BBC SPORT | Cricket | Shoaib guilty of ball-tampering

Shoaib is the world's fastest bowler

Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been found guilty of ball-tampering in the first Test against Zimbabwe.

Match referee Clive Lloyd said the umpires had reported the matter to him and there was agreement that Shoaib had changed the condition of the ball illegally.

The match ended in a 119-run victory for Pakistan on Tuesday with a day to spare, with Shoaib taking seven wickets in the match.

"The umpires and I inspected the ball and it was clear to us that it had been scratched," Lloyd said.

Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 119 runs
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Shoaib received a severe reprimand but no further action is to be taken.

The announcement followed a disciplinary hearing at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday evening.

Shoaib attended the hearing, along with tour manager Brigadier Khawaja Nasir and Pakistan captain Waqar Younis.

Law 42.3b

It is unfair for anyone to interfere with any of the seams or the surface of the ball

Waqar is the only player ever to have received a ban for ball-tampering.

He was given a one-match suspension two years ago after he was seen on television lifting the seam during a one-day international against South Africa in Sri Lanka.

Allrounder Azhar Mahmood was also fined 50% of his match fee for a similar offence.

Waqar Younis
Waqar was suspended for a match two years ago
Shoaib has been twice in the past been reported for an illegal bowling action, although he was cleared on both occasions by the ICC.

Law 42.3b states it is "unfair for anyone to rub the ball on the ground for any reason, or interfere with any of the seams or the surface of the ball."

It is also illegal to "use any implement, or take any other action whatsoever which is likely to alter the condition of the ball."

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