London: The pommies are playing the gentleman’s game the
dirty way. At least this is what seems so, as England are at the centre
of a tampering storm after former captain Bob Willis accused a player
of scratching the ball.
The row erupted when umpires Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden ordered one
of the balls to be changed during England’s seven-wicket Champions
Trophy defeat by Sri Lanka at The Oval on Thursday.
“He knows that one individual is scratching the ball for England —
who I am not going to name — and that’s why the ball was changed, said
former captain Bob Willis
“How naive does Alastair Cook think we are? He didn’t want the ball changed. So why was it changed?” added Willis.
As per the rules, there is no problem for the ball to scuff through
natural wear and tear but it is against cricket’s law to use
fingernails or other means to alter its condition.
Meanwhile, Alastair Cook, the English captain is adamant that England players have nothing do with ball tampering.
Cook was patently livid, after umpire changed the ball, because he
and his bowlers believed the ball was reaching the optimum condition to
start reverse swinging.
When asked whether he was angry, Cook replied: “The ball was
changed because it was out of shape. That was the umpire’s reasoning.
“The umpires make those decisions, so you have to accept them.
Sometimes you don’t think they are the right decisions but there’s not
much you can do about it.” Cook added
Certainly, it is unusual for the umpires — rather than the fielding team — to change the ball because it has lost its shape.
Both umpires have refused to clarify why the ball was changed and instead asked for media enquiries to be directed to the ICC.
An ICC spokesman said: “The umpires and match referee cannot talk about specific incidents during a tournament.
“But our understanding is that the ball was changed because it went out of shape.”
Balls reverse swing when one side is smooth and the other rough and dry.
The seam acts as a rudder and the air turbulence around the sphere can cause it to swerve alarmingly.
So bowlers want balls to scuff and soften quickly because they become more likely to reverse swing and more difficult to hit.
No comments:
Post a Comment