Cricket Australia released a statement following the controversy between Australia A and India A at the unofficial Test match at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, which was hinged around allegations of ball-tampering.
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and umpire Shawn Craig were at the heart of the controversy, as stump mics picked up a heated discussion between the pair.
However, the Cricket Australia statement attempted to smooth over matters, expressing that the ball change at the start of the fourth day’s play was prompted simply due to the deterioration of the ball, and not because of any tampering concerns.
Clips from the live stream of the match between the two teams saw a congregation of Indian players stood around the umpire following the change of the ball, including captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kishan. Kishan can be heard asking the umpire about the ball change, before claiming “So we have to play with this ball? That’s a very stupid decision.”
Shawn was stern in his response to Kishan, stating firmly “Excuse me. You’ll be on report for dissent. That’s inappropriate behaviour. You scratch it, we change the ball,” he added, which raised fears of the India A team tampering with the ball. “It is because of your actions we changed the ball.”
‘No further action to be taken’ — CA
The Cricket Australia statement seems to have waylaid any concerns of ball tampering, with natural deterioration appearing as the result for the ball change despite the comments made by the umpire. India were also not given the five-run penalty that is mandatory as a punishment for when umpires think a team has changed the ball in an intentional and illegal manner.
The CA also confirmed to both teams that no further action would be taken on the matter, with the question of dissent also washed away from Ishan Kishan.
India A fell to a seven-wicket loss against Australia A, with captain Nathan McSweeney’s 88 unbeaten in the fourth innings guiding the hosts home in Mackay, while Beau Webster also remained unbeaten with a half-century in the chase of 225.
The stars for India A were Mukesh Kumar, who took a six-fer in the first innings, and Sai Sudharsan, who scored a century in the second innings. The teams will now head to Melbourne and the MCG for the second of their two match series, with Gaikwad’s team looking to bounce back.
