Cricket: Cook dismisses ball tampering claims

"We certainly haven't tampered with the ball. If Gul did have any complaints he should have gone to the ICC over...


Afp October 03, 2011

LONDON: England one-day skipper Alastair Cook on Monday dismissed Pakistani paceman Umar Gul's accusation that bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson were involved in ball-tampering.

Gul was quoted by a website claiming Anderson tampered with the ball during Pakistan's controversial 2010 tour of England and that Broad did the same in the most recent Ashes series in Australia.

The 27-year-old Gul later issued a statement claiming he intended to say that any bowler could be accused of ball-tampering.

But Cook hit back at the claims, insisting: "We certainly haven't tampered with the ball and if he did have any complaints he should have gone to the ICC over that.

"I think he has almost said himself that it has been a bit of a mountain out of a molehill."

Gul came out with the accusation after reading retired Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar's autobiography, which contains a confession that he took part in ball tampering during his career.

Cook was speaking at Heathrow airport ahead of his team's departure to India, where they will play five 50-over games and one Twenty20 over the next four weeks.

Cook led the ODI team to a 3-0 win over the Indians in England this summer after Andrew Strauss had skippered the team to a 5-0 Test whitewash.

Cook admits playing the 50-over world champions on their own soil will be a much harder task, but has still backed his men to win.

"I certainly think we can beat India," Cook said.

"It will be incredibly tough. We need everyone to be playing very well.

"We all know what the one-day crowds are like over there. They love their cricket.”

COMMENTS (11)

Kaz | 12 years ago | Reply

Ohh wait! actually the fact is that these highly educated Pakistani cricketers like Yasir Hameeds and Umer Guls appear on the media and say whatever comes to them at that point, later realizing that they never meant what was actually said :p...

ARK | 12 years ago | Reply

Pakistani Cricket lovers hate the individual record keeper and holder in cricket. Misbah-ul-Haque Captain of Pakistan team is also doing the same. He always try to save his wicket and never bother about other team mates like senior and junior players in the team. Yesterday Kapil Dev has also criticized Tendulkar and BCCI. Now BCCI is showing their interest for 100th century rather than to focus win for India. The Indian cricketers are interested in playing IPL and county rather than to play for India because they are earning more than in IPL and county matches than national team. He has also requested to pay handsome fees to the national team cricketers so that they will be focusing in playing for India.

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