Marcus admits ‘sweet’ Ashes win for England

“I was firmly established as the man in charge of looking after the ball when we were fielding,” Trescothick wrote. “It was my job to keep the shine on the new ball for as long as possible with a bit of spit and a lot of polish. And through trial and error I finally settled on (the) type of spit for the task at hand.”

Trescothick also said he had used the mints during the 2001 Ashes series, which England lost. “It had been common knowledge in county cricket for some time that certain sweets produced saliva which, when applied to the ball for cleaning purposes, enabled it to keep its shine for longer and therefore its swing,” Trescothick said.

Australian bowler Simon Katich, who played in the 2005 Ashes series, said his side could feel aggrieved. “If it was proved they cheated, we would have a right to be upset,” Katich was quoted as saying.

But stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke, who was part of the side that lost th series, has played down the furore over Trescothick’s revelation that he illegally used a breath mint to help his bowlers gain extra swing during the 2005 Ashes series. “Marcus has written a book, hasn’t he?” asked Clarke. “Well, good luck, like I say, that’s in the past. We’ll get our chance in the next 15 months to play against them back in England.”

Tampering with the ball can cause it to move unpredictably, putting the batsman at a disadvantage. “It is something that potentially would be in breach of our code of conduct,” ICC spokesman Brian Murgatroyd was quoted as saying. “If appropriate, it would be looked into. It depends on the evidence and circumstances.”