Ball-tampering: Ten infamous incidents that tarnished cricket

Cameron Bancroft (left) and Australia captain Steve Smith at the press conference in Cape Town (Photo: Twitter)

Factbox on major ball-tampering incidents in cricket after in the wake of the ongoing probe into the Australian team for attempting to alter the state of the ball during the third day of the third Test against South Africa.

1977 - England bowler John Lever was accused of applying Vaseline on one side of the ball to make it swing better during the third Test against India in Chennai. The visitors said that Lever and bowling partner Bob Willis had applied Vaseline-covered gauze above their eyes to divert sweat from their forehead away. No charges were brought.

1990 - New Zealand had used bottle tops to tamper the ball during the third Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad, former wicket-keeper batsman Adam Parore said decades later. The tampering increased the swing on the ball and helped seamer Chris Pringle take an 11-wicket haul. No charges were brought.

1994 - England captain Michael Atherton rubbed loose dirt from his pocket onto the ball during the first Test against South Africa at Lord's. Atherton said that he used the soil, taken from the pitch, to keep his hands dry. He was fined but avoided suspension and held on to the captaincy.

2000 - Pakistan paceman Waqar Younis worked on the ball with his fingers in a match against South Africa during a triangular one-day series in Sri Lanka in 2000. The bowler was the first player to be suspended for ball tampering after being found guilty and was also fined 50 percent of his match fees.

2001 - Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar was accused of scuffing the seam by running his fingers on it by match referee Mike Denness during the second Test against South Africa in 2001. Tendulkar maintained his innocence saying that he was trying to remove dirt from the ball in wet conditions but was handed a suspended one-match ban. The Indian team threatened to pull out of the tour if the decision was not reversed. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) boycotted the third Test and fielded a reserve team to play an unofficial Test. International Cricket Council (ICC) subsequently said that Tendulkar was not guilty of ball tampering but rather of cleaning the ball without the umpire's permission.

2004 - Indian batsman Rahul Dravid rubbed a cough lozenge on the shiny side of the ball during a one-day international win over Zimbabwe in a triangular series held at Brisbane. Dravid was found to be guilty by match referee Clive Lloyd and was fined 50 percent of his match fee.

2005 - Former England batsman Marcus Trescothick said in his autobiography that he used mint-induced saliva to keep the shine on the ball as his team recorded their first Ashes victory after 18 years. The tampering aided with the unplayable swing delivered by England bowlers as Australia lost the series 2-1. No charges were brought against Trescothick, who retired before his book was published.

2006 - During a controversial Test at the Oval, England were awarded five extra runs after Pakistan were accused of ball tampering by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove. Pakistan refused to take the field after the tea break, in protest of the decision and forfeited the Test. The scandal led to years of conflict between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and current and former players.

2010 - England bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson were accused of ball tampering after the former treaded on the ball with his spikes while the latter appeared to be picking at the seam during a Test against South Africa. The duo both rejected the accusations, with Broad saying he was just being lazy while stopping the ball and Anderson claiming he was absent-mindedly playing with it. Neither player was charged.

2010 - Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi was caught on camera biting the ball during a one-day international against Australia in Perth. Afridi was banned for two Twenty20 internationals.