Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has acknowledged that all cricket teams attempt to produce reverse swing through legal methods, but said the use of sandpaper took ball-tampering to a "next level."
De Villiers stated that teams have always looked for ways to generate reverse swing while staying within the rules. He contrasted those efforts with the deliberate use of sandpaper to alter the ball's condition, which he described as crossing a line.
The remarks underscore the ongoing debate in cricket over the boundary between gamesmanship and cheating in ball maintenance.
