MCC sticks with present ball-tampering law

Complications arising from the Faf du Plessis ball-tampering episode forced a rethink of the rule, but the MCC world cricket committee has resisted making changes to Law 42.3. Du Plessis, the South Africa captain, was caught on camera using a mint in his mouth to shine the ball during the recent Hobart Test. The ICC found him guilty of ball-tampering, though du Plessis has appealed the verdict.

The case raised three issues with the law. Du Plessis argued the law was not clear: how was, for instance, Gatorade-affected saliva different from mint-laden saliva? Many players – recently and long retired – admitted to contravening the law, saying using lollies, mints and sweets was the line the players themselves drew. Even if it was argued that the law was clear, the policing of it – especially the role of the broadcaster as was the case with du Plessis – was ambiguous.

MCC’s world cricket committee sought to address all three issues. The law, it said, was clear, and spelling out banned substances would always leave room for exploitation. “To try to be too prescriptive by listing banned substances would be counterproductive, as something will be missed in the process of such drafting,” the MCC release said.

John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, reiterated that the law was not ambiguous. “My advice to them [confused players] would be to not contravene the law, which is very clear. I was part of that [du Plessis] hearing. In my opinion what he did flagrantly contravened the law. He put his finger straight on the mint, straight on the …

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