August 26, 2008	Tuesday	Sha’aban 23, 1429

BRISBANE, Aug 25: Stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke has played down the furore over former England opener Marcus Trescothick’s revelation that he illegally used a breath mint to help his bowlers gain extra swing during the 2005 Ashes series.

Clarke, who will lead Australia in the upcoming series of three one-day matches against Bangladesh in Darwin in the absence of an injured Ricky Ponting, was part of the Australian team that suffered a shock 2-1 loss as the English grabbed their first Ashes series win in 18 years.

The reverse swing achieved by England’s bowlers, led by Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, was a major factor in the upset victory, and Trescothick has admitted in his new autobiography, Coming Back To Me, that his chief job in the field was to shine the ball with the assistance of breath fresheners.

Using artificial substances to alter the behaviour of the ball is illegal, but Trescothick, who retired in March due to a stress-related illness, said the English knew the effect the sweets had on the ball.

“I was firmly established as the man in charge of looking after the ball when we were fielding,” he wrote in an excerpt that appeared in Britain’s News of the World newspaper.

“It was my job to keep the shine on the new ball for as long as possible with a bit of spit and a lot of polish. And through trial and error I finally settled on the best type of spit for the task at hand.

“It had been common knowledge in county cricket for some time that certain sweets produced saliva which, when applied to the ball for cleaning purposes, enabled it to keep its shine for longer and therefore its swing.”

Trescothick also recalled having to hastily scoop up spilled sweets after they fell out of his pocket when he dived for a ball in the field.

In 2004, Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid was fined for ball-tampering during a one-day game against Zimbabwe in Brisbane.

The revelations will add spice to the 2009 Ashes rematch, but Clarke said here on Monday that the Australians were not concerned by Trescothick’s admission.

“At the end of the day it’s the past,” he said. “Marcus has written a book, hasn’t he, so good luck with that, that’s the past.“It actually doesn’t bother me at all right now,” he added. “We are looking forward, that’s history.”

The International Cricket Council said it was unlikely to take action against England.

—AFP