Ball tampering: "ICC should let bowlers 'prepare' the ball" - Allan Donald

*AsifTheManRahman* · #1 July 25, 2009, 11:28 AM

ICC should let bowlers 'prepare' the ball - Donald

Nagraj Gollapudi
July 24, 2009

Allan Donald, the former South African fast bowler, has said bowlers must be allowed to "prepare" the ball - ball-tampering, in other words - to redress the balance between bat and ball and protect the "dying breed" from increasingly lifeless pitches.

Speaking to Cricinfo on Friday, Donald was asked if he would recommend legalising ball tampering. He said: "The ICC would shoot me for saying it but, with the wickets that we play on and the dying breed fast bowlers are becoming on these flatter wickets, I would say we do need some sort of defence mechanism, something to fall back on to say 'Right, we can do this. We can now prepare this ball to go'."

Please sir, may I have some more?

Zeeshan · #2 July 25, 2009, 12:01 PM

One would get a zen of a reverse swing if that happens and needless to mention how them Pakistanis would have a field day. I say why not? Would love to see cricket evolve to a whole new dimension.

Edit: And while we are at it...why not legalize marijuana too?

Orpheus · #3 July 25, 2009, 12:07 PM

What's gonna happen when half the ball of Ashraful's hook shot go for a six at deep square leg while the other half goes to the man at silly point?

will it be a deep six or a silly out?

Zeeshan · #4 July 25, 2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus
What's gonna happen when half the ball of Ashraful's hook shot go for a six at deep square leg while the other half goes to the man at silly point?

will it be a deep six or a silly out?

Genius!

One World · #5 July 25, 2009, 01:03 PM

I was reading this in Cricinfo, and was wondering "obviously" what Donald is smoking nowadays.
Some of the comments on the article are funnier.

Eshen · #6 July 25, 2009, 03:00 PM

I like the idea. Fast bowling is losing its charm nowadays because of flat pitches, something like this need to be done to give pacers an edge again.

BANFAN · #7 July 25, 2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus
What's gonna happen when half the ball of Ashraful's hook shot go for a six at deep square leg while the other half goes to the man at silly point?

will it be a deep six or a silly out?

Depends on where the better half goes

One World · #8 July 25, 2009, 08:45 PM

I am not sure how this can be even an issue and coming from Donald was really pathetic. He should go back and watch all the videos of recent T20I World Cup and follow matches played by Gul and Parnel. Waiting for Pollok to say something different.

Banglatiger84 · #9 July 26, 2009, 12:38 AM

Indian fans wouldnt like this because they are not really strong in the fast bowling department..

Surfer · #10 July 26, 2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banglatiger84
Indian fans wouldnt like this because they are not really strong in the fast bowling department..

If the rule comes, it will be applicable to all the bowlers and not just fast bowlers. Imagine a Harbhajan Singh cuts the ball into a cube and gives it some mighty revolutions pitching it on good length. Now let the batsman guess which way its gonna turn.

One World · #11 July 26, 2009, 01:59 AM

Thanks for the spin example Surfer, I just started visualizing an Aussie tour of India and Ponting as the batsman.

A wayward Symond uttering Tasmanian gibberish while the whole audience started hearing a bunch of TMK or Monkey.

On a mildly serious note - the way our spinners are bowling, I doubt we would even in need to think about taking that advantage in any condition even if allowed .

Nocturnal · #12 July 26, 2009, 02:01 AM

I wanna get Donald's dealer cell# !!

Surfer · #13 July 26, 2009, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One World
Thanks for the spin example Surfer, I just started visualizing an Aussie tour of India and Ponting as the batsman.

A wayward Symond uttering Tasmanian gibberish while the whole audience started hearing a bunch of TMK or Monkey.

On a mildly serious note - the way our spinners are bowling, I doubt we would even in need to think about taking that advantage in any condition even if allowed .

Imteaz · #14 July 26, 2009, 03:13 AM

Should not be legalized.

Imteaz · #15 July 26, 2009, 06:24 AM

How many bowlers in the world know reverse swing without tempering the ball?

Abid_Khan · #16 July 26, 2009, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One World
Thanks for the spin example Surfer, I just started visualizing an Aussie tour of India and Ponting as the batsman.

A wayward Symond uttering Tasmanian gibberish while the whole audience started hearing a bunch of TMK or Monkey.

On a mildly serious note - the way our spinners are bowling, I doubt we would even in need to think about taking that advantage in any condition even if allowed .

Tasmanian gibberish ..? He's from Queensland..

One World · #17 July 27, 2009, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abid_Khan
Tasmanian gibberish ..? He's from Queensland..

That suffices my prediction further.

IanW · #18 July 27, 2009, 10:16 PM

Why not simply require pitches to be of an apporpriate standard for Test Cricket - and that means removing Test status from excessively flat tracks ?

A good Test pitch should have something for everyone. It should help quicks on day one, batsmen on days two and three, and start to break up and help slow bowlers on days four and five. If it doesnt do this, it's a bad Test wicket and the home Cricket Board needs to be censured, fined, removed from home series and so on.

Murad · #19 July 28, 2009, 01:01 AM

donald mone hoi dhaail khaisilo beshi kore

Eshen · #20 July 28, 2009, 10:21 PM

Tampering with ball won't help much - Akram

Wasim Akram has disagreed with Allan Donald's suggestion that ball tampering should be legalised, and said that bowlers wouldn't benefit much even if they were allowed to alter the state of the ball.

Donald had sparked a debate when he told Cricinfo last week that the ICC should let bowlers 'prepare' the ball to redress the balance between bat and ball.

"I don't know what Donald is thinking. He never reverse-swung himself, so probably that's why he said that," he told espnstar.com. "I don't agree with him at all. Reverse-swing comes in late after bowling on a flat track. Whatever Donald is saying about legalising ball tampering, it doesn't matter. The ball will swing anyways and so it's not going to make any difference if you legalise it or not."

Akram, one of the greatest exponents of reverse-swing, also said ball tampering would not be of much help to the bowlers. "[Even] If it's legalised, I don't think it's going to reverse-swing with the new ball. The ball has to be at least 25 to 30 overs old. So, it's just a joke to start off with."

Another of Donald's contemporaries, Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath, was also against legalising ball tampering. "It is a crime as per the rules of the game and it should not be encouraged," he told the Hindu.

BANFAN · #21 August 4, 2009, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muradnyc
donald mone hoi dhaail khaisilo beshi kore

or yaba

That was a nonsense from a class pacer. He is also the bowling coach of England. It looks like, he doesn't have good knowledge of reversing the ball. Akram's statement also supports that.

umpires will go mad in controlling the level of tampering. Some bowlers will probably have to almost remove leather from one side of the ball still struggle to reverse it.

Imteaz · #22 August 4, 2009, 02:14 AM

No one told about the reason. Donald told a reason for his this statement.

chol_bd123 · #23 August 4, 2009, 10:39 AM

WHy not improve the pitches. I'm getting tired of these flat tracks and a bowlers hell.
Ball-tampering is a little too ridiculous