England speedster Liam Plunkett cleared of ball-tampering by ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Sunday, announced they are satisfied England or their fast-bowler Liam Plunkett did not tamper with the ball in their second ODI against Pakistan on Saturday. Speculations were rife that Plunkett had changed the condition of the ball after a video of him scratching the ball.  The footage pretty much overshadowed England’s thrilling 12-run win over Pakistan in a high-scoring game.

Some users on Twitter also posted a photo of the ball which showed one side of it extremely rough. Unsurprisingly, there were huge suspicions that Plunkett had relied on malpractice to get the job done against the visitors. However, the fast-bowler himself reported the video to the ICC after becoming aware of it on Sunday.

Plunkett talked to match-referee Richie Richardson to look into the matter. But the ICC did not find any wrongdoing with the ball and gave Plunkett the green light. The apex body of the game took to Twitter to confirm the news, stating that they are satisfied no tampering had taken place.

“The ICC has confirmed that the match officials are comfortable there was no attempt by Liam Plunkett to change the condition of the ball or any evidence of this on the over-by-over examinations of the ball throughout Saturday’s ODI clash in Southampton,” wrote ICC on Twitter.

England beat Pakistan to take the lead

Talking about the game, England beat Pakistan by 12 runs in the run-fest to take a one-nil lead in the five-match series. Jos Buttler starred with the bat, scoring a 50-ball century to power England to a mammoth 373 for 3. There were also notable contributions from Jason Roy (87), Eoin Morgan (71 not out), Jonny Bairstow (51) and Joe Root (40) before Buttler exploded.

In reply, Pakistan gave England a mighty scare thanks to a stunning century from Fakhar Zaman. The opening batsman scored 138 before being dismissed by Chris Woakes in the 33rd over. After Zaman’s departure, Babar Azam and Asif Ali scored fifties to keep their side in the hunt. However, the hosts managed to keep their nerves and restrict Pakistan to 361 for 7.

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