The vaseline incident was one of the first publicised ' doctoring' (using unfair means to enhance the swing or seam abilities) of the

cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. A cricket ball consists of a cork core wound with string then a leather cover stitched on, and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-class level. The trajectory of a crick ...

by a bowler, when it was alleged

John Lever John Kenneth Lever (born 24 February 1949) is an English former international cricketer who played Test and One Day International cricket for England. Lever was a left-arm fast-medium bowler who predominantly swung the ball into right-handed ...

rubbed Vaseline onto one side of the ball so it would swing better.

History

The incident occurred in the third test in

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(on 14-19 January 1977), with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

2-0 down in the series after heavy defeats in

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and

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. Ball tampering regulations allow the application of sweat and saliva (naturally produced substances) to the cricket ball in an attempt to shine one side. Other means of altering the ball's condition, such as applying Vaseline, were banned. Lever, and his bowling partner Bob Willis, both found themselves suffering from sweat falling into their eyes. It was suggested, naively, by the team physiotherapist that they apply strips of gauze covered with Vaseline above their eyes to divert sweat from their forehead away. In play these were found to slip, and Willis removed his. Eventually Lever also removed his and lay the gauze on the ground near the stumps where it was noticed by the umpires and Indian team, but not before he had used sweat from his forehead to shine the ball. Bishen Singh Bedi, the under pressure captain of the Indian cricket team, was not convinced the Vaseline was to keep sweat out of the eyes. He said Lever had used unfair means to shine the ball. The English paceman’s habit of rubbing the ball over his eyebrows every now and then was also noticed. Tests on the cricket ball revealed presence of greasy substance. Whether the Vaseline had been intentionally applied to the ball or not was later disputed, and Lever's previous performances on the tour questioned.

References

* {{cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/dec/11/cricket-englandinindia200809, last=Selvey, given=Mike, title=The rankling history of our Vaseline Incident, newspaper=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, date=December 11, 2008 http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/447502.html (accessed 15/04/10) History of sport in India Cricket controversies 1977 in Indian cricket