5 most bizarre things cricketers use for tampering the ball 

By handing over a 12-month ban to Australian captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, the International Cricket Council has sent across a strict message to cricketers around the world – that they will not dismiss ball-tampering as a small offence anymore.

The history of ball-tampering in the sport is vast. Even respected players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have been tempted by this method which changes the motion of the ball and increases the chances of getting wickets.

But have you ever wondered which substances are the most commonly used to tamper the ball? Have a look below

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#5 Trouser zip

Du Plessis has been fined for ball tampering twice

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis was charged for changing the condition of the ball by rubbing it against his trouser zip. This happened in a 2013 Test against Pakistan in Dubai. He was consequently fined 50 percent of his match fee but that didn’t stop him from not resorting to ball tampering in the future.

In 2016 too, against Australia, Plessis had sucked the ball on a sweet to make it shine. This was caught on camera and the batsman was fined 100% of his match fee by the ICC, which was the double of his initial fine against Pakistan.

#4 Mint induced saliva

Trescothick was England's Test and ODI captain on several occasions

As per the rules and regulations laid down by the ICC in regard to ball tampering, a cricketer is allowed to use saliva and sweat to make the ball shine. However, if you mix your natural saliva with another added substance, it becomes an offence.

One such case was of former England batsman Marcus Trescothick. He himself revealed in his autobiography that he used mint-induced saliva to make the ball shine, which in turn aided swing and helped England record their first Ashes victory in 18 years.

"It had been common knowledge in county cricket for some time that certain sweets produced saliva which, when applied to the ball for cleaning purposes, enabled it to keep its shine for longer and therefore its swing,” Trescothick wrote in his autobiography.

#3 A bottle top

Chris Pringle played 14 Tests and 64 One Day Internationals for New Zealand between 1990 and 1995.

Former New Zealand pacer Chris Pringle was not punished by the concerned, but he admitted to his offence anyway. Pringle claimed a career-best 11 wickets for 152 runs in a Test against Pakistan at Faisalabad' on a batting friendly wicket.

He himself, later on, revealed that he did so with the hell of a bottle top with which he scratched the ball.

This is what he exactly did - cut the bottle top into quarters, applied tape on it excluding on the sharp point. He then hid it in his pocket and tampered the ball during the game.

#2 Lozenge (a toffee)

Dravid received a lot of flak for his actions

Former Indian captain and batsman Rahul Dravid was caught on camera applying lozenge on the ball in an ODI game against Zimbabwe in Australia. Match referee Clive Lloyd had confirmed that the ball was tampered with after the TV footage showed Dravid intentionally applying the lozenge to the ball.

He was fined 50 percent of his match fee after being found guilty. Reports add that it was actually a cough lozenge Dravid had with him, to keep his cough in control.

#1 Teeth

Afridi is seen biting the ball in the picture. (Picture courtesy Aaj TV)

All-rounder Shahid Afridi was caught on camera biting the ball twice in an ODI against Australia in Perth in 2010. Pakistan lost by two wickets and Afridi was banned for two ODIs.

The swashbuckling batsman pleaded guilty to the charge after he was summoned by match referee Ranjan Madugalle.

He had later also said that all teams in the world tamper the world, but "my methods were wrong, I am embarrassed, I shouldn't have done it. I just wanted to win us a game but this was the wrong way to do it."