All The Teams That Have Been Accused Of Ball Tampering, India Included

Ball-tampering is one of the many ways a fielding team sometimes tries to do to gain an unfair advantage by changing the condition of the ball in illegal ways. 

The fielding team tries to alter the condition of the ball which will help it move and trouble the batters. There can be many ways to tamper with the condition of the ball such as roughing it with sandpaper, use mints, boot spikes, or if you are brave enough then bite it with your teeth. 

The punishment which ICC has decided for this offense comes under law 41, in which five runs awarded to the batting team and if the team desires the ball can also be changed by the umpires. Depending upon the level of offense, the accused player(s) can be banned for the following few games as per the interpretation of the match referee. 

Here are all the teams that have been accused of ball-tampering in International cricket: 

1) Australia - In 2012, in the first test, the Sri Lankan team raised a complaint against Australian bowler Peter Siddle for trying to raise the seam of the ball. Siddle was however cleared by ICC eventually without facing any charges. 

The infamous 2018 'ball-tampering scandal' happened against South Africa in the third test. Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to roughen one side of the ball. He along with Australia's then captain and Vice-captain - Steve Smith and David Warner - faced charges for the act. The ICC gave Smith a one-match ban and 100% of match fees were charged as a penalty while Bancroft was charged 75% of his fees. However, after a public outcry, the trio got faced additional charges by Cricket Australia. Smith and Warner were banned for one year while Bancroft for 9 months. 

2) England - In 1994, then England captain Michael Atherton was caught rubbing something on the ball during a test match against South Africa at Lord's. However, Atherton denied the ball-tampering act, saying there was 'dirt in his pocket'. He got summoned by the Match referee for lying and got charged 2000 euros. 

In the Ashes 2005, Marcus Trescothick admitted, after three years, to using Murray mints to shine the ball to keep the ball new for a longer period. 

In 2010, James Anderson and Stuart Broad were accused of ball-tampering. South Africans complained that the two bowlers were stopping the ball with boot spikes. However, no charges were requested by SA. 

 

3) South Africa - In 2010, Faf du Plessis was caught scuffing the ball against the zip of his trousers in a test match against Pakistan. The ball got changed and Pakistan was awarded five runs. Du Plessis was charged 50% of his match fees. 

The South African captain was once again charged for ball-tampering in 2016 against Australia. He was caught using mints to shine the ball. Du Plessis was fined by the match referee. 

In 2014, Vernon Philander was charged 75% of his match fee for ball-tampering. He scratched the ball with his fingers and thumbs during the match against Sri Lanka. 

4) India - Sachin Tendulkar was accused of ball-tampering in a test match against South Africa. The Match referee charged for scuffing with the seam of the ball however Tendulkar said that he was removing the grass from the ball with the permission of the on-field umpire. 

Rahul Dravid, in the 2004 ODI match against Zimbabwe, rubbed cough Lozenge to shine the ball. He was fined 50% of his match fee. 

5) Pakistan - Waqar Younis became the first player to be suspended for ball-tampering in 2000 and was fined 50% of his match fee. 

Shahid Afridi, in 2010, faced a two T20I match ban for biting the seam of the ball to readjust it. The ball was replaced. 

Apart from these five, New Zealand and Sri Lanka have also been accused of tampering with the ball in the past.