Former Australia vice-captain David Warner recently stated his opinion on using saliva to shine the cricket ball.
Earlier, the Australian leadership group featuring Warner and Steve Smith received a one-year ban after using sandpaper in the infamous 2018 Cape Town Test match.
Before the global COVID-19 outbreak escalated, social distancing norms were observed in the cricketing field, with matches played in front of empty stands, and players agreeing on fist-pumps instead of handshakes.
Warner suggested when cricket resumes, does not see any reason for the ICC to abolish the use of saliva on the ball.
“You’re sharing change rooms and you’re sharing everything else, I don’t see why you have to change that,” Warner was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“It’s been going around for hundreds of years now. I can’t recall anyone that’s got sick by doing that. If you’re going to contract a bug, I don’t think it’d necessarily be just from that,” added Warner.
Much like the Mankad, the issue of ban on saliva has divided the cricketing fraternity into two halves. The likes of Shaun Tait and Allan Donald have supported the idea of a saliva ban, whereas Waqar Younis, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra have opposed the motion.
“I’m not too sure, but it’s not my place to comment on whether or not we should or shouldn’t (use saliva to shine the ball). It’s up to the ICC and the governing bodies to decide,” concluded Warner.
Even West Indies’ great, Michael Holding, termed the idea of saliva ban as self-contradictory. The game of cricket has witnessed severe imbalance between the bat and the ball, lately.
Fielding restrictions, bowling with two new balls at each end have favoured batsmen in recent years whereas the art of bowling has suffered from flat decks and high-scoring grounds.
