MCC declares squash ball legal

The MCC has ruled that Australian batsman Adam Gilchrist went against neither the rules nor the spirit of the game in having a squash ball inside his batting glove during his match-winning innings in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka.

Gilchrist’s actions, which were intended to improve his grip on the bat, have caused some controversy, with Sri Lanka alleging that it was unethical and gave him an unfair advantage.

The MCC however say that Gilchrist was perfectly entitled to use the squash ball. According to the MCC it is effectively the same thing as changing the grip on the handle of the bat, and that it fits under Law 3.6(c).

The Laws sub-committee said: “The incident could not be classed either as contravening the Law or as breaching the Spirit of the Game.”