As the England-West Indies Test series is set to mark the return of international cricket after Coronavirus-forced hiatus, former South African captain Shaun Pollock believes the historic series will “probably be the most watched Test series” amid the worldwide shutdown.
All the cricketing activities have been shut down since the mid-March due to the Coronavirus outbreak while England and West Indies are showing courage to return to action amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Proteas great further noted that the upcoming three-match Test series in England will be “a litmus test” since the matches have been played under all new regulations set by International Cricket Council (ICC) to tackle the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pollock said on FanCode’s new chat show 'Unlock Sports': “I think it's (Eng-WI) gonna be probably the most watched Test series in a very long time because people are being starved of the game so they'll be very keen to get out there and watch some Test cricket again. I think it will be a bit of a litmus test to see how things can unfold and how things can be managed to make sure that there's no issue.”
He also lauded ICC’s latest interim changes to playing regulations to mitigate the “risks posed by the COVID-19 virus and protect the safety of players and match officials when cricket resumes” especially the introduction of home umpires and an additional DRS review for each team in each innings of the match.
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Pollock further added, “Someone from India to be able to stand in a Test in Kolkata or someone from England to be able to stand in a home Test, Englishman, at Lord's or an Australian at the MCG, we've always been fighting for this in the committee so I think that's a good change. Now with the DRS, you can send things upstairs. In the old days, maybe they were worried about biased decisions, but I think that's a thing of the past so that's a nice change in the right way.”
South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in international cricket also commented on ICC’s decision to ban the usage of saliva to shine the ball when cricket resumes, saying the move makes sense given the COVID-19 situation.
He further went on to explain, “For many years, people have used saliva but they've also used sweat. But in the current pandemic, with saliva, there is a risk that if a ball gets hit to the boundary and it may be thrown back by a guard who hasn't been tested, there could be something that goes on to the ball and then you put it in your mouth and you could end up with COVID and the whole Test series can be called off. So, for me, it does make sense.”
On Cricket South Africa’s new 3T Cricket that has been postponed for now, Pollock signed off by saying, “The idea is to try and incorporate three teams of 8. People have two innings and you get to compete, and it almost gives you an opportunity to come back, so it is something that they are looking to try.”
(With IANS Inputs)
