South Africa’s premier fast bowler Dale Steyn reckons that the ball-tampering episode that took place earlier this year could be viewed as a “cry for help” because the balance between bat and ball in cricket has now been shifted in favor of the batsmen.

Steyn doesn’t accept the actions of the Cape Town trio but said the incident exposed the need for cricket to change to prevent the loss of the art of reverse swing bowling. In an interview with Reuters, he said, “It’s obviously not on, but if you think about it, it’s almost like a cry for help. There’s so much in favor batsmen these days. Fields are small, two new balls, powerplays, bats have got bigger than they used to be, the list can go on. You bowl a ‘no ball’ and it’s a free hit. But I have never seen a rule change that favours the bowler.”

Originally, swing bowlers use the new ball to deviate it in the air to outplay the batsmen but Pakistan fast bowlers stunned the world in the 1980s by introducing reverse swing to test cricket. The skill of making an old ball move in the air in the opposite direction to conventional swing was developed into an art form in the following decade by their successors Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

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Talking about the dying need to bringing back the reverse swing, Steyn during a GoPro event said, “It’s a big plea and it would be a sad day to see (reverse swing) disappear. I grew up watching Akram, I grew up watching Waqar and all these geniuses run in and reverse swing the ball. And you just don’t see it today. What inspiration will other fast bowlers have if they don’t have anybody to inspire them to become fast bowlers.”

The ICC in 2011 introduced an extra new ball in one-day games, a move which many believe has made the already batsman-friendly 50-over format even more difficult for the bowlers. Expressing his thoughts about the rule change, Steyn added that the limit of two bouncers per over was more of a hindrance than a help for bowlers.

Dale concluded, “They changed the rule and said we will bring two new balls into the game. I don’t want a new ball when I am bowling in the subcontinent. I want an old ball that can’t get hit out of the ground. I want a ball that when I bowl doesn’t have true bounce, so that the batsman can’t hit it. These are not rules that favour the bowler at all. They are, if anything, add to the batsman.”