Pakistan have described allegations of ball tampering during last Saturday’s World Twenty20 win over New Zealand as “disappointing”.
It emerged yesterday that New Zealand spoke to match officials to clarify whether there was anything suspicious about how Umar Gul achieved figures of five for six, the best in international Twenty20 history, in the Super Eights game at The Oval. Gul’s was the first five-wicket haul in an international Twenty20 match and Pakistan won the contest by five wickets.
New Zealand were bowled out for 99 and felt that the reverse swing on the ball was excessive. “It is disappointing to hear these things,” Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan team manager, said. “Umar is a fantastic bowler. Not everyone can bowl a reverse ball. You’ve got to