Lesson 14 of 14
Ball Management & Tampering History
5 min read•1/19 sections
The line between care and cheating.
Polishing with sweat and a soft cloth — legal. Polishing with saliva — banned in 2020.
Lifting the with a fingernail, applying resin or sandpaper (the 2018 Newlands incident, Sandpaper-gate) — illegal and subject to ICC sanction.
Modern teams treat ball care as a coached skill with explicit ICC-compliant routines.
Technical Breakdown
19-section schemaHistory
The cricket ball's cork-and- construction dates to the 1770s (Duke's of Kent); pink and white balls were introduced later for day-night and limited-overs cricket.