Surrey found guilty

By Ben Horne
May 18 2005

Surrey could be deducted points after being found guilty of ball tapering during their county championship match against Nottinghamshire at the Brit Oval.

Umpires, Mervyn Kitchen and Nigel Llong reported Surrey to the ECB after they noticed the ball had been interfered with on Day one of the match against Notts. As a result Surrey were penalised five runs, but could now face further punishment. The umpires stressed they could not point a finger at a single Surrey culprit.

They had warned Surrey captain Mark Ramprakash after 35 overs of play as they noticed the quarter seen had been lifted. After an inspection of the ball with five overs of play remaining, Llong gave it the all clear. However by the close of play the umpires noticed the seam had been lifted again.
Thy then reported the matter to the England and Wales cricket board and sent them the ball in question. The Notts batsmen were then allowed to choose a new ball for the second day’s play.

Surrey captain Mark Ramprakash and Stand coach Alan Butcher accepted the penalty and said they will co-operate with the enquiry.Notts coach Mick Newell thought the umpires had made the correct decision.
Surrey chief executive Paul Sheldon said it was a “huge disappointment” And the club were to open an investigation in order to find out culprit, who will face a swift punishment.

There is no set punishment, but the only previous, which came a year ago, led to Sussex being given a three point penalty.