Ball tampering, as the name suggests, is the process of tampering the ball with a variety of ways to improve the shine on the ball, which eventually aids the fast bowlers in swinging the cherry. This technique is prevalent in cricket for over years now. It is generally conducted by the fielders in a bid to help their bowler.

The various ways in which a cricket ball can be tampered are by rubbing the ball with the ground, scratching the ball with the finger nails, tampering the seam of the ball, using the spikes of the boot or a bottle cap to roughen one side of the ball, usage of a hair gel, any sugar substance (even sweetened saliva, for that matter), lip balm etc.

Here is a list of five infamous ball tampering incidents in cricket:

1. Michael Atherton (England) – During the first Test of South Africa’s tour of England in 1994 at Lord’s, Michael Atheron, the then English captain, was accused of tampering with the ball. It is said that he had kept some sort of substance in his pocket to change the condition of the ball. Later, he revealed that he had kept dirt in his pocket in a bid to keep his hands dry.

2. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – During the second Test of India’s tour of South Africa in 2001 at Port Elizabeth, Sachin Tendulkar was out on trial for tampering with the ball. The conditions were such that the ball had become dirty. Tendulkar was removing the dirt with his fingers and this is when the umpires thought that the Master Blaster haas involved himself in something illegal.

3. Pakistan team – The fourth test between England and Pakistan at the Kennington Oval in 2006 was the darkest chapter of ball tempering. Umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair had accused the Pakistani players of ball tampering. Under the leadership of Inzamam-ul-Haq, players did not take field after the Tea session. They returned back 55 minutes after the scheduled time.  At the end of the day, the match was eventually called off.

2. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – During the fifth ODI of Pakistan’s tour of Australia in 2010 at Perth, Shahid Afridi was seen biting the cricket ball in a bizarre event to readjust the seam of the ball. The ball got replaced after the umpires came to know about the incident. Captaining Pakistan in the absence of regular captain Mohammad Yousuf, Afridi was handed a ban for two T20Is.

1. Faf du Plessis (South Africa) – During the second Test of South Africa’s tour of Australia in 2016 at Hobart, South African captain, Faf du Plessis, was charged with alleged ball tampering. He was alleged to have tampered with the condition of the ball after TV footage appeared to show him applying saliva onto the ball from a mint or a lollipop. He was fined his match fee for the same.