James Anderson feels players will need to support one another if there are no crowds

He also opined on ICC's ban on using saliva to shine the ball.

James Anderson | GettyAs the effect of Coronavirus intensified in the world, sporting activities were stopped to limit the damage to all athletes. But now, with lockdowns and social distancing measures in place, sporting activities have started to come back although cautiously.

As for any sport, crowds are a massive part of the whole experience of watching a game live and the players also feed off the energy they get from shouting and supporting fans in the stands. But with the dangers of COVID-19, most of the sporting authorities have decided to bring back sports, but without the crowds in the stadiums.

Will take practice to avoid using saliva to shine the ball: R Ashwin

Cricket is one such sport that might see the two teams playing each other behind closed doors and England’s ace fast bowler James Anderson feels that now it will be on players to lean on one another in the squad.

"We are lucky in England that most Test matches are sold out, certainly the first few days, we get big crowds so motivating yourself isn't an issue. You just get out there in front of a packed house and it's quite easy to get up for a game," CNN quoted Anderson as saying.

"I think we might have to lean on each other as players if there's no crowd there, no atmosphere, we hear the sound of leather on willow echoing around the ground rather than the applause," he added.

England will be looking forward to playing Tests and limited-overs internationals against Pakistan and the West Indies at home in July.

Anderson also opined on ICC Cricket Committee’s ban on using saliva to shine the ball. "The ICC Cricket Committee heard from the Chair of the ICC Medical Advisory Committee Dr. Peter Harcourt regarding the elevated risk of the transmission of the virus through saliva, and unanimously agreed to recommend that the use of saliva to polish the ball be prohibited," read an ICC release.

He said, "It's a massive thing for me because to get the ball to swing, you need to be able to polish the ball and repair it when it gets scuffs on it".

However the committee has not banned the players from using sweat to keep the shine on the ball.

(ANI inputs)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 21 May, 2020

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