Recently, South African Faf du Plessis faced sanctions after he was found to have used a sugary substance to shine the ball in Australia. It would be silly not to talk to each other and we were quite happy with each other since then,” he added. But players are getting cleverer and go out with all sorts of things in their pocket. It was very obvious to see and he should have just said I was doing that. This has happened for a long time. But those who followed the game in the 70s, especially in India, always associate him as a central figure in international cricket’s first-ever ball tampering controversy. The only thing disappointing was I played county cricket for nine years and it was my first chance to play for England and to have allegations of cheating wasn’t great,” said the 67-year-old. There is always going to be something that people will try to shine the ball with.Chennai: The name of former England cricketer John Lever might not instantly ring a bell in the minds of the current generation. I went from India to Australia after that and there was nothing said out there. Saliva has always been okay. And it produced some very boring cricket. It was proved to have saliva on it, normal things you find on the ball.They get bored out there sometimes,” he said.“Altering the state of the ball by scratching it, kicking the seam …all those things have gone.

On Thursday, the opening day of the England-India Test here, Lever sat along with the public in the terrace stand, the same area that carried a banner reading “Cheater Lever go home.”. “The ball was also taken away and it was analysed. Asked whether ball-tampering should be legalised, Lever said: “I played in England when you were not allowed to shine the ball.Lever said he had met Bedi in England a few years after the incident and the two shook hands. You just have to live with it. Shining the ball and swinging it is an art, the same as people who could spin the ball and bowl it really quick. Just plead guilty and take a smack on the wrists. Lever believes Faf was guilty. I think the balance  is just about right. There are so many cameras now that will make it easier to catch. Otherwise batters are on top and nothing ever happens. The actual material we got was bought in Chennai, when it was brought here by our physio to prevent the trickling sweat enter the eyes. So I didn’t worry about the allegations. We shook hands. Fred Truman used to apply lots and lots of Bryll cream on his hair and that used to go on the ball. There will always be something and this helps keep the balance between bat and ball. “The allegation was that vaseline was used in the first game where I took a lot of wickets. Interestingly, it was in Madras where China wheel bearings Manufacturers the then India captain Bishan Singh Bedi accused Lever of tampering the ball using vaseline. It was a normal situation where people say he has been caught putting something on the ball and other things like that.“I think he was.”The contentious strip of gauze was even sent to a forensic laboratory for analysis and Lever said the results, to this day, have never been published.”“There was a huge banner that had the names of Tony Greig and me emblazoned on it. I don’t know how he could deny it.

I was in Mumbai recently and I was asked ‘Did Greig apply shoe polish to the ball?’ Never heard that one before! However, I always wanted to come back and see the place again. People used to chew gum a lot more than what they do now. I was looking forward to this tour,” Lever laughed.“Not everyone can do that. It was impossible for anything to go on the ball in those early games. During our playing days, there were not so many cameras which was a shame because that might have helped prove my innocence,” he added.Lever said he didn’t lose any sleep over “the fact that the allegations were false”.Was it disappointing that he has always been associated with the incident? “I thought it was put to bed after that. “During a charity match, he came up to me and I told him we are a bit too old not to be talking. You could see from the visuals.