The general reaction in India to Sachin Tendulkar being fined for ball-tampering has been one of outraged disbelief. Some are even calling it the return of apartheid. But not all the experts agree. Jagmohan Dalmiya, BCCI president
"Either Denness should be changed and, if this is not possible, at least decisions made by him should be kept in abeyance. It is definitely shocking, but we will decide our course of action only after getting the related papers from the team management in South Africa."

Ravi Shastri, former Indian cricketer turned commentator, on the appearance of a silent Mike Denness at a press conference
"If Mike Denness cannot answer questions, why is he here? We know what he looks like."

Geoffrey Boycott, ESPN commentator and former England batsman
"There are no answers from the ICC - Mike Denness sat in the press conference like a dummy. They might as well have put up one from Madame Tussaud's."

Ravi Shastri - again
"I think Mike Denness has brought the game into far more disrepute than Sachin has been accused of. Denness should be made to go on holiday."

Tony Greig, former England captain turned commentator
"I have seen the footage and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Sachin Tendulkar is guilty of manipulating the seam of the cricket ball. None whatsoever. It's actually the worst case I have ever seen."

ICC statement
"In making a decision, the match referee took into account everything that Mr Tendulkar had said during the hearing. Nevertheless as a player and highly respected player, Mr Tendulkar had breached the code of conduct and by his actions has brought the game into disrepute."

Sanjay Manjrekar, former Indian batsman and Wisden.com columnist
"Knowing Sachin Tendulkar as I do, while he was doing what he was doing, there was no effort to hide. I saw the television footage and he was only cleaning the seam, it did not seem any deliberate violation of the law."

Chetan Chauhan, former Indian opener
"Against a player with an unblemished record like Tendulkar, if you make a decision you have to think five times."

Harm Venter, South African Broadcasting Corporation cameraman who captured the images
"The camera doesn't lie and the incident that resulted in Tendulkar's hearing was not a one-off. We clearly saw him running his thumbnail around the seam several times, like he had been doing earlier. I was surprised he didn't even try to hide it - it was blatant. He was running his thumb about around the seam earlier in the day when he was fielding at mid-off when Javagal Srinath was bowling."

Navjot Sidhu, former Indian opening batsman
"There is no way you can call that ball tampering. Sachin would never ever do anything to tarnish the image of the game. Mike Denness wants to wash his hands in blood to keep them clean."

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