Credit: Twitter
The New Zealand batter, Henry Nicholls has allegedly engaged in ball-tampering after the umpires reported him during a domestic first-class match in the Plunket Shield between his team Canterbury, and Auckland. New Zealand Cricket, the governing body of the sport in the country, has acknowledged the incident and they are set to investigate the 31-year-old for a potential offence.
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A video has emerged from the Plunket Shield match at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, in which Henry Nicholls was brushing the ball against a helmet during the change of bowling ends on three occasions after shining it with his sleeve. Notably, he played a pivotal role in Canterbury securing their first win of the season by eight wickets, scoring 120 runs in the first innings before his quick-fire 30 not out helped the team chase down the target of 61 against Auckland comfortably.
Watch the video of Henry Nicholls' alleged ball-tampering here:
The statement from New Zealand Cricket regarding the alleged ball-tampering from the 31-year-old read, “Nicholls has been reported for allegedly breaching Rule 3.1, article 1.15 of the Code during Day 3 of the Plunket Shield match between Canterbury and Auckland at Hagley Oval. Rule 3.1, article 1.15, involves changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 41.3 of the Laws of Cricket. As a Level 2 matter, the allegation will be referred to and heard by an NZC First Class Commissioner.”
Moreover, Henry Nicholls has already been picked in the New Zealand squad for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh later this month. But amidst all the chaos surrounding the batter, Nicholls is yet to comment on the alleged ball-tampering charge.