“Let the bowlers rub the ball in the dirt if they want because not all bowlers can produce reverse swing”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary South Africa batsman Barry Richards has announced that ball tampering should be legalised since the sport has become too batsman-friendly.

Richards also admitted that he fears for the future of the game if the contest between bat and ball continues to remain so unfair.

“All I want is a 50-50 contest, which it is not now,” Richards said. “If it continues the way it is, kids will only want to bat. There will be no bowlers and the game will decline.

“Reverse swing is an art. Let the bowlers rub the ball in the dirt if they want because not all bowlers can produce reverse swing. Maybe in one-day cricket you could let the better bowlers bowl 25 of the 50 overs, but only two bowlers are nominated before the start to bowl those overs.”

He added that certain restrictions should be placed on bats used by players as well.

“The pressing of cricket bats also has to be controlled and the thickness in their edges,” he said. “Maybe there can also be a designated sweet spot area for bats, ours used to be about the size of a 50 cent piece but now they are much bigger.

“You could also relax cricket’s leg-side rules a bit. These are just a few of my ideas, because batsmen have it too easy these days.”