ICC satisfied England did not tamper with ball against Pakistan
Governing body say they are aware of unverified footage on social media and are 'comfortable that there was no attempt to change the condition of the ball'
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-May-2019
Liam Plunkett celebrates dismissing Babar Azam • Getty Images
The ICC are satisfied England did not tamper with the ball in their second ODI against Pakistan amid a swirl of social media speculation.
Unverified footage from Saturday's match, which England won by 12 runs having scored 373 for 3 and managed to contain Pakistan to 361 for 7, highlighted England pace bowler Liam Plunkett moving fingers over the ball whilst preparing to run in and vision of the ball with one side looking extremely rough.
The ICC is believed to have seen the video and spoken to Plunkett, who alerted them to the footage, and are not concerned that anything untoward occurred.
"The ICC is aware of the unverified video that is currently circulating on social media," the ICC said in a statement on Sunday. "The match officials are comfortable that there was no attempt to change the condition of the ball or any evidence of this on the over by over examinations of the ball throughout the game."
The video does not show any evidence of wrongdoing by Plunkett or any other player and the condition of the ball, if accurately depicted, would appear to be consistent with one bashed around during such a high-scoring game. The ball used in the Royal London Cup semi-final between Hampshire and Lancashire on the same Ageas Bowl pitch the following day did not look dis-similar after 44 overs and 230 runs being scored.