The quarter seam is a small join which runs around a

cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. A cricket ball consists of a cork (material), cork core wound with String (structure), string then a leather cover stitched on, and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-clas ...

at 90 degrees to the main seam. Unlike the main seam, the quarter seam has no stitching and is not raised above the surface of the ball. It is produced during the manufacturing process by the boundary between two pieces of

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

forming each half of the ball. Some fielding sides have been accused of deliberately interfering with the quarter seam, which would constitute illegal ball tampering.

Construction

Ball tampering

There have been accusations of ball tampering involving the quarter seam, which is against the

laws of cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code that specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744. Since 1788, the code has been owned and maintained by the private Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lord's Cr ...

and would constitute

cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert or disobey rules in order to obtain unfair advantages without being noticed. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given pr ...

. If fielding sides were to deliberately damage the quarter seam, it could alter the flow of air past the ball during a delivery, aiding

swing bowling Swing bowling is a bowling (cricket), bowling technique in cricket, in which the ball is made to curve through the air. This is in the hope that the change in the ball's flight path will deceive the batter and cause them to play the ball incor ...

. Ball tampering with the main seam usually involves picking at the threads of its stitching to enhance conventional swing when the ball is only a few overs old. In contrast, lifting the quarter seam on one side of an older scuffed ball would produce

reverse swing Swing bowling is a bowling technique in cricket, in which the ball is made to curve through the air. This is in the hope that the change in the ball's flight path will deceive the batter and cause them to play the ball incorrectly. A bowler wh ...

. A lifted quarter seam could potentially be pushed back to its normal position before the end of the over, when the ball is due to be inspected by the umpires. During the fourth Test between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

in 2006, umpire

Darrell Hair Darrell Bruce Hair (born 30 September 1952) is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He was on the International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New ...

adjudged Pakistan to have tampered with the ball. Hair was seen pointing to the quarter seam while discussing the issue with his fellow umpire,

Billy Doctrove Billy Raymond Doctrove (born 3 July 1955) is a Dominica former international football referee, but is best known as an international cricket umpire. Career as a FIFA referee During his time as a referee, Doctrove took charge of several inter ...

. The umpires imposed a five-run penalty and replaced the ball. Play continued until the end of the session, at which point Pakistan objected to the decision and refused to play on, forfeiting the match. The

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

subsequently upheld the umpires' decision and the result of the match, but banned Hair from umpiring in international cricket. The incident remains highly controversial.

References

{{reflist Cricket terminology