Cricket Australia (CA) is all set to begin the national team's pre-season training by the end of May under new protocols devised for the safety of players amid the COVID-19 pandemic, says a report in 'The Sydney Morning Herald'.
The board is hoping to come up with a strategy that will allow it to resume training under the guidance of its chief medical officer Dr John Orchard and head of sports science and sports medicine Alex Kountouris.
Read Also: CA, ICC to discuss fate of T20 World Cup in Australia on May 8
Orchard and Kountouris are already working closely on the matter, alongside the Australian government and International Cricket Council (ICC).
CA's immediate priority, says the report, is to draw up important protocols for the pre-season phase, which is set to include an official ban on applying saliva, sweat to maintain the shine of the ball.
"There's physical distancing in the nets - there's two or three bowlers in each net. One bowls at a time, the batter is 22 yards away so it's not a big problem," Kountouris said.
"We don't see it as too big a problem to manage, but these are the things we're spelling out. This is what you should do: keep your distance, how you should handle the ball, these are things easy to manage."
Celebrating a dismissal is another thing that will most probably change when the deadly outbreak is over.
"You might not see high-fiving after a wicket or people ruffling someone else's hair," said Kountouris. "It will be a spaced huddle. It will be the new norm. That's one of those things, the physical distancing for the time being, that will definitely be out until a vaccine or some sort of solution like that (comes up)."
"I think we'll have to find a different way to celebrate, they'll have to be innovative," he added. "There are things you won't be able to chop out overnight but people will gradually get used to doing things differently."
(Inputs from PTI)
