England stay silent on ball-tampering concerns

 
26 March 2012

England today declined to comment on match referee Manoj Mendis' suspicions of possible ball-tampering during their second tour fixture in Sri Lanka.

Mendis voiced his concerns, and included them in his report, after the state of the ball England were using surprised him at tea on day one of the match against a Sri Lanka Development XI in Colombo.

He told the Times: "There was a bit of dryness and, I would say, roughness on one side of the ball.

"I brought it to the attention of [England tour manager] Phil Neale, that the ball may have been altered a little bit."

England vice-captain Alastair Cook, who was not playing in the match last week, was also involved in the discussions with Mendis.

"Alastair Cook ... said it was due to the dryness of the ground," added the match referee.

"It was just my opinion. I did not see any bowler do anything, but there was suspicion based purely on the condition of the ball I saw.

"I tried to watch more closely afterwards, and I didn't see anything.

"The players are more experienced than me - and in my report I stressed that it was only suspicion, not evidence.

"Alastair Cook is a gentleman, so we concluded that it was fine. But I also have to do my job, so I did bring it to the attention in my report that I suspected something could have happened to the ball to get it into that condition."

England began their two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle this morning.

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