A lot has been said about the tampering with the ball, from the saliva, mint to the sandpaper. So much so, post-retirement Pakistani World Cup-winning skipper Imran Khan also made the admission of tampering with the ball while using bottle-tops.
Precisely, ball tampering is nothing new it has its chequered history owing to the desperation of cricketers for reversing the ball.
In 2013, South African skipper Faf du Plessis was caught for the first while scuffing up the ball against Pakistan in Dubai.
However, he tried a new way to alter with the ball by using the zipper of a trouser. He was charged with the 50 percent match fee.
Following the sweet cheat in Australia, after little over two years, Australians were caught for their underhand tactics in Cape Town. Cameron Bancroft stuffed his evidence in his crotch which resulted in enraging the world cricket.
According to the Production Head Alvin Naicker for SuperSport Tv, Bancroft could have escaped the wrath if he would not have panicked at the wrong time.
“We saw the coach (Darren Lehmann) get on the walkie-talkie to the player down on the field (Peter Handscomb), who ran on to speak with Bancroft. It was then he panicked,” Naicker revealed in his recent interview
Honestly, the recently ball-tampering has snowballed into a massive controversy which forced Cricket Australia (CA) to deliver a stratagem.
Was this a right way to clear an image of the sport? The time is bound to decide considering the Australian team culture at the behest.
It has turned into a fable with head coach surviving the storm quietly. Many while following the fronting of Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft in Cape Town would be staggered and why not they should be who does that to get further grilled over the social media.
Smith might have questioned his conscience before literally opting for a scripted Hollywood act which saw him only coming right under the bus.
Following such a precedent much has to be done by distinct boards to keep the game clean.
Of the opinion, to play within the spirit of the game has more to do with the conscience than the law in itself at first hand.
Let’s recall the incident of former England skipper Michael Atherton who was charged $3,700 for altering with the ball at the age of 25.
There have been plenty of incidents which eventually posed the serious threat to the integrity of cricket.
In 1994, TV camera caught Atherton while scuffing the ball against South Africa. He was docked with the fine by the then match referee Peter Burge after asking Atherton about the dirt in his pocket.
In such a melee, visitors following the gritty hundred from Kepler Wessels went on to clinch the match by 365 runs.
In Brisbane, one of the finest Indian cricketers Rahul Dravid was fined with the match fee of 50 percent against Zimbabwe.
The cricketer-turner-coach Dravid was found guilty by Clive Lloyd after using ‘lozenge’ to shine the ball.
Under the ICC’s Code of Conduct, Dravid faced the charge as per the Article of 2.10.
Here’s the list of severe punishments served to players while tampering the ball:
Steven Smith, David Warner 2018 – one-year each; Cameron Bancroft nine months:
Cricket Australia on Wednesday (March 28) charged skipper Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner for 12 months each.
It’s considered as one of the stern punishments served in cricket in the wake of a ball-tampering saga.
On the other side, opening batsman Cameron Bancroft is facing the nine-month ban for being caught in Cape Town while using the yellow tape to gouge the ball.
However, ICC further in its verdict handed One-match ban to Smith. The suspension included the 100 match fee as a charge. But Bancroft escaped the ban just to see him being docked 75% match fee.
Smith and Warner have also been axed from the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League.
Interestingly, the duo could see only future in the grade-cricket after being barred from representing their state-side as well.
Shahid Afridi- 2010 – two T20I ban:
In 2010, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi took cricket world by surprise when he was seen chewing out the seam. The incident unfolded during a Twenty20 International fixture against Australia.
However, the all-rounder Afridi later on in his bizarre claim maintained he was trying to ‘smell’ the leather.
A Dubai-based board was quick to react to impose the two-match ban on the veteran all-rounder.
Sachin Tendulkar- 2001-02 – One-Test ban; 75% match fee:
In 2001-02, legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar was handed a One-match suspension and a fine of 75 match fee by the match referee Mike Denness. It further turned out to be the most controversial decision which has driven the criticism.
The Test fixture was held at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.
The match also saw overall six players were suspended for a game respectively.
Denness, who further became the second villain after failing to put forward his explanation during an infamous press conference.
Waqar Younis- 2000 – one-match ban; 50 percent match fee:
In July 2000, the former Pakistan star bowler Waqar Younis was caught tampering with the seam of a ball. The incident happened during the Tri-series including Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo.
Waqar, who also went on to serve Pakistan as a coach. In response, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) cited the reason for ‘cleaning’ the ball.
In the history of cricket, Younis was the first player to be banned for tampering with the ball. The then match referee John Reid charged him with the one-match ban and half-of-the match fee as a fine.
The pictures revealed Younis was using his thumbnails to change the condition of the ball while facing the Proteas.
Faf Du Plessis- 2016 100% match fee:
Interestingly, Faf du Plessis escaped the suspension while using the mint to shine the ball in Hobart in November 2016.
However, du Plessis was docked hundred percent match fee by the world cricket governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Code of Conduct.
The South African team stood alongside its skipper after winning the Hobart match convincingly by an innings and 80 runs.
Why this ban has to be insane and ominous?
The weight of being morally responsible has simultaneously taken a toll on Smith, Warner, and the scapegoat Bancroft.
In context to the spirit of the game, the punishment could have been far different. But when it comes to Cricket Australia, they have made ‘mountain out of the mole.’
It’s the public outrage that served as the fire to force the Board to come up with one of the harshest decisions ever.
After breaching the 2.3.5 Code of Conduct for CA, the trio could have got the leeway as the spirit of the game demands conscience in first address than the law in the second.
However, on bringing disrepute to the game and disgrace to the sport of country the punishment of the professionals.
It will further serve as the wakeup call for the wrongdoers in one way or another.
The case of punishment would have been very minimal of its kind had it been any other country.
By far, I mean even after such a tumult and frontpage dedication from the newspapers.
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