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Is Reverse Swing possible without tampering ?


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Just looking at the reaction of some players including from SA after this incident, it seems like they don’t want to talk too much about it. Brings in to question all wickets in this series and i dare say all wickets taken through reverse swing. We have seen it all.

 

Biting the ball, scratching the seam, bottle tops and now sand paper. I certainly don’t trust any so called reverse swing from this point on. 

 

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It is possible but it's not always a certainty as we have seen in this test series. SA were reversing the ball from 25-30 overs onward, that's impossible without ball tampering IMO. Plus the lush green grounds make it even more difficult. It will be interesting to see how much reverse swing SA get in the 4th innings. They will be under the spotlight as well. But I guess you can get away with it at home because everything depends on what the host broadcasters decides to capture and show, umpires can't really keep an eye on everything. 

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20 minutes ago, diga said:

Ashes 2005 was as good an exhibition of reverse swing as one has seen in the history of the game..

 

Interestingly David Saker was the bowling coach of England at that time. Isn't he the current bowling coach of Aussies?

but didnt someone mention that they used mint in that series 

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I don’t think that reverse swing is possible without tampering. Maybe 1 out 50 times, it is, but otherwise I am not sure. Anytime a breakthrough skill is brought into the game, it has to be scrutinised. When it was doosra, it was dazzling, but involved straightening of the arm. I think with reverse swin, the issue was similar. Like Ashes 2005, this series was dictated by reverse swing. I very much suspect SA have also done their bit of smart tampering. When Morne starts bowling outswing with old ball, you have good reason to suspect. I believe both teams know what they are doing. 

 

I also think the aggression in the in the series went overboard and this could be fall out from that. 

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The Laws of Cricket allow for manipulation of the ball to some degree, but there is a definite line that must not be crossed.

A match ball may be polished, providing an artificial substance is not used. A wet ball may be dried with a towel and on rare occasions, mud is allowed to be removed under supervision.

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you should be able to get reverse swing  using 'legal' methods:

 

there's a designated ball 'polisher' in the inner circle.  lots of players chew candies/gum and 'sugar coat' the shiny side with saliva that's that now has that flavors of the candies.  That's why in the past, you see players mocking each other by putting 'jelly beans' and other stuff on the pitch or the umpires trying to smell the cricket ball. 

 

As for roughing up the ball, that's why bowlers will bowl cross seam at times to rough up the ball and fielders throwing on the bounce on the square on the exposed other pitches.  Just some ways. 

 

I think all this falls into the 'legal' way

 

Shady illegal  methods can include putting something in your pockets and rubbing the ball or while running in to bow, slightly use your nail to possibly to lift the seam slowly and steadily.  The latter is really hard to pick up 

 

 

Edited by PBN
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