Jellybean-gate

[hannahsaunt]

Can someone explain?

At a loss to understand how a (or however many) jellybeans on a pitch can win/lose a game and why it's even an issue...and why jellybeans?

Yours confused,

HA

something to do with the sugar that they then rub onto the cricket ball.

Basically at the drinks interval together with the drinks, jellybeans were bought out for the players in case they needed an energy boost. Sounds daft but jellybeans are quite popular as you can have one or two at a time and sort of control the sugar going into the bloodstream. That way you can have some jelly beans in your pocket and over the course of the afternoon session or whatever keep your energy levels up if you are feeling tired. (jelly babies have been used as well)
One of the players then put some jelly beans on the wicket as a laugh which was seen by the Indian batsman who took umbrage and accused Kevin Pieterson of the act. (he denied it was him)hence the batwaving.
This made the Indian players irate who took offence and when they were bowling one of the bowlers walked into Michael Vaughan, Pieterson got a head high full toss and so on.
Now people are saying what were the England team up to? Why can't they concentrate on their game instead of trying to put the opposition off theirs instead, as it is not very sporting.
Hope this goes some way to explaining it.

BGD explains it well!

It's just another psychological thing isnt it - the fielding team will always try and get inside the batsman's head a bit, unsettle him, usually just with the odd comment. It's just an extension of that.

Quite amusing I thought!

As in most top level sports ther is always the pyschological aspect and if you can annoy someone or put them off their game then you have succeeded as long as it is within reason iykwim.

Verbal sledging is one thing, but putting foreign objects on the crease to distract the opposition is just not cricket, if you'll pardon the very obvious cliche.

Ah. All clear. Many thanks. Quite why batsman didn't just scoff them though, I'm not sure. Or put them in his pocket for later. Must be sensitive types in cricket.

There have been instances of people controlling the spin of the ball by sugaring their hands at teatime and then rubbing sugar on the ball to affect its direction. Something like that, anyway.

I don't know why I'm joining in here - I'm with Bill Bryson on cricket! (In "Down Under" and one of the funniest passages I have ever read in anything!)

UQD you are right in that players have used sweets to polish the ball. When you chew the sweets you release the sugar which is then mixed with the saliva which is then put on the ball. This helps create a lacquer on the ball which when rubbed on the player's trousers or whatever helps produce a lovely shine and so advantages the bowler. (Having a shiny surface on one side of the ball means that when it is bowled one side moves faster in the air than the other, hence it swings) However by doing it does leave a big red mark on your trousers and you can tell if someone is doctoring the ball as such.