The Surfer

Afridi offers food for thought

The resulting uproar over Shahid Afridi's snack has reignited the debate about ball tampering, and in the New Zealand Herald Adam Parore says Pakistan got away with it for 15 or 20 years because no one really knew what was going on

Jamie Alter
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The resulting uproar over Shahid Afridi's snack has reignited the debate about ball tampering, and in the New Zealand Herald Adam Parore says Pakistan got away with it for 15 or 20 years because no one really knew what was going on.
Clearly, with reverse swing still being apart of test cricket, minor doctoring of the ball is still going on. I don't believe it is possible to get reverse swing without some illegal work on the ball. But it is being done in a way that is actually good for the game, giving the bowlers more chance when batsmen could absolutely dominate.
Along the same lines, David Leggat wonders if Afridi would have opted to take a chomp at the ball had he known a healthy dose of the stuff you clean toilets with might find its way to his stomach.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo