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.