Marcus Trescothick admits to ball tampering

[w00dsy]

LONDON — Former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick has reportedly admitted using sweets to alter the ball's swing during the 2005 Ashes series.

The opener said the mints generated saliva which he then rubbed on the ball, according to excerpts from his autobiography, "Coming Back To Me," serialized in Sunday's edition of the News of the World newspaper.

England beat Australia 2-1 in the five-match series.

"I was firmly established as the man in charge of looking after the ball when we were fielding," Trescothick wrote. "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) type of spit for the task at hand."

Trescothick also said he had used the mints during the 2001 Ashes series, which England lost.

"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 said.

Australian bowler Simon Katich, who played in the 2005 Ashes series, said his side could feel aggrieved.

"If it was proved they cheated, we would have a right to be upset," Katich was quoted as saying by the News of the World.

Tampering with the ball can cause it to move unpredictably, putting the batsman at a disadvantage.

"It is something that potentially would be in breach of our code of conduct," ICC spokesman Brian Murgatroyd was quoted as saying by the News of the World. "If appropriate, it would be looked into. It depends on the evidence and circumstances."

In January 2004 India's Rahul Dravid was fined under the ICC code of conduct after rubbing a cough lozenge on the ball during a one-day international with Zimbabwe.

[nutty]

Cheating pom c**t*, give us back our ashes... oh wait

[Hazelb]

Yeah, bloody cheating bastards...thats worse than chuckin it!