South Africa penalised

.......................[size=18pt]for ball tampering [/size]

South Africa were penalised five runs for ball tampering and the team will likely be

the subject of a hearing after play :

on the third day of the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai.

Law 42.3, which deals with changing the condition of the match ball

• [li](d) If the umpires together agree that the deterioration in the condition of the ball is greater than is consistent with the use it has received, they shall consider that there has been a contravention of this Law. They shall:[/li]
  [li](i) change the ball forthwith. It shall be for the umpires to decide on the replacement ball. It shall, in their opinion, have had wear comparable to that which the previous ball had received immediately prior to the contravention.[/li]
  [li]Additionally the bowler's end umpire shall,[/li]
  [li](ii) award 5 penalty runs to the batting side.[/li]
  [li](iii) inform the batsmen that the ball has been changed.[/li]
  [li](iv) inform the captain of the fielding side that the reason for the action was the unfair interference with the ball.[/li]
  [li](v) inform the captain of the batting side as soon as practicable of what has occurred.[/li]
  [li](vi) together with the other umpire report the occurrence as soon as possible after the match to the Executive of the fielding side and to any Governing Body responsible for the match, who shall take such action as is considered appropriate a[/li]
  

No individual player has been charged yet but television images showed

one of the South African players rubbing the ball allegedly :

on the zipper of his trouser pocket.... :-[

The incident took place at the start of the 31st over of Pakistan's innings, two overs after tea,

when umpires Ian Gould and Rod Tucker called South African captain Graeme Smith for a chat.

The fourth umpire, Shozab Raza, brought a box of balls onto the field :

and a new one was selected for use.

The last time a player was penalised for changing the condition of the ball was in 2010 :

when Shahid Afridi was banned from two T20s for biting the ball.  ::LOL::

South Africa were well in control of the Test,

having taken a commanding 418-run first-innings lead,

when the incident occurred.

*In 1994, England’s Mike Atherton was fined over the “dirt in his pocket” episode against South Africa, despite his defence that he was using soil to dry his hands and not to affect in any way the aerodynamics of the ball

In 2001, even the saintly Sachin Tendulkar was suspended for one match in South Africa for scuffing the seam

Very disappointing for sure, why risk it in such a commanding position?
Takes some shine off the performance so far (no pun intended).