Aaron Finch says Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa was using hand warmers during today’s World Cup match, after a number of India fans suggested he was tampering with the ball.
Pictures of Zampa taking an object out of his pocket in-between balls were doing the rounds on social media during India’s 36-run victory over defending champions Australia.
Zampa struggled during his six-over spell, conceding 50 runs as India posted 352-5 thanks to Shikhar Dhawan’s century and fifties from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
In reply, Australia fell short of a third successive win despite David Warner, Steve Smith and Alex Carey all scoring half-centuries.
Asked about the pictures of Zampa that emerged on social media, Australia captain Finch said: ‘I haven’t seen the photos.
‘I know he has hand warmers in his pockets like every game and uses them.’
On Australia’s defeat and whether he will consider making changes for their next World Cup game, Finch added: ‘We will look at everything.
‘You assess conditions, we are off down to Taunton tomorrow, we will take a look at the surface there. You look for different combinations and balances all the time.’
Australia were immediately on the back foot during their third World Cup match after centurion Dhawan and Rohit Sharma shared a 127-run opening partnership.
Kohli kept the India innings together with a composed 82 before cameos from Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni took the total past 350.
Warner, Smith and Carey frustrated India’s bowlers but Australia still fell comfortably short of what would have been a record chase in a World Cup fixture.
‘India got 120 off the last 10 overs, which is a lot and we didn’t bowl our best stuff,’ Finch said.
‘When you’ve got some experienced and powerful guys who can come in and have time to bat before they have to go then it’s tough to stop anyone.
‘Being a used surface didn’t help, there wasn’t a huge amount on offer with the new ball but we could have been a bit straighter, bowled a better length to dry it up a bit at times but it’s tough because you want to get wickets early, especially with their batting line-up
‘They have so many good players and they bat deep as well.’
The defeat represents Australia’s first of this tournament, following their victories over Afghanistan and West Indies. India boast a perfect record after two matches.
