Pakistan cricketer accuses Australia of ‘ball tampering’ in WTC 2023 final

“Firstly, I would clap for those watching the match from commentary box, and the umpires? Australia clearly played with the ball and no one is talking about it. No batter is wondering ‘What is happening?’ The biggest example is batters getting bowled while leaving the ball. Let me give you the evidence too. Until the 54th over when Shami was bowling, the shine was on the outside and the ball moved back into Steve Smith. This is not called reverse-swing. Reverse swing is when the shine is on the inside and the ball comes back in,” Ali said on his YouTube channel.

“Look at the 16th, 17th and 18th over, the ball on which Virat Kohli got out… look at the shine. Mitchell Starc had the ball in his hand with the shiny end pointing outside but the ball was moving the other way. Jadeja was hitting the ball on the on-side and the ball was flying over point. Have the umpires gone blind? God knows who all are sitting there who can’t see such a simple thing,” Ali pointed out.

“Green bowled with the shine pointing towards Pujara and the ball rocketed back in? I am surprised. BCCI is such a big board; can they not see it? It means that you aren’t focussed towards cricket. They are just happy knowing that India have reached the final. Does the ball ever reverse swing in 15-20 overs, that too Dukes ball? I understand that a Kookaburra ball can still reverse, but a Dukes ball lasts till 40 overs at least,” Ali said.

This is not the first time ball-tampering allegations are leveled against Australian players as in 2018 the cricketing world was stunned by ‘sandpaper gate’. David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of tampering with the ball against South Africa.

Updated: 09 Jun 2023, 10:11 PM IST