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| October 01, 2006 | Sunday | Ramazan 7, 1427 |
Reverse swing is entirely legal, says Simon Jones
LONDON, Sept 30: Simon Jones, the England fast bowler, has hit out at suggestions that reverse swing is only possible when the ball has been tampered with.
In an interview with Western Mail, he clarified that the entire process of generating reverse swing was a legitimate one. "People who say reverse swing is not possible without ball-tampering obviously know nothing about cricket," Jones said. "Have they ever bowled with a ball that's reversing? Have they ever bowled with a normal ball?
"If people make big statements they should be able to back them up. But I ignored those stories because I know what I did was legal. I would never ever do anything outside the laws of the game. And, anyway, how could you get away with scuffing the ball? In the Ashes series in 2005 there was something like 40-odd cameras on the ground. You'd be picked up straight away if you tried something."
Jones also indicated that Troy Cooley, the former England bowling coach who is now handling the job for Australia, had the biggest hand to play in teaching him the art of reverse swing. "It's taken me a long time to develop it. I did a lot of work in Australia with Troy Cooley and that's where I first learned it.
"It was great because it gave me an extra string to my bow. I was able to swing it conventionally but then I struggled with the older ball. The thing with reverse swing is that you don't need the ball to be in a big state. It will go if it's just a little bit scuffed up on one side.
"At Old Trafford (where he took Test-best of 6-53 against Australia) it went massive. The square was so rough that the ball was old after 17 overs. There's no need to tamper with the ball, it will reverse swing because of the condition of the ground. No problem. It's all above board."
Jones was one the main bowling stars in last year's Ashes, taking 18 wickets in four Tests at an average of 21, but has since been on the sidelines with a knee injury.—Agencies
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