This is a very tough one. Why is polishing allowed? That’s tampering with the natural condition of the ball especially if you are aiding the shine with sugary mints etc.. However, the main problem with allowing tampering legally is where you draw the line. If you legalize it then you might have people scratching waaay too much.. you can’t have people lifting the seam and taking off big sections of the leather.. i think the law is ok the way it is BUT just make sure that the umpires only call a team if they have 100% clear evidence of scratching.. if something is not picked up by a camera then it can’t be very serious tampering.. how can you tamper the ball and not show up on camera.. the only way you can do that is tooooo agressive rubbing of the ball.. however, that would get the rough part of the ball wet from the sweat on your hands.. so i doubt people would try to rub off some damaged leather on the rough side.. keep the law as it is.. people will still try to do things like getting the ball back on the bounce etc… if you legalize it then defining the limits will be difficult.. how much scratching can you allow?

OFCOURSE.
cant belive we are still debating this—how much more will batters be pampered with laws, equipment and umpiring before a bowler just gives up??

in fact, i’ve always suggested that if a btsman is allowed to choose his make/size of bat, then so should a bowler.
let him pick a kookaburra or a duke or a reader or a SG.

then lets sit back and watch the kallises and haydens and sehwags hop around.

blood on the pitch i say.

Problem is that ball tampering is subjective -one mans \’tampering\’ could be anothers \’not smoothing the ball down after it\’s landed on concrete\’.

As a lot of commentators have said, players have been tampering for years. We were taught about raising the seam as 13 year olds by the cricket coach at the Public School I went to (so much for the English Establshment\’s reputation for \’fair play\’ eh!!). Coincidently, that was the era of \’John Lever and Vaseline\’ - we tested that in the nets and it didn\’t work.

Maybe the umpires should be encouraged to inspect the ball more regularly and make a judgement call if they feel things have gone too far. Increase the run penalty to something worthwhile like 50 or 100 runs.

Also, make a new ball available after 60 overs rather than 80.

Ball tampering has been legal since August 20 2006. Never again will an umpire dare complain about it.

“Penalties would come in the form of run forfeits” Never again will an umpire dare forfeit runs.

“Maybe the umpires should be encouraged to inspect the ball more regularly” You gotta be kidding. Never again will an umpire dare to inspect a ball.

Oh yes, alter the law if the cheats find it gets in the way of their cheating! Simple solution, Emma.

“The Australian” newspaper this morning (Modday 28 August) puts this issue succinctly:

“Hair has been left to twist in the wind by the ICC, which has failed to back one of the game’s leading umpires against a hysterical overreaction by the Pakistan hierarchy. Meanwhile, the central allegation of ball-tampering and the subsequent, arguably more serious, charge against Inzamam of bringing the game into disrepute have been lost in the fog created by Hair’s emailed offer to quit. In Pakistan, the email has been interpreted as an admission he was wrong over the tampering issue and that Inzamam should be exonerated. The stewards of the game, the ICC, have shown a lamentable lack of leadership from the start.”

Japaddy my defence of Darrell Hair has nothing to do with any prospective hagiographic biography. I’m concerned that what used to be a pretty good sport is a now a political vehicle for the Western world to further its kow-towing to a team of Muslims whose values are foreign (and inferior) to ours. It’s about time people addressed the issue of cheating in sport and the implication for the future of an activity once known as a sport for civilised people who agreed to play by a set of known rules.

It seems okay when Eglish and other players from western country tamper balls . when Hoggard swings the ball it is fantastic bowling and when someone from the asian subcontinent does it it becomes cheating. Public memory is so short. John lever,Mike artherton all got away for tampering. Every country and religion ghas its good and bad values!
One thing everyone has to remember i that 90% of the money for world cricket comes from India and without taht cricket would not survive in this world.