BALL TAMPERING

Bayliss dismisses allegations of ball tampering

by Tristan Lavalette • Last updated on

Umpires S Ravi and Kumar Dharmasena spoke to Joe Root after a throw from Stuart Broad bounced short of Jonny Bairstow © Getty

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has labelled ball tampering accusations levelled at his team as a "beat-up" in a fresh saga amid a contentious Ashes series.

The fiery series escalated on day four of the fourth Test at the MCG as England was accused of ball tampering by Australian commentators. Umpires Sundaram Ravi and Kumar Dharmasena spoke to Joe Root, the England captain, after a throw from Stuart Broad bounced short of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

In a contentious practice, fielders take a shy at the stumps in a bid to scuff the ball on the turf, which would rough up a side of the ball and conjure more swing. Reverse swing, which England are masterful practitioners of, is seen as the tourists' best bet of eking out wickets on an unresponsive MCG pitch to claim an upset Test victory.

"It's a beat-up," Bayliss told reporters on Friday (December 29). "The umpires spoke to both captains in this Test match about throwing the ball into the rough areas. Every team in the world does that, obviously the umpires don't want it to go overboard.

"Kumar (Dharmasena) said 'don't worry about it, there is absolutely nothing in it'," he added. "He said it (the accusations) was a beat-up."

Television cameras captured James Anderson, England's spearhead, running his thumb over the quarter-seam of the ball. "I'm not sure you are allowed to use your fingernail there," Shane Warne, the Channel Nine commentator, said on the telecast. "If you are going to touch the ball at all, it's not just shining it, you want to do it right in front of the umpire so they know there is nothing untoward going on."

Bayliss said Anderson was not trying to do anything malicious. "If he was trying to scratch it, he was doing it on the wrong side to go reverse," he said."I'm quite sure that wasn't the case. You're allowed to clean it. They (the umpires) would like it be cleaned in front of them so nothing untoward is going on. There is some dirt and mud going into the seam."

Mitchell Marsh, the Australian allrounder, said he had "not seen anything inappropriate" during the Test.

Faf du Plessis, the South African captain, was charged last Australian summer for coating the ball with salvia while he had a lolly in his mouth.

© Cricbuzz

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