New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori on Monday clarified that no complaint was lodged with the match referee vis-à-vis suspicion of ball tampering by Pakistan's bowlers during their Super Eight match in the World Twenty20 at the Oval on Saturday.
Fast bowler Umar Gul registered best-ever figures in Twenty20 cricket, claiming five for six in three overs, as Pakistan won by six runs.
Vettori claimed he had never seen anyone reverse swing the ball so much in the 12th over of a match, like Gul did on Saturday to single-handedly destroy his batting. That is why, he said, they checked with the umpires whether Pakistan had tampered with the ball at any stage during their innings.
"I think it's important to note the position we were in when [Umar] Gul came on in the 12th over. We were well and truly behind the game. Pakistan we dominating and were likely to go on to win. The amount of reverse swing that we saw was new to us and therefore we raised a couple of concerns with the on-field umpires and the match referee," he said in Nottingham.
But Vettori clarified that they did not lodge an official complaint with the umpires.
"There was talk during the game to the umpires and to the match referee afterwards in an informal manner. Like I said, the umpires and match officials were content with everything and, therefore, we are content as well. They relayed back to us that they had no issues at all with the state of the ball. We accepted that and now we move on to our important game against Sri Lanka," he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Younis Khan slammed the Kiwis for allegations of ball tampering against his team.
"We are not cheating, but it was very embarrassing. All the time the umpires were checking the ball, and there are plenty of cameras; so how could we cheat?
"It is not good. And every time it is happening in England. Why?
"We have good actions and we have pace. So don't disrupt a boy like Umar Gul; he has a good reputation," Younis said on Monday after Pakistan's 39-run victory over Ireland that saw them progress to the semi-finals.
"Don't embarrass a team like Pakistan. We already have a lot of controversies in the whole world, and we are suffering a lot. Forget these things and focus on the game. Let the cameras catch it if anything is happening with the ball.
"In this game, a lot of sixes are hit, and the ball goes in the crowd, and hits the concrete," Younis added.
Kiwi captain Vettori informed that fast bowler Shane Bond has terminated his contract with the rebel Indian Cricket League and would be available for national duty after this tournament.
"I'm not sure officially if he [Bond] has handed in his contract as well, but I understand that was the plan. So he'll become available for New Zealand probably after this tournament.
"Once again, if you take the emotion out of the argument in terms of how good a player Shane Bond is if you look at his facts, if he's fit and ready to come back into the side, his record says what a great player he is. So we'll love to have him back."
