Siddle was accused of ball tampering in the 88th over

International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad has announced that he found no evidence to suggest Australia had tampered with the ball in any way whatsoever after Sri Lanka expressed their concerns during the first Test in Hobart.

Broad noted that he had reviewed the video tapes numerous times and found nothing to implicate the Australians.

“The umpires frequently inspect the ball during play, and did so again after they had reviewed the video footage in question on Sunday [third day],” Broad said. “They found no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed.

“During the tea interval on that day, I spoke with Australia coach Mickey Arthur and told him that the umpires will continue to inspect the cricket ball regularly, and monitor the actions of all players.

“I subsequently informed the Sri Lanka team management of my discussions with the Australia coach. In the opinion of the umpires, there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball was changed, or that the video or photographic evidence would support a charge under the Code of Conduct, so they will not be laying any charges relating to these incidents.”

The Sri Lankans were convinced that pace bowler Peter Siddle had been tampering with the ball during the first innings of the match.

According to the Sri Lankans, Siddle used his fingernails to raise the seam of the ball in the 88th over while bowling to wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene.

Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake stated that the team’s suspicions had been raised after watching the video feed in real time, but the visitors failed to make an official complaint to Broad.

“We have the footage with us,” Senanayake said. “We recorded the game and it’s there for everybody to see. We saw something illegal and have reacted to that. I have spoken to the match referee informally. It’s up to them to act now, but we will have to pursue it further if nothing happens.”

Senanayake also believes Australia had tampered with the ball shortly after opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne had been dismissed in the 10th over.

“It didn’t just happen in the 88th over, it also happened at the beginning of the innings when our first opener got out … they were picking the seam,” Senanayake told News Ltd. “I went straight into [Broad’s] room when the match was over and asked him if he is watching the same game I am watching. [He] said, ‘Yes, we have seen it’ and I left it at that.”

A Cricket Australia spokesman refused to comment on the situation.

“This is a matter for Sri Lanka and the ICC,” he said.