The ‘Ball tampering’ issue has caused a stir on Day 4 of the second Test between India and England at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. In the second session of the fourth day, photos of England players stamping the ball using spikes on their shoes and rolling it around on the ground went viral on social media.
The pitch fully assisted the batting on the third day of play. The bowlers were unable to swing the ball, no matter how hard they tried. Taking advantage of this, England captain Joe Root played a master class innings. The England bowlers took three wickets as the ball was in some swing in the morning. After that, the ball does not adapt to swing as the humidity decreases. However, photos of the ball under the shoes caught the netizens’ attention.
The incident took place in the 35th over of the innings, bowled by pacer Ollie Robinson. It remains to be seen whether the Board of England will comment on this matter. However, netizens are outraged that this is definitely a ball tampering attempt.
Former India openers Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra tweeted their concern “What is happening? Is it ball tampering by Eng ya Covid preventive measures,” tweeted Sehwag, while Chopra simply said: “Ball tampering, eh?”
The latest photos are reminiscent of the 2018 Cape Town Test. Aussie player Cameron Bancroft pulled a yellow paper out of his pants pocket and tampered with the ball, and caught it on a video camera. The Aussie board imposed a 12-month ban on then-captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner and a nine-month ban on Bancroft in the case.