Ball tampering

Ball tampering

In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. Under Law 42, subsection 3 of the Laws of Cricket, the ball may be polished without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed from it under supervision; all other actions which alter the condition of the ball are illegal. These are usually taken to include rubbing the ball on the ground, scuffing with a fingernail or other sharp object, or tampering with the seam of the ball. [ [http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-42-fair-and-unfair-play,68,AR.html Law 42 (fair and unfair play)] lords.org, 22 August, 2006]

anction

The umpires are responsible for monitoring the condition of the ball, and must inspect it regularly. Where an umpire has deemed a fielder to be guilty of ball-tampering, five penalty runs are awarded to the batting side, and the ball must be immediately replaced. The replaced ball is normally chosen by the umpires, in which case the ball chosen should match the condition of the previous ball (before tampering) as closely as possible. Depending on additional agreements laid out before the beginning of a series of matches, the batsmen may be instead permitted to choose the ball from a selection of balls in various stages of use.

A bowler guilty of ball-tampering can be prohibited from continuing to bowl in that innings if he is found to be repeatedly ball-tampering. Following the conclusion of play, additional sanctions are usually brought against a ball-tamperer, as it is considered a serious offense. The captain may be equally penalized, as he is responsible for the conduct of his players on the field.

Examples

The use of foreign substances to polish the ball, while illegal, is in some corners considered to be relatively common, and passes without incident or sanction. Substances which are suggested for this purpose include hair gel, sugar and lip balm. [ [http://www.sportinglife.com/cricket/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=cricket/06/08/20/CRICKET_Ball_tampering.html "Ball tamperers caught out"] Sporting Life]

In addition, picking at the threads of the main seam or 'lifting' the quarter seam to aid conventional and reverse swing respectively are considered illegal. Modifying the quarter seam can be particularly difficult to detect or prove. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFragXL.jhtml;jsessionid5UKZ1S3VRNRVPQFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?xml=/sport/gallery/cricket/engpak06/tamper/upixtamper.xml&site=sport "Simon Hughes' Swing Guide"] The London Telegraph 21 August, 2006]

However, there have been a number of high-profile instances of ball tampering, particularly in international cricket due to the increase in television coverage. The Pakistani cricket team were arguably the first to come under scrutiny, when they were together in 1992 accused of ball-tampering to achieve large amounts of reverse swing. However, no evidence of wrongdoing was ever found in that series. Because of these allegations, in 1996, Imran Khan sued Ian Botham for slander and libel in a British court, and was awarded £400,000.

Then England captain Michael Atherton was accused of ball tampering during the a Test match with South Africa at Lord's in 1994 after television cameras caught Atherton reaching into his pocket and then rubbing a substance on the ball. Atherton denied ball tampering, claiming that he had dirt in his pocket which he used to dry his hands. Atherton was summoned to the match referee and was fined £2,000 for failing to disclose the dirt to the match referee. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/1511763.stm "Atherton's Darkest Day"] bbc.co.uk, August 28, 2000.]

Waqar Younis became the first player to receive a suspension for ball-tampering after a match in 2000. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_talk/826913.stm "Tougher line needed on ball tampering?"] bbc.co.uk, July 13, 2000.]

Ball tampering controversy in August 2006

In 2006, an alleged ball-tampering issue overshadowed a Test match between Pakistan and England, whereby Pakistan refused to take to the field for the evening session after being penalised for ball-tampering in the afternoon. Television cameras caught the umpires discussing the condition of the quarter seam. [ [http://usa.cricinfo.com/engvpak/content/story/257046.html "Ball tampering row mars Oval Test"] Cricinfo, 20 August, 2006.] Pakistan are believed to have intended a protest against the decision by delaying their return after tea, however while they were refusing to play, the umpires awarded the game to England in accordance with the laws of cricket. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/5268886.stm "Cricket bosses bid to save test"] bbc.co.uk, August 20, 2006.]

The controversy was jokingly referred to as "Ovalgate" by, amongst others, the BBC's cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew and Five Live radio presenter Simon Mayo. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/5269906.stm BBC] ]

The controversy arose when the umpires, Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove, ruled that the Pakistani team had been involved in ball tampering. They awarded five penalty runs to England and a replacement ball was selected by England batsman Paul Collingwood. Play continued until the tea break, without any Pakistani protest. After the tea break, the Pakistani team, after having mutually confirmed that no ball tampering had taken place and given consideration to the severity of the implication, refused to take the field. The umpires then left the field, gave a warning to the Pakistani players, and returned once more 15 minutes later. After waiting two more minutes the umpires removed the bails and declared England winners by forfeiture. A deal was brokered between the English and Pakistani cricket boards to allow the match to continue, and the Pakistani team did take to the field 25 minutes later. Umpires Hair and Doctrove, however, declined to continue the game maintaining their decision that Pakistan had forfeited the match by refusing to play.

The impasse continued late into the evening. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/5268250.stm England v Pakistan 4th Test] , from BBC, retrieved 20 August 2006] Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq claimed that Darrell Hair did not inform him or the rest of his side of the reasons why the ball was replaced, and that Hair had implied that Pakistan were cheating. [ [http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=411247&CPID=469&clid=1214&lid=4161&title=Inzy+demands+trial+by+television Sky Sports | Cricket | Internationals | Pakistan ] ] The events led Cricinfo journalists to describe it as "a farcical afternoon and evening" up to the point at 19:50 UTC when it was finally announced in a press conference that the Test was called off. The ECB's statement said that England were awarded the match by the umpires as Pakistan refused to take the field after being warned that under law 21.3, failure to do so would result in them forfeiting the game. This is the first time a Test match has been decided this way. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/5268886.stm BBC] ]

The England and Wales Cricket Board refunded fourth-day spectators 40% of their ticket price (after deduction of an administration fee), and gave an automatic 100% refund to those with tickets for the fifth day. It later asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to pick up the GBP800,000 costs of doing this, which the PCB refused to do. In March 2007, the PCB and ECB reached a settlement where Pakistan would play a Twenty20 International in England and waive their fees.

As a result of Pakistan's forfeiting of the game captain Inzaman was charged and found guilty of "bringing the game into disrepute", though he was cleared of the charges relating to "changing the condition of the ball". [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/engvpak/content/current/story/260775.html Inzamam cleared of ball tampering] , from Cricinfo, retrieved 28 September 2006] In January 2008, Pakistan's cricket board asked the International Cricket Council to change the official result to "match abandoned" or "match drawn" on the basis of having been subsequently cleared of ball-tampering by an ICC tribunal. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/7183233.stm BBC SPORT | Cricket | Pakistan seek Oval result change ] ] In July 2008, the International Cricket Council (ICC) changed the result of the match to a draw. [ [http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23967106-23212,00.html ICC change forfeited Test to draw - Cricket - Fox Sports] ]

Baseball analogy

The rules of Major League Baseball, specifically rule 8.02 regarding pitching, prevent the pitcher from applying a foreign object (including expectorate) to the baseball, or a glove or hand which holds the ball; neither may the pitcher rub the ball against his uniform. An illegal pitch delivered using a ball doctored in this fashion is known as a "spitball" (sometimes "shineball" or "emeryball"), and the penalty for such is immediate ejection from the game and a ten-game suspension.

There are special dispensations for the pitcher in inclement weather conditions. With agreement from both managers and officials, a pitcher may be permitted to blow on his hands in low temperatures, or use rosin to dry his hands in moist conditions. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/pitcher_8.jsp Major League Baseball Offical Rules 8.00: The Pitcher] , mlb.com]

A row over ball-tampering erupted during Game 2 of the 2006 World Series when television pictures showed Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers to have a foreign substance on his pitching hand. Rogers maintained the substance was merely dirt from the mound, and complied with a request from the umpires to wash his hands at the end of his second inning. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20061022&content_id=1720779&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb "Rogers draws Tigers even in Game 2"] , mlb.com, October 22, 2006.] No further action was taken, but the issue was raised extensively in the media, who referred to the controversy by a number of nicknames including "dirtgate" [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2635633 "Rogers' dirty hand overshadows his Game 2 brilliance"] , ESPN.com, October 22, 2006.] and "smudgegate" [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/specials/playoffs/2006/10/23/larussa.rogers.ap/?cnn=yes "Dirty thoughts: As series shifts to St. Louis, focus still on Smudgegate"] , Sports Illustrated, October 24, 2006.] .

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • ball tampering — /ˈbɔl tæmpərɪŋ/ (say bawl tampuhring) noun Cricket the altering of the surface of the ball, as by raising the seam with the fingernail, being an infringement of the rules of cricket. Also, ball tampering …  

  • Ball tampering controversy in August 2006 — On 20 August, 2006, during the fourth day of the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval, Darrel Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove ruled that the Pakistani team had been involved in ball tampering. They awarded five penalty runs… …   Wikipedia

  • ball tampering — noun The deliberate alteration of the natural condition of a cricket ball in order to obtain an advantage …   Wiktionary

  • Cricket ball — Cricket portal …   Wikipedia

  • Fair and unfair play — Law 42 of the laws of the sport of cricket covers fair and unfair play. This law has developed and expanded over time as various incidents of real life unfair play have been legislated against.The first section of law 42 makes clear that the… …   Wikipedia

  • Darrell Hair — Personal information Full name Darrell Bruce Hair Born 30 September 1952 (1952 09 30) (age 59) Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia Umpiring information Tests umpire …   Wikipedia

  • cricket — cricket1 cricketlike, adj. /krik it/, n. 1. any of several jumping, orthopterous insects of the family Gryllidae, characterized by long antennae and stridulating organs on the forewings of the male, as one of the species commonly found in… …   Universalium

  • Bob Woolmer — Personal information Full name Robert Andrew Woolmer Born 14 May 1948(1948 05 14) Kanpur, United Province, Union of India Died …   Wikipedia

  • Pakistan national cricket team — Infobox Test team team name = Pakistan colour = green test status year = 1952 first test match = v India at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, 16 18 October 1952 current captain = Shoaib Malik |imagesize = 40px image caption = current official rank = 6th… …   Wikipedia

  • Inzamam-ul-Haq — Infobox cricketer biography playername = Inzamam ul Haq country = Pakistan nickname = Inzy living = true dayofbirth = 3 monthofbirth = 3 yearofbirth = 1970 placeofbirth = Multan countryofbirth = Pakistan heightft = 6 heightinch = 3 batting =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”