Whether or not Faf du Plessis applied an artificial substance to the ball in Hobart was irrelevant, David Warner said on Tuesday. Zach Gentry Womens Jersey . And, to the series outcome, perhaps that is true. But that du Plessis was that evening found guilty enough of ball-tampering to cop a fine was anything but irrelevant to crickets bigger picture.Under the Laws of Cricket - Law 42.3, to be precise - players are allowed to polish the ball provided that no artificial substance is used. Du Plessis second conviction in three years - and South Africas third - is a warning to the rest that there will be a crackdown on this law, even though there is no clarity on what, for crickets purposes, constitutes an artificial substance.Broadly speaking, we all have some idea that shoe polish is synthetic and saliva is natural but what if the shoe polish is mixed with saliva? How much of the synthetic substance needs to mix with the natural one for all of it to be deemed artificial? And what if the artificial substance is food? Organic food? The wording of the law is too vague.As Jason Gillespie said in an interview on these pages, Its a tough one because in the laws of the game it says, technically, no one should be able to have anything in their mouth on the ground. You shouldnt be able to have any lollies, chewing gum, anything. I mean how far do we want to go? You cant have a Gatorade or whatever power drink they have because its got sugar in it. So everyone, just drink water. Where do you want to go with it?Gillespie is one of several former players to support the storm in a teacup argument over the shining of the ball. It is actually just accepted and isnt a big deal, Matt Prior said on Twitter, while Sourav Ganguly told ESPNcricinfos Match Day du Plessis, is not the first person who has done it and I dont think he will be the last.That was what South Africa were hoping would get du Plessis out of trouble. They are understood to have used the everybody-does-it defense. They produced footage of several high-profile players, including Virat Kohli and David Warner, using saliva that could have come into contact with an artificial substance on the ball.Neither example is as blatant as du Plessis: Kohli rubs something close to his teeth and for a split-second there seems to be gum visible, while Warner applies a lip balm and then receives the ball after the next delivery to polish. For the ICC to investigate those clips and lay a charge, the matter should have been brought to its notice within five days of the event*. Consider the similarity to the seatbelt law. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of drivers and passengers choose not to buckle up and when they are caught, they are fined because they are guilty of an offense. Even if youre an advocate for freedom of choice, or you fervently believe the seatbelt wont save your life, or you just forgot to put it on, you are still guilty, and will be sanctioned, and so will everyone else who is caught.But perhaps the dossier du Plessis defence produced - and the comments from former players - will prompt a thorough enquiry. It may even lead to a realisation that a law becomes redundant if it is so openly flouted. Or perhaps it will just cause those players to become even more discreet, particularly the South Africans.They are only team to be caught in the past three years and every time, it has been by broadcast cameras. There is one school of thought that du Plessis would not have found himself charged if only South Africa hid their actions as well as other teams. He has just been a bit stupid, Ganguly said. Maybe because he was ignorant that the camera was on him. He could have done it differently.In this case, if du Plessis had had the sweet under his tongue, for instance, he would have got away with it completely. The on-field umpires, who check the ball after every over to assess its condition, did not detect anything amiss. However, it is interesting to note that all three umpires were strong in telling the hearing that had they seen du Plessis actions on field, they would have taken action immediately. At least the officials and the administrators are in sync, even if the players are not.All that leaves the ICC with a problem. One of their own laws is being flouted because players have found ways to skirt around it. Clearly, some players view it as a law that exists just for the sake of it. If players are happy to break it so long as no-one gets caught, there is obviously a problem. If the ICC is serious about enforcing its law, they need to make better efforts to clamp down, as they did with illegal bowling actions. Otherwise, they could accept that some form of working the ball will take place and make room for that within the laws.Perhaps that is the most reasonable solution. In any case, most players arent sure how an artificial substance actually affects the way the ball moves. Im no expert in the science of how a sugary sweet will impact on the aerodynamics of a cricket ball. I wouldnt have a clue, Gillespie confessed.So here is a left-field thought: someone could try to find out. Scientific research could be conducted into what substances have an effect on the ball, and whether such effects are significant enough to justify the laws existence. Perhaps cricket would end up with a list of banned substances, as WADA does with doping. But that has its own problems in terms of practicality.The issue is a hazy one, but if this hearing brings any sort of clarity it will prove a landmark moment indeed.*1215GMT The piece has been altered to clarify the ICC process regarding the Kohli and Warner footage Joe Greene Youth Jersey . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Jack Ham Youth Jersey . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-LC-Greenwood-Elite-Jersey/ . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview.PRETORIA, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius stood for his entire 15-minute court hearing Tuesday, staring straight ahead, hands clasped in front of him and giving away little emotion as the world got its first close up view of the double-amputee Olympian and murder suspect in nearly four months. In stark contrast to the sobbing figure Pistorius presented through much of his bail hearing in February, the athlete appeared composed as Acting Chief Magistrate Daniel Thulare postponed the case until Aug. 19 to allow police more time to investigate the Valentines Day killing of his girlfriend. Pistorius spoke just three words in court after the magistrate asked him if he understood he was still bound by the same bail conditions and must reappear then. "Yes, your honour," Pistorius replied in a voice which croaked at first, but which also had an air of newfound calm ahead of a trial which wont start until September, at least, and will likely be a long, slow process. Pistorius faces a life sentence in prison, with a minimum of 25 years, if convicted of premeditated murder, the charge against him for the Feb. 14 shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp. Having faced up to the rows of television cameras and photographers that gathered around him Tuesday when he entered Court C, clamouring for their first images of him in months, Pistorius then kissed a family member and left the dock after the short appearance. He didnt comment to reporters. In a macabre coincidence, the case will continue on what would have been Steenkamps 30th birthday, and the model and law graduates parents this week pleaded in an interview with a British television channel for answers to the killing where only Pistorius and Steenkamp were present. "I want to know why he shot her because she must have been so afraid," Steenkamps mother, June Steenkamp, told Channel 5. The extension was sought by the prosecution, and will eventually give investigators six months to gather evidence, interview witnesses and prepare a case against Pistorius by the time he returns to court in August. Prosecutors said police should finish their investigation by then and the trial could start in September, but a verdict possibly wont come until next year. Since he was freed on bail on Feb. 22 -- just over a week after killing Steenkamp in his home -- Pistorius has been living as a virtual recluse, his family has said, with just two reported sightings of him in public. The 26-year-old Pistorius has said he shot Steenkamp accidentally through a toilet stall door, thinking she was a nighttime intruder. The staate alleges he and his 29-year-old girlfriend may have argued before her death and he intentionally killed her. Devin Bush Youth Jersey. An athlete who had his lower legs amputated when he was a baby, and who then went on to run at the Olympics, Pistorius has faced up to challenges before -- although none with the immensity of his looming murder trial. Pistorius family said he was broken with grief in the immediate aftermath of Steenkamps death, but his uncle said he would be prepared for trial. "He will be ready once the court case starts and he will be able to stand as a man in that courtroom," Arnold Pistorius said in excerpts from a South African television interview Sunday and released by his family. Steenkamps family -- none of whom were in court -- also spoke out ahead of the hearing, with her parents telling Britains Channel 5 on Monday that they were still desperate to know the reasons behind the shooting, and also that their daughter had told them about previous arguments with Pistorius. "I just feel why couldnt I have warned her, or known something about this person (Pistorius), that they could be capable of doing something like that," June Steenkamp said in the interview. Pistorius arrived at the courthouse in a silver SUV with black blinds covering the windows, and used the main public entrance and not the back or side entrances he arrived at during his four-day bail hearing. He was then forced to walk past dozens more photographers and television crews which crowded him outside, with police roughly pushing back reporters to make way for Pistorius to pass. The Olympians news-dominating case has never been far from the worlds headlines, but Acting Chief Magistrate Thulare also warned Tuesday of "scandalous and possibly contemptuous" reporting by some media in Pistorius case following the publication of pictures by another British television station last week. The leaked photographs purport to show the blood-spattered bathroom where Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp, firing his 9mm pistol four times through the locked door of a toilet stall and hitting his girlfriend with three bullets. Prosecutors wouldnt comment on those leaked images or which areas of the police investigation were still ongoing. "The investigation is continuing and we believe by August, or even before August, we will have wrapped up everything," prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku said. "As soon as everything is completed the court will announce a trial date." Pistorius trial will likely be heard at Pretorias High Court. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '