David Warner hints at South Africa tampering with the ball to get reverse swing

David Warner

Australian opening batsman David Warner has accused South Africa of deliberately working on the ball during the game, to generate extra reverse swing following the defeat in the second Test.

Australia were set a stiff target of 448 runs, and were batting sensibly to reach 126-0 before the batting order collapsed, and they were all out for 216, losing the Test match by 231 runs, and levelling the series 1-1.

Openers Warner and Rogers were the only batsmen from Australia to register a score in double figures in the fourth innings, with Warner scoring 66, while Rogers went on to score 107. Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn ripped through the Australian batting after the departure of Warner. Steyn finished with the figures of 55-4, while also producing some deliveries which were almost unplayable.

Warner admitted that Australia had tried to reverse wing the ball, by throwing the ball to bounce on the outlying wickets, but he also felt that South Africa, and in particular wicket-keeper AB de Villiers, had gone further to achieve the desired results.

“We were actually questioning whether or not AB de Villiers would get the ball in his hand and, with his glove, wipe the rough side every ball,” Warner told Sky Sports Radio.

“That’s another thing we have to try to bring up with the umpires,” he said.

The Australian fast bowlers were unable to get the movement off the seam or through the air, as much as the their South African counter-parts managed to do.

Warner said: “I think it comes down to the umpires warning both teams not to throw the ball into the wicket, which you generally try to do.

“(South Africa) did it better than we did, or more obviously than we did. At the end of the day it comes down to who can do that the best and work on the ball.

“We worked on the ball a lot in England and we got the ball to reverse a lot there, and we got the ball reversing a little at home (against England).

“This time it just didn’t work for us because the outfield was probably a little bit moist and (on) day one it was obviously quite hard to get it to reverse as well. Sometimes that happens,” he said.

In October last year, South Africa were fined 5 runs for ball tampering in a Test against Pakistan.