governing
Body responsible for the match, who shall take appropriate action against the
captain, or the players involved or the team.
Apart from the five penalty runs, players who are involved
in the offence might also cope a ban from featuring in the international matches.
For the ball-tampering scandal during the Australia tour of South Africa 2018,
captain Steven Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned from playing
cricket for a year while the one who implemented the idea, Cameron Bancroft
coped a nine-month ban.
Few instances of ball
tampering:
Waqar Younis vs South
Africa, 2000
Waqar Younis, Pakistan's one of the most successful pacers,
was the first player to be banned for ball tampering incident. He was found
guilty of lifting the seam of the ball during an ODI against South Africa in
Colombo in 2000.
For his offence, he was suspended for a match and was also
fined 50% of his match fee. For their part in the same scandal, Azhar Mahmood
was fined 30% and captain Moin Khan was officially reprimanded for allowing the
spirit of the game to impair.
Shahid Afridi vs
Australia, 2010
Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s stand-in captain, in a T20I match
against Australia in January 2010 was red-handedly caught on camera tampering
the ball! He was found biting the cricket ball in the most controversial
attempt to re-adjust the seam of the ball. The ball was eventually replaced by
the on-field umpires in that game!
Though he told the media that he was trying to smell the
leather of the ball, he later pleaded guilty to ball tampering. He was
suspended for two T20I games for his involvement in this bizarre incident.
Afridi was earlier suspended for a Test match and two ODI games for tampering
with the pitch in the year 2005 in a Test match against England.
Australia vs South
Africa, 2018
The incident that shook the Australian cricket for almost a
year! Cameron Bancroft used a sandpaper to rough one side of the cricket ball
for which he coped a nine-month ban from Cricket Australia. Captain Steven
Smith later in the press conference agreed that an unnamed “leadership group” planned
the tampering during the lunch break before executing it in the post-lunch
session. Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned for a year for their
involvement in the incident.
Conclusion:
Cricket is always considered a Gentleman’s game. It is always
advised to play the game of cricket in the best of interests. Play fair game
according to the rules and keep the spirit of the game.
0 Comments