Ball tampering, does every team do it?

[Craig]

Afridi thinks so when he got busted for it. I guess Afridi is in the loop somewhat compared to us armchair critics, and he would know all the tricks of the trade, from the very subtle to the not so subtle where Afridi tried to eat the cricket ball.

 

[Shri]

30 day trial.

 

[Debris]

I think more teams would be caught if everyone did it. AFAIK, only Pakistan, England and maybe India have been caught doing it.

 

[Noble One]

Not sure if you can overly analyse the views of Afridi. Sounds like someone trying to deflect some criticism.

The amount of television cameras, spectators, officials, umpires, analysts covering the game now it is almost impossible to get away with anything. You tamper with the ball, you are caught.

 

[Furball]

Haha, Afridi's reasoning is like a schoolboy getting caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.

As I've said in the past, I don't actually have a problem with ball tampering. As long as you're not using foreign substances or implements on the ball, I think anything should go - ie using saliva or sweat is fine, using vaseline is not, gouging the ball with your fingernails or teeth is fine, using razors or bottle tops isn't.

Teams are allowed to shine the ball using saliva, I don't see why there's a distinction between shining one side of the ball and scuffing the other side.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Tbh if you're just going to get a 2-T20i ban or something of the sort, all teams should select someone expendable as a specialist ball-biter (so to speak...). Might as well cheat within the system.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Teams are allowed to shine the ball using saliva, I don't see why there's a distinction between shining one side of the ball and scuffing the other side.

Well except that one is a temporary effect and the other is permanent physical damage.

 

[The Legend]

I feel that what Afridi has done is really unacceptable. The most disgusting this to see is that being a captain of the team he is doing such nuisance.

 

[silentstriker]

Obviously everyone should do it. 12th man specialty TBH. The punishment does not discourage it, and you can win a Test as a result, you'd be an idiot not to try.

 

[zaremba]

No idea if everyone does it but I suspect that most have from time to time. Chris Pringle (NZ) and John Lever (England) are the only non-Pakistan players that spring to mind, but there have been plenty of others and it has gone on throughout game's history.

People will of course name Atherton but I put him in a separate category: using a bottle-top (Pringle; Imran) or vaseline (Lever) or gouging with a thumbnail (Waqar, Wasim, Aaqib) or gnawing at the ball (Afridi) are all going to get you far greater results than rubbing a bit of dirt on the ball. Atherton's biggest crime was doing such a pathetic job of cheating. If you're going to do it, at least do it properly.

What I think is beyond doubt is that the team with the worst record in this particular respect, certainly in recent decades, is Pakistan. It's partly for that reason that the shocked outrage of the Pakistan team at the Oval in 2006 ("how dare you accuse us of that? You have insulted our entire nation. You are racist even to accuse us") seemed so completely out of whack with reality. I realise that they were sensitive because of past allegations. But the fact is that those allegations were largely justified*, and on the 2006 tour they had as a senior squad member a certain Shahid Afridi, freshly rehabilitated after his memorable pitch-tampering effort in late 2005.


* Apologies for the inflammatory title of this youtube clip btw.

 

[honestbharani]

Absolutely.. I think it should be legalized.. Batsmen get away with hell lot of stuff.. As long as no foreign object is used, why should it matter if you spit a bit and keep the shine or if you bite a bit and rough it up?

 

[pasag]

eh, and if the ball falls apart do the bowlers get a new ball?

I certainly sympathise with the bowlers, but ripping into it with your teeth is a bit too much.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Exactly. There's a big difference between changing your bat and changing the ball. You have to draw the line somewhere, so I can understand ball tampering rules.

 

[silentstriker]

Haha yea, I don't think it should be legal. I think they should just do it . Of course, doing it Afridi style requires way too much arrogance and way little brainpower...I can't believe he'd just start eating the ball while thinking no one would see it.

If I was an administrator, I'd have much stiffer penalties than what they're doing. Cause as a player, this two match T20 BS doesn't do anything. Especially because I'd tell my 12th man to get on the field and his job is to tear the ball apart, and if he gets a T20 match ban, so be it. IMO the penalty should be Test match bans for both player and the captain, 50% match fees for every player on the team (100% for captain and the offender), and a significant run penalty in the current game (something in the order of 25-50 runs, not 5 run BS that they have going). Who's going to not risk five runs to win an important Test match? 50 runs are huge.

The point of punishment is to make it not worthwhile to commit the act. Right now, as a player, I have almost no incentive to refrain from cheating. Basically, I'm asking myself, "What punishment would it take for me not to attempt it?" and what I said is probably on the order of what it would take to make it not worthwhile to try it to win a Test.

 

[HGB1892]

If only they didn't use new bold 2 in 1, their trousers would bobble and rough up the ball.

 

[social]

Anyone that uses sun-screen and polishes the ball after touching their face is guilty of "ball tampering"

Anyone that sweats and polishes the ball after touching their face is guilty of "ball tampering"

I dont know any bowler that is innocent

The law is a joke

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Anyone that uses sun-screen and polishes the ball after touching their face is guilty of "ball tampering"

Anyone that sweats and polishes the ball after touching their face is guilty of "ball tampering"

I dont know any bowler that is innocent

The law is a joke

Law 42.3

3. The match ball - changing its condition
(a) Any fielder may
(i) polish the ball provided that no artificial substance is used and that such polishing wastes no time.
(ii) remove mud from the ball under the supervision of the umpire.
(iii) dry a wet ball on a towel.

Sweat is not an artificial substance.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

ICC Code of Conduct - Level 2 Guidelines - 2.9

Any action(s) likely to alter the condition of the ball
which were not specifically permitted under Law
42.3(a) may be regarded as ‘unfair’. The following
actions shall not be permitted (This list of actions is
not exhaustive but included for illustrative purposes):
• Deliberately throwing the ball into the ground for
the purpose of roughening it up;
• Applying any artificial substance to the ball; and
applying any non-artificial substance for any
purpose other than to polish the ball;
• Lifting or otherwise interfering with any of the
seams of the ball;
• Scratching the surface of the ball with finger or
thumb nails or any implement.

Again, sweat is allowed for the purpose of polishing the ball.

 

[Richard]

Sweat mixed with suncream, like sugar-enhanced saliva, is in theory illegal, but in practice that is completely impossible to police. Thus anyone with a brain will do it and ensure they're not penalised.

I've said before that the ball-"tampering" law is a ridiculous one, as is the high-horse some get on over the whole issue.

As to does everyone do it, I've absolutely no doubt everyone did do it in the days when TV cameras were less intrusive and that many still do it at levels below international where they remain less intrusive. I imagine there is probably less of it now at Test and ODI level than ever (not zero of course, and you'd be a fool to think every instance of "tampering" is picked-up however many cameras there are) but that'd probably only be a pretty recent thing (last ~20 years) TBH.

 

[Richard]

Atherton's biggest crime was doing such a pathetic job of cheating. If you're going to do it, at least do it properly.

Atherton himself remains and always has adamant that he was not cheating, because he was not altering the condition of the ball; rather, he was attempting to maintain it. Only if you refuse to accept this can you legitimately call Atherton a cheat.