Tendulkar not guilty of ball tampering: ICC

The International Cricket Council on Wednesday made it clear that Sachin Tendulkar hadn't been found guilty of ball tampering by its match referee Mike Denness, whose action sparked off a bitter controversy.

The master batsman was handed down a suspended one-match ban and a fine by Denness during the second Test between India and South Africa at Port Elizabeth last week for not informing the umpires that he was removing grass from the seam of the ball, the ICC said.

"Sachin Tendulkar has not been found guilty of ball tampering. The punishment was for removing grass from the ball but not having informed the umpires, which is very different from ball tampering," ICC spokesman Jonathan Hamus said.

The belated clarification from the game's governing body comes amidst hectic efforts by those involved with the game to find a way out of the stand-off between the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

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Tendulkar's fault technical, not deliberate

Mail Cricket Editor