De Villiers caught in row over tampering
AB de VILLIERS was caught up in a row over the state of one of the balls during a dramatic second one-day international in Southampton.
A brilliant last over from Mark Wood, which conceded only four runs with South Africa needing seven to win, saw England seal the match by two runs and establish an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
However, de Villiers, the tourists’ captain, looked unimpressed when umpires Rob Bailey and Chris Gaffaney brought the state of the ball to his attention after 33 overs of England’s innings, raising questions as to whether his team was involved in another ball-tampering scandal.
It is understood the umpires were pointing out what they believed was a discrepancy between the state of the two balls.
One ball is used at each end in one-day internationals and they reportedly felt one had more wear and tear than the other.
De Villiers grew exasperated as the conversation unfolded, not least because the ball in question was not changed.
Law 42.3, which governs the state of the match ball, says that a change must be made ‘if the umpires together agree that the deterioration in the condition of the ball is greater than is consistent with the use it has received’.
The fact that no change was made suggests the umpires could not be sure anything untoward had occurred, which raises the question of why they spoke to de Villiers in the first place.
In the Sky commentary box, West Indies fast-bowling legend Michael Holding said: ‘These two things do not add up.’
If de Villiers reacted angrily, then South Africa’s sensitivity on the subject is understandable.
Back in November, Faf du Plessis was fined his entire match fee after he was found guilty of using mint-enhanced saliva to shine the ball during a Test match against Australia at Adelaide.
And in 2013, du Plessis pleaded guilty to rubbing the ball against the zip of his trouser pocket during a Test against Pakistan in Dubai, and was fined 50 per cent of his fee. On both occasions, the South Africans felt they had been harshly treated.
The ICC were not available for comment.
Speaking to the BBC after the match, de Villiers did not address the issue, but instead paid tribute to England’s players.
‘I thought the boys played exceptionally well but England got their plans right and showed guts at the finish,’ he said.
‘It’s unfortunate but I’m proud of the way we played. I thought we paced it really well but we couldn’t cross the line. I think our fielding was costly. We were a little bit careless at times, conceding one or two more boundaries than we should have done.
‘Hopefully, we can get a win in the final match to take into the Champions Trophy.’