Using Saliva To Shine The Cricket Ball Has Been Banned Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

A contentious rule change imposed during the coronavirus pandemic is set to alter cricket’s playing conditions as fears prevail that the contest will skew in favor of batters.  

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced a temporary ban on applying saliva to the ball ahead of next month’s restart after a lengthy shutdown. International cricket has been halted since mid-March but is set to resume with a rescheduled three-Test series between England and West Indies in the U.K.

The matches will be played behind closed doors and with strict health protocols highlighted by a ban on the age-old technique of wiping saliva onto the ball. Cricketers have long used saliva or sweat to shine one side of the leathery ball to help fast bowlers generate greater swing in the air as it travels towards the batter.

It is deemed necessary later in the innings when the ball eventually gets compromised through wear and tear negating its potency. A wickedly swinging ball late in a day’s play can conjure an enthralling passage and provide notable challenges for batters.

Sweat will still be allowed but not any artificial substances, such as wax, despite pleas from influential cricket figures.

The ICC believe the hygiene precaution is necessary in the current climate but admit it will take time for cricketers to adjust. ‘‘If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning,’’ the ICC said in a media statement.

Infringements after two warnings will result in a five-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean it before play recommences.

Bowlers believe an alternative is needed to maintain balance in the game with a prevailing belief that benign conditions and other tweaks over the years – like shorter boundaries – often favor batters.

“Maybe try a new substance that they can potentially use that everyone agrees on, that the batsmen are happy with, that the bowlers are happy with,” said former quick Brett Lee, who played for Australia from 1999-2012.

“I like the idea of having a tub of wax. It’s a very good idea.”

Lee believed bowlers would find it difficult not to reflexively deploy the age-old shining trick. 

“There has to be a lot of leniency, maybe two-three warnings per player because I can guarantee you, if the players are told they can’t do it, they won’t do it on purpose but I think it will happen through natural instinct,” he said.

It isn’t just bowlers fearing of a potential imbalance. Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar believed teams could be granted a “quota” of wax per innings. “If you’re not going to allow saliva, and there are places where you don’t sweat, why not use wax or some external substance?” Tendulkar said.

An almost demigod-like figure in cricket-crazy India, Tendulkar’s voice is particularly powerful but the game’s lawmakers are unlikely to budge.

In another interim measure ratified, the ICC has permitted the use of coronavirus substitutes in Tests. Teams will be allowed to replace anyone suffering with coronavirus symptoms with a like-for-like replacement subject to the approval of the match referee. The concession only applies to Test matches and not for the shorter ODIs or T20Is formats.

To avoid perceptions of innate bias, there was supposed to be a requirement for neutral match umpires to officiate in all formats but this has been temporarily shelved due to the logistic challenges of international travel amid the pandemic.

As such, teams will be given an additional umpire’s challenge via Decision Review System. Currently there are two reviews per innings in a Test match and one in the shorter formats.

The new playing regulations ensures there is no escaping the pandemic’s grim reality and cricketers will have to shelve its customary spitting on ball habit as the game, hopefully fleetingly, loses one of its intricate charms.

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