Reverse Swing Is Not Connected To Ball Tampering: Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has insisted there is no connection between reverse swing and ball tampering.

Reverse swing is not the conventional swing which the bowlers get due to the conditions and the hardness of the ball. Ever since Sarfraz Nawaz brought it in the game, many feel that tampering the ball is an important aspect to get reverse swing.  Old balls swinging towards the shining side is called reverse swing. It is known as reverse swing—meaning a natural outswinger will become an inswinger and vice versa.

But while it has helped pacers to make an impact even when the ball becomes old, the art has faced a lot of criticism. It once again hit the headlines after the Australian team’s ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Cameron Bancroft was found to have used a piece of sandpaper in an attempt to alter the condition of the ball while on the field to create swing for his team’s bowlers and deceive the South African batsmen. However, the camera had caught him red-handed. Cricket Australia eventually slapped lengthy bans on him, Steve Smith and David Warner.

The scandal once again made several quarters believe that tampering is an important of reverse swing. However, Ganguly does not agree with it.

The legendary skipper said that ball tampering is not connected with reverse swing.

“Reverse swing is not connected to ball tampering. It is also about the conditions. It happens in the sub-continent more due to dry pitches and rough outfields. It will be less in these parts of the world where it is a green outfield and pitch with grass on it,” he said.

Ganguly was speaking to the media on Tuesday after a two-day meeting of the MCC World Cricket Committee at Lord’s.

“Remember, in 2005 Ashes the ball reversed (for Simon Jones). It is not always connected to ball-tampering… Reverse swing will continue, depending on how old the ball gets. In modern ODIs, the ball is new for long periods of time. Also, it makes life a lot more difficult for spinners,” he added.

The bowlers have complained about lack of reverse swing proving a major setback as they are constantly failing to contain the batsmen. India skipper Virat Kohli too pointed out after the 1-2 ODI series loss about the ball not reversing. In fact, MS Dhoni had collected a match ball to be studied by the team’s bowling support staff.

One of the reasons behind it is the use of two new balls. Speaking on it, Ganguly said:

“A lot of people are in favour of using one white ball to improve the quality (of game). As we have seen, the new kookaburra doesn’t swing.

“As reverse swing has declined over the years, the runs have gone very high. In the last four years, England have gone beyond 300 some 30 times, which is the highest for any cricket country,” he added.