SCRATCHERS AND POLISHERS: A HISTORY OF BALL TAMPERING CASES AND CLAIMS IN MODERN DAY CRICKET
Mike Atheron (1994): The infamous dirt in the pocket act against South Africa earned the former England captain a fine of $A4,750. Atherton claimed he had used the dirt to dry his hands, rather than to rub into the ball.
Waqar Younis (2000): The Pakistan pace king became the first player banned for ball tampering when he lifted the seam during an ODI against South Africa in Colombo. Copped a one-match suspension.
Sachin Tendulkar (2001): India's batting master was caught running his fingernails through the seam while bowling in a Test in South Africa. He was handed a one-match suspended ban, but later had the charge downgraded to cleaning the ball without the umpire's permission.
Shoaib Akhtar (2003): The Pakistani speedster was seen working on the seam of a ball with his thumbnail during a one-day tri-series match in Sri Lanka. Akhtar was banned for two matches and fined 75 per cent of his match fee.
Rahul Dravid (2004): The Indian batsman was seen rubbing a yellow material, probably the fragments of a lolly, on the ball during a one-day match against Zimbabwe in Brisbane. The then-vice captain was docked 50 per cent of his match fee.
Marcus Trescothick (2005): The former England opening batsman admitted some years after their Ashes win to illegally polishing the ball while sucking on breath fresheners.
Pakistan (2006): Pakistan forfeited a Test against England after refusing to return to the field when umpires Darrel Hair and Billy Doctrove imposed a five-run penalty for changing the condition of the ball. Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq was later cleared of ball-tampering, while Hair was removed from the ICC's elite panel of umpires.
Shahid Afridi (2010): The Pakistan all-rounder was banned for two matches after biting the ball in a one-day match against Australia in Perth.
Australia (2012): Sri Lanka alerted the match referee to footage allegedly showing Australian players lifting the seam of the ball during a Test in Hobart, but they stopped short of lodging an official complaint.
Faf du Plessis (2013): The South African batsman was caught rubbing the ball on his trousers pocket zipper during a Test against Pakistan in Dubai. He copped a 50 per cent match fee fine.
Vernon Philander (2014): South African paceman Philander was fined 75 per cent of his match fee after footage emerged of him scratching the ball's surface during a Test in Sri Lanka.
Faf du Plessis (2016): Fined 100 per cent of his match fee but avoided suspension after footage emerged of him shining the ball with saliva while having a mint in his mouth in the second Test against Australia in Hobart.
