Victoria penalised for ball tampering
Victoria were penalised five runs and the ball was changed after the
match officials ruled they were guilty of an act of ball tampering on
the third afternoon of the at Glenelg Oval.
After Mark Cosgrove struck a boundary in the 10th over, the Bushrangers'
bowling coach Mick Lewis bent down to retrieve the ball, but took an
unusually long time before actually doing so.
When the ball was returned to the field after another boundary in the
12th over, it was inspected by the umpires, Paul Wilson and Mick
Martell. They decided that the ball's condition had been changed
illegally and added five runs to South Australia's second innings score.
A substitute ball was then called for.
"The umpires had determined that the condition of the ball had been deliberately altered," match referee said. "Under the laws of cricket they imposed the five-run penalty against the Victorian side and replaced the ball."
Both sides have been penalised for ball tampering in recent years. In
2010, Aaron Finch was fined and the Bushrangers penalised for an
instance of tampering against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. The
umpires found markings on the ball at the end of the second day's play
and initially reported the entire Victoria team before it was concluded
that Finch had been responsible.
In 2014, the then Redbacks captain Johan Botha was suspended for one
match after he pleaded guilty to "repeated inappropriate conduct
relating to the condition of the match ball" during a drawn match with
New South Wales, also in Adelaide.
