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| September 23, 2006 | Saturday | Sha'aban 29, 1427 |
Oval Test ball not tampered with, says Waqar
SYDNEY, Sept 22: Pakistan's bowling coach Waqar Younis claimed in an interview on Friday that the ball in the controversial tampering saga at the Oval that led to Pakistan forfeiting a Test to England last month had showed no signs of illegal alteration.
No television cameras at The Oval are understood to have captured Pakistani players engaging in illegal ball tampering and the condition of the ball will be central to the umpires' case against Inzamam when International Cricket Council holds a hearing into the charges in London on September 27-28.
But Waqar, a former captain, insisted on Friday that the ball which had been used for 56 overs showed no sign of having been tampered with.
The former Pakistan Test paceman told The Sydney Morning Herald from his Sydney home he saw the ball immediately after it was taken from the field.
“I went straight into the referee's room and asked to see the ball,” Waqar told the paper. “There was nothing wrong with it. I went and told the boys that I thought the charge was baseless - I promise you, nothing was wrong with it.
“There were 30-odd cameras at the ground that didn't see anything, so you would think there had to be something wrong with the ball for Darrell (Hair) to do what he did.
“It (the controversy) was bad for cricket. It wasn't just about ball tampering. By doing what he (Hair) did, he was calling the whole Pakistan team cheats, penalising us five runs with no evidence. That was totally wrong.”
If Inzamam is found guilty at the ICC hearing he could be suspended for a maximum of five Tests or eight One-day Internationals besides getting fined.—AFP
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