England V Pakistan abandoned in ball tampering row

Blackleaf · England V Pakistan abandoned in ball tampering row

The fourth and final Test match between England and Pakistan has been abandoned after Pakistan were accused of ball tampering. England were given 5 penalty runs because of the cheating. After play resumed after tea, Pakistan refused to come back onto the field and stayed in their dressing room in protest. The England batsmen were on the field waiting. After 45 minutes, the Pakistanis came back onto the field, amid boos and jeers from the crowd. But they then had to go back off again as the umpires also refused to come back out. It is the first time any international side have been penalised in such a way for the offence following a change to the laws of the game in recent years.

In cricket, bowlers can tamper with the ball in a variety of ways so that it suits the bowlers and their team and causes grief for batsmen. But it's illegal.

Pakistan were winning this Test Match (but had already lost the Series as they were 2-0 down in the Series and this was the final Test) but, according to the laws of the game, England could now be declared the winners due to Pakistan's protestations.
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The Score

Fourth and final test

1st Innings
England 173
Pakistan 504

2nd innings
England 298-4

England are 33 runs behind but could be declared winners, and will win the Series 3-0.
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Test match in chaos over cheating row

20th August 2006

Umpires inspect the ball after Pakistan were accused of tampering with it.

Pakistan are at the centre of an unprecedented ball-tampering controversy this afternoon. Their players had refused to continue the match at the Oval after the umpires alleged they had tampered with the ball.

Another half an hour later, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq led his side out onto the field, but neither the umpires nor the England batsmen followed and two minutes later the tourists returned to their dressing room.

During the lunchtime session on the fourth day, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove decided that Pakistan's bowlers had altered the state of the match ball and awarded England five penalty runs.

It is the first time any international side have been penalised in such a way for the offence following a change to the laws of the game in recent years.

Under law 42.3 of the International Cricket Council's playing conditions, the umpires should award five runs to the batting side and change the ball when they think it has been interfered with.

The batsmen at the wicket should then choose a replacement of similar wear from a selection of half a dozen.

England were 230 for three after 56 overs when the officials stopped play to confer in the middle and batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood were then asked to choose a substitute from a box brought out by fourth umpire Trevor Jesty.

Frequent inspections of the ball are undertaken by the umpires but there were no obvious signs of any Pakistan fielder altering the ball's condition.

The incident may have been sparked by Pakistan starting to achieve reverse swing through seamer Umar Gul, who dismissed Alastair Cook for 83 with an inswinging yorker, as England reached 298 for four when bad light stopped play shortly before tea, still 33 runs adrift.

As soon as the incident took place, Pakistan's English coach Bob Woolmer went to see match referee Mike Procter, who was due to discuss the matter further with the umpires at tea.

England had resumed 253 runs adrift on 78 for one and been fortunate not to lose a wicket during the early stages with Cook, who had not added to his overnight 33, being caught at silly point off pad and bat facing leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in the first over of the day.

Umpire Doctrove rejected that appeal and just four overs later Cook was given his second reprieve when he was bowled off a no-ball from Kaneria.

Perhaps influenced by his earlier decision, Doctrove did uphold an appeal for leg before when a fizzing leg break from Kaneria hit stand-in captain Andrew Strauss outside off-stump having hit a determined 54.

Three overs later Cook was given his third and final reprieve when he pulled Mohammad Asif straight to Faisal Iqbal at square leg only for him to miss the regulation chance.

It allowed Cook to forge a 103-run stand with Kevin Pietersen which put England back on course to salvage a draw until the ball began reverse-swinging in mid-afternoon and ended his innings of 83.

Pietersen, dropped on 15 by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal off Kaneria, went on to punish Pakistan for their miss and shrugged off the controversy over the ball tampering to move within four runs of his sixth Test century.

But, looking for the big shot to bring up three figures, Pietersen instead edged Shahid Nazir behind and it needed a determined stand between Collingwood and Ian Bell to ensure England did not suffer any further losses before the light closed in.

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Reluctant Hero

That's just not cricket Very Happy

Reluctant Hero

My feeling is that they will get found not guilty of tampering with the ball (as there is no evidence from the 20 odd Sky cameras based at the game), but they will be found guilty of bringing yje game into disrepute.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/5280908.stm

Inzamam case off until September

The hearing of ball-tampering and disrepute charges faced by Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will not take place until next month.
Ranjan Madugalle, the International Cricket Council's chief match referee, had been due to hear the case in London on Friday.

But he stayed in Sri Lanka because of a family illness.

The length of the postponement clears the way for Pakistan to go ahead with the one-day series against England.

The two sides will play a Twenty20 International at Bristol on Monday, followed by five matches under the 50-over format.

ICC president Percy Sonn told a news conference in London that Shaharyar Khan and David Morgan, the chairmen of the Pakistan and England boards, had given him an assurance that the series would continue as scheduled.

The charges against Inzamam arose out of the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval, when the tourists were penalised for allegedly altering the condition of the ball during the fourth afternoon's play.

They responded by initially refusing to come out of their dressing room at the end of the tea interval, and umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove awarded the game to England by forfeit.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said he hoped the hearing would now take place in "the second half of September".

Commenting on the case, he said it had generated a "huge amount of misinformation, speculation and conjecture".

Speed added: "There have been allegations of bias, racism and conspiracy but it is about none of these things.

"It involves two simple cricket issues. Did the Pakistan team change the nature of the ball in an illegal manner under the laws of the game?

"Secondly, did the refusal by the Pakistan team to resume the match when directed to do so bring the game into disrepute?

"The ICC code of conduct provides a mechanism for former cricketers, match referees, to use their experience as cricketers to use their judgement on cricket issues and that is the process that we are trying to achieve here."