‘Soton Test erased swing doubts’

The ball moved enough in last week's Southampton Test between England and West Indies to erase any lingering doubt about swing bowling under cricket's COVID-19 protocols, manufacturer of the Dukes ball told Reuters.

Strict health regulations included a ban on saliva to shine the ball, even though players can still use sweat to polish it in order to generate swing.

"The ball did swing and it was a balanced game of cricket," Dilip Jajodia, managing director of British Cricket Balls Ltd, which produces the Dukes balls, told Reuters. "When you flick your wrist, there are so many things that apply to swing. Not just anybody can run up and swing a ball. There are swing bowlers and there are fast bowlers.

"You can't look at Mark Wood or Jofra Archer and say 'oh, the ball is not swinging'. They are not swing bowlers, they are fast bowlers. Likewise, Shannon Gabriel is not a swing bowler either. For them, Jason Holder swings the ball and he was moving it."