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CRICKET-AUS-ENG
Smith rejects ball-tampering suggestions after ODI loss
SYDNEY, Jan 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Australian captain Steve Smith has shot
down suggestions of ball-tampering after video of him using saliva from the
corner of his mouth during Sunday’s one-day loss to England raised eyebrows.
Smith laughed off the reaction, after watching a replay of the video,
saying it was his standard technique for helping shine the white ball with no
assistance from any foreign substance.
“It was all spit. People said something about lip balm. If you look at my
lips they are pretty dry. I certainly didn’t have any of that on,” he told
reporters Sunday.
“It is just the way I get the spit into the side of my mouth and get some
spit onto the ball. There was nothing in it.”
England last month blasted ball-tampering allegations against them as a
“beat-up” after footage of England bowler James Anderson working the ball
with his thumbnail drew suspicions during their Ashes test match in
Melbourne.
England coach Trevor Bayliss slammed the accusations after former
Australian test players Shane Warne and Michael Slater suggested it was not
allowed.
“It’s a beat-up. As soon as I saw the headlines I raced into the umpires
and that was their words: ‘Nothing to worry about, it was a beat-up,
absolutely fine’,” Bayliss said at the time.
England sealed the five-match ODI series in Sydney Sunday when a stunning
century from Jos Buttler helped the visitors to a unbeatable 3-0 lead — a
remarkable turnaround after Australia had trounced them 4-0 in the Ashes
Tests.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1026 hrs