Ball tampering

A sample cricket ball.

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.

Ball tampering is roughly analogous to preparing a spitball in baseball, a pitch thrown after illegally modifying the ball.

Sanction

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.

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.

However, there has been a number of high-profile instances of ball tampering, particulary 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.

Then England captain Michael Atherton was accused of ball tampering during the a test match with South Africa at Lords 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.

Waqar Younis became the first player to receive a suspension for ball-tampering after a match in 2000.

In 2006, an alleged ball-tampering issue has overshadowed a test match between Pakistan and England, where 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. 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 declared the game forfeited in accordance with the laws of cricket.