Witty Rejoinder said:

party_pants said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

What do you think of the latest developments in SandpaperGate PP?

Not really been following it closely. From what I gather Usman Khwaja has said in his memoirs that this had been going on for some time before they got caught. Everyone else is falling over themselves to say it was a once-off thing and not systemic cheating.

Is that the gist of it? What’s the latest development?

That’s basically it. A few old-timers are saying ball tampering is an and old art. It’s just not cricket!

One of those topics nobody wants to talk about. There have always been hints and allegations. It would not surprise me if it routinely happens, but usually in more subtle ways than having a bit of sandpaper in your pocket. I think doing it so blatantly is the “just not cricket” part of it.

The very act of polishing one side of the ball is artificially altering its condition, in a sense, so your starting point is already slightly downhill on an increasing steep slope. Falling off the cliff and ending up at the bottom is unacceptable, but staying just the right side of the tipping point is accepted.