Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SRI LANKANS FACING PROBE AFTER BALL-TAMPERING ROW
SRI LANKA face an ICC probe after a ball-tampering row overshadowed day three of the second Test against West Indies in St Lucia.
The tourists refused to take the field for around two hours yesterday morning after umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould demanded the ball be changed before the start of play.
There were fears Sri Lanka may even forfeit the game with West Indies awarded five penalty runs.
Dar and Gould inspected the ball towards the end of day two. And Gould reportedly asked to see the hands of Dhananjaya de Silva, the fielder responsible for shining the ball who was wearing bandages.
After giving it some thought overnight the umpires called for the change, much to the fury of Sri Lanka. Captain Dinesh Chandimal and his team stayed in their changing room for 50 minutes before making their way out.
However, after further discussions out in the middle, Chandimal led his team off again, prompting more talks between match referee Javagal Srinath, Sri Lanka’s coach Chandika Hathurusingha and team manager Asanka Gurusinha. Play finally got under way with West Indies on 123-2. Only once before has a team refused to return to the field during a Test match. Pakistan stayed put after tea on day four of the fourth Test against England at The Oval in 2006, after being penalised five runs for ball-tampering by umpires Darrel Hair and Billy Doctrove.
They were deemed to have forfeited the match.