England used binoculars to monitor Pak in Oval Test: Fletcher

[baburao]

England used binoculars to monitor Pak in Oval Test: Fletcher

Former coach Duncan Fletcher revealed the English team used binoculars to monitor Pakistani cricketers, suspecting that they indulged in ball tampering during the controversial Oval Test last year.

In his autobiography "Behind the Shades", which is being serialised in 'Daily Mail', Fletcher also sided with controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair, who had penalised Pakistan for ball tampering, which prompted the visitors to walk out and eventually forfeit the match.

"We were interested in what the Pakistanis were doing with the ball. We could not understand how they were able to get it to reverse swing so early in the innings. With the lush outfields it had been a problem for us all series.

"Using binoculars, we began examining the Pakistanis closely in the field because we thought we had picked something up," Fletcher said.

"It seemed that for the first 15 to 20 overs of our innings every Pakistan player was shining the ball on both sides probably to get rid of the lacquer quickly and make the leather soft. And after that period only a couple of players seemed to be entrusted with the duty," he added.

http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=743e06fa-af76-49a0-9e9d-62db477bb16f&&IsCricket=true&Headline='England+used+binoculars+to+monitor+Pak+p

 

[Dare]

yea i saw clips of tresko with binoculars during that test.

 

[Almost_Austwick]

I really can't see any that inflammatory in that piece, although I guess if you want to see controversy, you will.

It's common practice to only allow a few players to handle the ball during shining etc, especially if you want the ball to reverse swing.

 

[usy]

If we reverse swing - Ball tampering
Others do it - Great bowling

 

[Almost_Austwick]

Well, if you remember the Ashes series '05 there were questions about how England managed to obtain so much swing where the Aussies didn't.

I would say it's more a case that if one team gets swing when the other doesn't then it's called tampering, the nationality of the team has little to do with it, unless you're tying to point score.

 

[khan31]

Well, if you remember the Ashes series '05 there were questions about how England managed to obtain so much swing where the Aussies didn't.

I would say it's more a case that if one team gets swing when the other doesn't then it's called tampering, the nationality of the team has little to do with it, unless you're tying to point score.

So why were Wasim and Waqar labelled cheats? As soon as other countries begin to do it its a skill but when they did it they were cheating. Then the Pakistanis do it again last year and they're called cheats again! No-one else has been accused of cheating when reversing.

Now to make it fairer on all the teams that can't reverse swing, they change the ball in ODIs in the 34th over. This stopped Pakistanis such as Umar Gul,Akhtar etc to start reversing just because the South Africans can't.

 

[baburao]

So why were Wasim and Waqar labelled cheats? As soon as other countries begin to do it its a skill but when they did it they were cheating. Then the Pakistanis do it again last year and they're called cheats again! No-one else has been accused of cheating when reversing.

Now to make it fairer on all the teams that can't reverse swing, they change the ball in ODIs in the 34th over. This stopped Pakistanis such as Umar Gul,Akhtar etc to start reversing just because the South Africans can't.

I completely agree.
English bolwers did it in Ashes 2005.And it was labelled as their skill.

 

[manee]

Well, if you remember the Ashes series '05 there were questions about how England managed to obtain so much swing where the Aussies didn't.

I would say it's more a case that if one team gets swing when the other doesn't then it's called tampering, the nationality of the team has little to do with it, unless you're tying to point score.

I have to disagree, England were hardly accused of ball tampering in the 2005 Ashes and it was more talks of genius and a fantastic coach. A particularly insane Benaud once saying that Simon Jones read 'a book' whilst injured which taught him reverse swing...I wonder who wrote it

 

[afridi118]

i agree with you usy as when we do reverse swing its ball tempring if others do its ok ???

 

[Punk_Sk8r]

I have to disagree, England were hardly accused of ball tampering in the 2005 Ashes and it was more talks of genius and a fantastic coach. A particularly insane Benaud once saying that Simon Jones read 'a book' whilst injured which taught him reverse swing...I wonder who wrote it

Waqar Younis!

 

[khan31]

Yeah it was called "How to Reverse Swing"
Written by Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram

My copy is in the post. Got it for £9.99! Bargain

 

[FreddieFan]

If we reverse swing - Ball tampering
Others do it - Great bowling

It annoys me when I see this posted. The umpires are on the field to ensure fair play and do so. England have never been accused of ball tampering by the umpires (except the Atherton affair, where he was trying to keep the ball dry when the ball was already reverse swinging - if it's already going, why would he want to change the ball?) and so reverse swing achieved by them is rightly attributed to the skill of the bowlers.

The England team have every right to keep an eye on any other team in the world if they suspect they are ball tampering, and any other team has the right to keep an eye on England. The fact that the umpires also accused Pakistan of ball tampering makes a world of difference in my eyes.

 

[CortezTheKiller]

Well, if you remember the Ashes series '05 there were questions about how England managed to obtain so much swing where the Aussies didn't.

I would say it's more a case that if one team gets swing when the other doesn't then it's called tampering, the nationality of the team has little to do with it, unless you're tying to point score.

They work wonders, I've heard.

There's obviously an art in preparing a ball to reverse and it's probably no coincidence that our two best exponents (Flintoff & Simon Jones) played alongside Wasim @ Lancs and Waqar @ Glamorgan respectively.

With regards to Fletcher, he says England looked for untoward activity but is pretty careful to not name names and only imply there may have been something amiss going on. A bitter man out to sell a few more books. Non-story as far as I can see.

 

[Almost_Austwick]

So why were Wasim and Waqar labelled cheats? As soon as other countries begin to do it its a skill but when they did it they were cheating. Then the Pakistanis do it again last year and they're called cheats again! No-one else has been accused of cheating when reversing.

Now to make it fairer on all the teams that can't reverse swing, they change the ball in ODIs in the 34th over. This stopped Pakistanis such as Umar Gul,Akhtar etc to start reversing just because the South Africans can't.

At the time that Akram and co were reverse swinging the ball it was a relativity unknown phenomenon and people rightly thought 'hey, that can't be natural' and the most logical thing was that the ball was being worked illegally.

As time as gone on the technique and how to prepare the ball has become widely known and so it is now rightly called a skill rather than ball tampering.

As for the ball change, it has little to do with swing more that fact that unless they use a heavily lacquered or synthetic ball covering (which would contravenes certain rules and cause the ball to behave artificially) then the ball gets very dirty and very hard to pick up. I agree that the rule is flawed and fully expect it to be tweaked in the next year or so.

The Hair incident, well, that was down to a man with issues and nothing has ever been proven either way - maybe if they had been more open and let the ball be examined and shown to the press etc we have known one way or the other.

I will just add though that there is no smoke without fire - even England were viewed with suspicion about how they got the reverse sweet - as pointed out above, extra strong mint anyone?

Fletcher is a bitter person trying to sell books and if that test hadn't blown up nothing would have been written about it. I dare say that there isn't a lot of substance to his book apart from the bits serialised in the tabloids and would pay little attention to it.

From a pure cricketing point of view, wouldn't you want to know what the opposition were doing if they seemed to have something on you? I know I would so I could replicate it, so using binoculars in not a big surprise.

 

[usy]

If we reverse swing - Ball tampering
Others do it - Great bowling

Why is someone thinking these comments are racist?

Actually, All I can say is everyone knows the truth that Pakistan is the team always accused of being stuff, more then we should be. and I’m sick of it. I agree PCB is stupid, they can’t be racist. I’m not a racist.

If people back then didn’t know about reverse swing, ok I forgive them. Shoaib and Asif didn’t know about which medicine to take which not to, they were not told by PCB, why don’t people forgive them?

The Hair incident, well, that was down to a man with issues and nothing has ever been proven either way - maybe if they had been more open and let the ball be examined and shown to the press etc we have known one way or the other.

then if something is not proven, we don't start calling people "cheats" because "we think" they are.