Ball tampering

Using spit and/or sweat is common and, for practitioners of swing bowling, integral (made illegal due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

[3] There have been a number of high-profile instances of alleged ball tampering, particularly in international cricket due to the increase in television coverage.

During a tour of Pakistan, New Zealand bowler Chris Pringle used a concealed bottle cap to rough up one side of a ball during a 1990 series in Faisalabad.

[5] In the "dirt in pocket" affair, then England captain Michael Atherton was accused of ball tampering during a Test match with South Africa at Lord's in 1994, after television cameras caught Atherton reaching into his pocket and then rubbing a substance on the ball.

[11] Rahul Dravid of India rubbed a cough lozenge on the shiny side of the ball at The Gabba during an Australian Tri-Series match against Zimbabwe.

It had been common knowledge in county cricket for some time that certain sweets produced saliva which, when applied to the ball for cleaning purposes, enabled it to keep its shine for longer and therefore its swing."

[14] 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 awarded the game to England in accordance with the Laws of Cricket.

The ECB's statement said that England were awarded the match by the umpires as Pakistan refused to take the field after being warned that under law 21.3, failure to do so would result in them forfeiting the game.

[17] On 1 February 2009, the ICC reversed their earlier decision, and changed the match result back to a win for England.

[29] While fielding during the third day of the second Test in Dubai, cameras captured footage of South Africa fielder Faf du Plessis scuffing the ball against the zip of his trousers.

The on-field umpires penalised South Africa by adding 5 runs to Pakistan's total and changing the ball.

[30] The match referee imposed a 50% match fee fine on du Plessis after the fielder pleaded guilty, although the team manager Mohammed Moosajee maintained that penalty was "harsh", and the team decided not to challenge the finding as it may have led to heavier sanctions.

Despite the "guilty" plea, team vice-captain AB de Villiers maintained that "we are not cheats" and team captain Graeme Smith denied that their participation in ball tampering tainted the series-levelling win, as South Africa went on to record an innings victory during the Test.

[32] Philander was found to have breached clause 42.1 of the Laws, "scratching the ball with his fingers and thumb", and was fined 75% of his match fee.

[35] Du Plessis was found guilty of ball tampering on 22 November and fined his match fee from the second Test.

Bancroft later claimed the object was a short length of yellow adhesive tape to which dirt and grit had adhered, forming an abrasive surface – though four days later, Cricket Australia confirmed that this was actually sandpaper.

Smith and vice-captain David Warner stood down from the team leadership the morning after the incident, but still played on, with wicket-keeper Tim Paine taking over as captain for the rest of the Test match.

Steve Smith, David Warner and Bancroft were charged with bringing the game into disrepute, suspended, and sent home.

[43] On the third morning of the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka in June 2018, the umpires replaced the match ball and awarded the West Indies five penalty runs when they deemed the Sri Lankan team to have been guilty of ball tampering on the previous day.