LONDON (AP):

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer wants the cricket laws changed so that players can use their fingernails to alter the state of the ball.

Pakistan was accused of ball-tampering in the fourth and final Test against England on August 20 that led to the first forfeit in 129 years of Test cricket.

Woolmer said reverse swing is critical in maintaining cricket's balance between bat and ball.

"I think the ball should swing and it doesn't really matter how - as long as you are not using external implements, like razor blades or bottle tops," Woolmer said yesterday. "Fingers, sweat and everything else mean the ball should swing. Otherwise, it becomes totally a batsman's game."

Woolmer says fingernails should also be permitted.

"Nails are part of the body," he said. "You need to get this into a proper perspective and discuss it at length. If you can encourage the ball to swing that, I think, is good for the game of cricket. It is good for the art of the game of cricket."

Pakistan play England today at Lord's in the second of five one-day internationals. The first one-dayer at Sophia Gardens on Wednesday was declared a no-result because of rain delays.

Woolmer said the International Cricket Council had to look at its laws and alter the description of ball-tampering and how umpires adjudicate on it.