Bowlers ‘cry for help’

South African paceman Dale Steyn believes the Australian ball-tampering scandal could be viewed as a “cry for help” because the balance between bat and ball in cricket has become so skewed in favour of the batsmen.

Steyn, one of the most prolific wicket-takers of his generation, did not condone the actions of the Australian trio but said the incident exposed the need for cricket to change to prevent the loss of the art of reverse swing bowling.

“It’s obviously not on, but if you think about it, it’s almost like a cry for help. We need to do something,” Steyn said in an interview.

“There’s so much in favour of batsmen these days. Fields are small, two new balls, powerplays, bats have got bigger.

“You bowl a ‘no ball’ and it’s a free hit. But I have never seen a rule change that favours the bowler.”

Steyn felt the desperation to get the ball to swing was forcing cricketers to flirt with regulations.

Typically, swing bowlers use the new ball to deviate it in the air to outwit batsmen, but Pakistan fast bowlers stunned the world in the 1980s by introducing reverse swing.

The skill of making an old and battered ball move in the air in the opposite direction to conventional swing was developed into an art form in the following decade by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

In March, with SA leading by more than 100 in the second innings for the loss of a single wicket in the third Test, the Australian trio hatched a plan to tamper with the ball to get that reverse swing.

They paid a heavy price with batsman Cameron Bancroft suspended for nine months, while captain Steve Smith and David Warner were handed one-year bans.

“It’s a big plea and it would be a sad day to see [reverse swing] disappear,” Steyn said. –