Ball tampering, does every team do it?

[Craig]

Afridi thinks so when he got busted for it. I guess Afridi is in the loop somewhat compared to us armchair critics, and he would know all the tricks of the trade, from the very subtle to the not so subtle where Afridi tried to eat the cricket ball.

[Shri]

30 day trial.

[Debris]

I think more teams would be caught if everyone did it. AFAIK, only Pakistan, England and maybe India have been caught doing it.

[Noble One]

Not sure if you can overly analyse the views of Afridi. Sounds like someone trying to deflect some criticism.

The amount of television cameras, spectators, officials, umpires, analysts covering the game now it is almost impossible to get away with anything. You tamper with the ball, you are caught.

[GingerFurball]

Haha, Afridi's reasoning is like a schoolboy getting caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.

As I've said in the past, I don't actually have a problem with ball tampering. As long as you're not using foreign substances or implements on the ball, I think anything should go - ie using saliva or sweat is fine, using vaseline is not, gouging the ball with your fingernails or teeth is fine, using razors or bottle tops isn't.

Teams are allowed to shine the ball using saliva, I don't see why there's a distinction between shining one side of the ball and scuffing the other side.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Tbh if you're just going to get a 2-T20i ban or something of the sort, all teams should select someone expendable as a specialist ball-biter (so to speak...). Might as well cheat within the system.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Originally Posted by GingerFurball

Teams are allowed to shine the ball using saliva, I don't see why there's a distinction between shining one side of the ball and scuffing the other side.

Well except that one is a temporary effect and the other is permanent physical damage.

[The Legend]

I feel that what Afridi has done is really unacceptable. The most disgusting this to see is that being a captain of the team he is doing such nuisance.

[silentstriker]

Obviously everyone should do it. 12th man specialty TBH. The punishment does not discourage it, and you can win a Test as a result, you'd be an idiot not to try.

[zaremba]

No idea if everyone does it but I suspect that most have from time to time. Chris Pringle (NZ) and John Lever (England) are the only non-Pakistan players that spring to mind, but there have been plenty of others and it has gone on throughout game's history.

People will of course name Atherton but I put him in a separate category: using a bottle-top (Pringle; Imran) or vaseline (Lever) or gouging with a thumbnail (Waqar, Wasim, Aaqib) or gnawing at the ball (Afridi) are all going to get you far greater results than rubbing a bit of dirt on the ball. Atherton's biggest crime was doing such a pathetic job of cheating. If you're going to do it, at least do it properly.

What I think is beyond doubt is that the team with the worst record in this particular respect, certainly in recent decades, is Pakistan. It's partly for that reason that the shocked outrage of the Pakistan team at the Oval in 2006 ("how dare you accuse us of that? You have insulted our entire nation. You are racist even to accuse us") seemed so completely out of whack with reality. I realise that they were sensitive because of past allegations. But the fact is that those allegations were largely justified*, and on the 2006 tour they had as a senior squad member a certain Shahid Afridi, freshly rehabilitated after his memorable pitch-tampering effort in late 2005.


* Apologies for the inflammatory title of this youtube clip btw.

[honestbharani]

Absolutely.. I think it should be legalized.. Batsmen get away with hell lot of stuff.. As long as no foreign object is used, why should it matter if you spit a bit and keep the shine or if you bite a bit and rough it up?

[pasag]

eh, and if the ball falls apart do the bowlers get a new ball?

I certainly sympathise with the bowlers, but ripping into it with your teeth is a bit too much.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Exactly. There's a big difference between changing your bat and changing the ball. You have to draw the line somewhere, so I can understand ball tampering rules.

[silentstriker]

Haha yea, I don't think it should be legal. I think they should just do it . Of course, doing it Afridi style requires way too much arrogance and way little brainpower...I can't believe he'd just start eating the ball while thinking no one would see it.

If I was an administrator, I'd have much stiffer penalties than what they're doing. Cause as a player, this two match T20 BS doesn't do anything. Especially because I'd tell my 12th man to get on the field and his job is to tear the ball apart, and if he gets a T20 match ban, so be it. IMO the penalty should be Test match bans for both player and the captain, 50% match fees for every player on the team (100% for captain and the offender), and a significant run penalty in the current game (something in the order of 25-50 runs, not 5 run BS that they have going). Who's going to not risk five runs to win an important Test match? 50 runs are huge.

The point of punishment is to make it not worthwhile to commit the act. Right now, as a player, I have almost no incentive to refrain from cheating. Basically, I'm asking myself, "What punishment would it take for me not to attempt it?" and what I said is probably on the order of what it would take to make it not worthwhile to try it to win a Test.

[HGB1892]

If only they didn't use new bold 2 in 1, their trousers would bobble and rough up the ball.