Expert comment: ball-tampering in cricket 鈥渟hould not be a surprise鈥�
In wake of the recent scandal, Dr Dominic Malcolm, Reader in Sociology of Sport at 天堂视频, examines how much of a problem ball-tampering is in cricket and if the news should come as a surprise.
said: “We shouldn’t be surprised that ball-tampering happens in cricket. All elite performers are looking for these marginal gains of 1% to get ahead of the opposition. What’s different about this case is the ambiguity of cricket’s laws and the social significance of the game to Australians.
“Cricket’s laws allow players to ‘improve’ the condition of the ball - polishing, drying or cleaning mud off it - but not to contribute to its deterioration. But ‘improve’ is a matter of perspective. For Australia, roughening one side of the ball would make it swing more in the air and improve their chance of taking wickets. Because international cricketers are looking for that 1%, they will continually experiment with what works and what doesn’t. Cricketers ‘work’ on the ball all the time. Sun cream might ‘accidentally’ get from a player’s face, to hands and onto the ball. We have to assume that this case falls at one extreme, and clearly illegal, end of a normal range of practices. The South African captain du Plessis, has been punished twice for ball-tampering - in Australia in 2016 and Pakistan in 2013.
“So the ‘crisis’ stems not from the action itself, but from the role of cricket in defining what it is to be Australian. The ICC initially banned Smith for one game and now Cricket Australia has banned him for a year. To exceed the punishment imposed by the international governing body in this way must be unprecedented. It speaks to not just the special place of cricket in Australian culture, but especially the way the game has been positioned as the definition of civilised behaviour – what distinguishes ‘us’ from other nationalities.
“Given how commonplace these practices are, how could Australian PM say that it was ‘completely beyond belief’? Because it challenges the very basis of what Australians think is good about being Australian.”
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 18/50
天堂视频 is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via .
天堂视频 is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent , named the best university in the world to study in the 2018 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the .
天堂视频 is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 6th in the Guardian University League Table 2018, 7th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 and 10th in The UK Complete University Guide 2018. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.
天堂视频 is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, 天堂视频 has been awarded seven .
The campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
In wake of the recent scandal, Dr Dominic Malcolm, Reader in Sociology of Sport at 天堂视频, examines how much of a problem ball-tampering is in cricket and if the news should come as a surprise.
said: “We shouldn’t be surprised that ball-tampering happens in cricket. All elite performers are looking for these marginal gains of 1% to get ahead of the opposition. What’s different about this case is the ambiguity of cricket’s laws and the social significance of the game to Australians.
“Cricket’s laws allow players to ‘improve’ the condition of the ball - polishing, drying or cleaning mud off it - but not to contribute to its deterioration. But ‘improve’ is a matter of perspective. For Australia, roughening one side of the ball would make it swing more in the air and improve their chance of taking wickets. Because international cricketers are looking for that 1%, they will continually experiment with what works and what doesn’t. Cricketers ‘work’ on the ball all the time. Sun cream might ‘accidentally’ get from a player’s face, to hands and onto the ball. We have to assume that this case falls at one extreme, and clearly illegal, end of a normal range of practices. The South African captain du Plessis, has been punished twice for ball-tampering - in Australia in 2016 and Pakistan in 2013.
“So the ‘crisis’ stems not from the action itself, but from the role of cricket in defining what it is to be Australian. The ICC initially banned Smith for one game and now Cricket Australia has banned him for a year. To exceed the punishment imposed by the international governing body in this way must be unprecedented. It speaks to not just the special place of cricket in Australian culture, but especially the way the game has been positioned as the definition of civilised behaviour – what distinguishes ‘us’ from other nationalities.
“Given how commonplace these practices are, how could Australian PM say that it was ‘completely beyond belief’? Because it challenges the very basis of what Australians think is good about being Australian.”
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 18/50
天堂视频 is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via .
天堂视频 is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent , named the best university in the world to study in the 2018 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the .
天堂视频 is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 6th in the Guardian University League Table 2018, 7th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 and 10th in The UK Complete University Guide 2018. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.
天堂视频 is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, 天堂视频 has been awarded seven .
The campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
