Black Caps and Canterbury batter Henry Nicholls has been cleared of a code of conduct breach after he was reported for suspected ball-tampering by the match referees following the Plunket Shield game between Canterbury and Auckland in Christchurch last week.
He is now free to join the Black Caps of their test tour of Bangladesh later this month, which will come as a relief to the in-form left-hander.
Nicholls was reported after he was captured on the live stream seemingly using the back of a helmet to scuff up the surface of the ball.
They heard submissions from Nicholls, match umpires Kim Cotton and Derek Walker, Canterbury coach Peter Fulton, Canterbury high performance manager Ant Sharp, and New Zealand Cricket Players Association representative Evan Jones.
The commissioners found that neither the actions of Nicholls nor the evidence presented met the threshold required to rule a breach of the code.
“We find the player’s actions were, in fact, unlikely to alter the condition of the ball or the shape of the ball,” they stated.
That meant any allegation of unacceptable behaviour under the code could not be upheld and the charge was dismissed.
Nicholls, who has scored 2948 runs for New Zealand in 54 tests, played a starring role in the match. His first-innings knock of 120 laid the platform for the victory.
And late last month he scored 124 and 61 against Otago.
