Ban on the saliva to shine the cricket ball to combat the COVID-19 threat has triggered a lot of debate among the cricket fraternities with many opining it will tilt the game slightly in the batsman's favor, as well as, create an imbalance between bat and ball, especially in the Test cricket.
The bowlers would not be able to reverse swing without saliva, and it would certainly make things difficult for them, but all the debates relating to the ban on saliva to polish the ball will be put to bed when England hosts the West Indies for the three-Test series next month.
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All eyes will be on the England-Test series as the matches will be played in bio-secure environments as well as under the new rules implemented by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the resumption of cricket amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, England Test captain Joe Root has a different view regarding the debate relating saliva ban, saying the ICC’s latest move might improve the skills of the bowlers. He believes that the saliva ban could “work in our favor and up skill levels.”
As per IANS, Root stated, “Not having the assistance that you might normally have meant your accuracy has to improve. Guys will have to find another way to get something out of the surface, whether that’s a bit more effort, changing angles on the crease, using the wobble seam they might not have in their locker. It could develop our bowlers in a four or five-week period.”
However, the Test captain admitted that the ban on the usage of saliva might tilt the game slightly in the batsman's favor, but feels it will not be much of an issue in the English conditions, thanks to the dukes ball that can swing till about 50 overs in a match. He also said the saliva ban will not be much of an impact especially in the summer and would not imbalance between bat and ball.
He further explained, “Don't think it would change too much in England. It depends on the conditions. There has not been too much cricket played so the squares and the outfield will be really lush so the damage to the Duke ball really doesn't take effect until the 40th or 50th over if that is the case so there should be enough swing. They normally stay hard longer than the Kookaburra or the SG balls.
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So, I can't see it having as much of an impact especially at the start of the summer. Ultimately it's going to be the same for both sides and it has to be managed by both teams.”
Meanwhile, the Test captain believes that it was a necessary step to ban saliva for everyone’s safety during the COVID-19 outbreak. He said, “There is no saliva for a reason -- it is to keep everyone safe and it might play towards the batsman's advantage slightly but it is going to be the same for both sides.”
Root continued, “I suppose it is about how skillful can you be at using different things, whether it be getting lateral movement off the seam, the spinners come into play a little bit more. Or whether to find different ways of getting wickets whether it be by creating pressure and forcing batsmen to mistakes. There are lots of ways of thinking about it and we will be exploring leading into the game.”
The right-hander also revealed that his fast bowlers are practicing very hard in the nets without saliva but they will get to know the real effects of saliva ban only when they will start playing.
He signed off by saying, “The guys are actually practicing really hard without saliva, seeing how it plays out and whether there is any deterioration. But we will really know only when we start playing the matches. It might be different in different grounds or have a bigger effect in the second innings.”
(With IANS/Metro Inputs)
