Ramprakash defends ball-tamperer

As time wore on it became harder and harder for the person who did it to own up Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ramprakash says he still has sympathy for the Surrey player who picked the quarter-seam in a match last season against Nottinghamshire.

The player, who refused to own up and was never caught following an internal inquiry, cost Surrey eight points.

And those lost points ultimately sent the county down to Division Two.

But Ramprakash, who was captain at the time, told BBC Radio Five Live: "I have a lot of sympathy for the person who did it because it was naivety."

He insisted: "Whoever it was did it for the right reasons."

During the game at The Oval in May, Nottinghamshire were racking up a huge score in a match they went on to win.

Ramprakash was the fielding captain, and he relived the ensuing events for Five Live.

"We were bowling, Notts were about 200-0, the umpires came over and said: 'Look we feel this ball doesn't look right and we feel something is wrong with the quarter-seam.'

"I didn't look too closely and said 'whatever you guys feel.'

To this day we don't know who did it, and of course people say those were the eight points that cost us

"They said OK it's a warning and at the end of the day they came over again.

"This time they said we are not happy with this, somebody has obviously tampered with the ball.

"I had never come across someone picking the quarter-seam before.

"Obviously somebody was trying to gain an advantage for Surrey and quite rightly we were penalised and punished.

"As time wore on it became harder and harder for the person who did it to own up. They were worried about their reputation.

"To this day we don't know who did it, and of course people say those were the eight points that cost us and ensured we were relegated."