Chowrangi

Just last month, James Anderson and Stuart Broad were caught ball tampering in a test match in Cape Town. Let alone any action taken against them, even an inquiry wasn’t held. The ICC, which is very quick to hand out bans to Pakistani cricketers actually said, “With play on day four of the match having resumed, the deadline for submission of such notification has now passed.” Talk about double standards! However, former Captain Michael Vaughan was spot on, having said, “England have been caught and we have to hold our hands up. They were thinking they were smart but they’ve been very silly… What would we say if it was Pakistan?” Sunday Times’ Simon Wilde was equally honest, having said, “There was enough in the footage to suggest that an inquiry was worth making and if the bowlers in question had been Pakistani you could bet that most opponents would have been asking directions to the referee’s room.”

Wasim Akram invented the art of reverse swing and he was immediately labeled a ball tamperer by English cricketers. Of course, no evidence was found against him. In fact, it was the leader of the English side, Mike Artherton, who was caught ball tampering and got away with it (surprise, surprise). He was caught reaching into his pocket for a substance and then rubbing it on the ball during a Lord’s Test against South Africa in 1994. He denied it was tampering, claiming that he had dirt in his pockets.

Rules seem to be different for Pakistani and foreign cricketers. They can indulge in ball tampering, sledging and benefit from biased umpiring. However, the moment a Pakistani cricketer does the same, he is faced with penalties, something unheard of with foreign cricketers.

Source: Cricinfo. Image from Uncylcopedia Commons.