Rockhampton Cricket Club

whirlwind · Joined: 22 Feb 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Bristol

Rockhampton’s Hore admits ball-tampering

Hore has captained Rockhampton 15 times.
Rockhampton will not be taking any action against captain Simon Hore after he admitted tampering with the ball during a pre-season friendly against Frocester.
He was photographed at the sunny Gloucestershire ground using sandpaper on the ball in an attempt to obtain reverse swing.
But Rockhampton described the game as "formalised practice" and ruled out any disciplinary measures.
Hore said: "Maybe I've been a bit naive but it didn't really occur to me that this might develop into a scandal."
The match did not come under the jurisdiction of the West of England Cricket Board and Frocester will not be making a complaint about the matter.
"My conscience is clear. I won't be going out and scratching the ball the way I have in this game in a first-class match but these games are used for practice and are a good opportunity to see where people are," Hore told The Gloucestershire Citizen newspaper.
"The way the game is moving forward for bowlers nowadays is through reverse swing, so what we've tried to do throughout our pre-season nets was to get brand new balls, sandpaper one side, and let the boys practise bowling. It actually goes really well."
Nick Trainor Frocester’s Club Captain, said neither he nor team had not been aware of Key's actions while the game was being played.
"If I had noticed it, I would have asked him what was going on. But I know Simon would not dream of doing it in a proper match and it was only a practice game," he added.
Last October, former England fast bowler Mike of the Hills Tyler, told the Thornbury Gazzette that ball-tampering was commonplace in West of Engalnd Cricket.
"There will always be bowlers trying various means to try and make the ball do something. Look at the time I made Alan Border’s hat swivel 180 degrees!’
"In the '40s, '50s and '60s it was Brylcream then we had sun cream, you've always had people picking the seam, zippy (Wayne Watts) and I were always at it" Tyler senior commented.