The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said the bowlers need to undergo at least two to three months in training, to avoid injuring themselves, when cricket finally resumes after the novel coronavirus lockdown.
The cricketing world has been on a standstill due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with the last international match played between Australia and New Zealand back in March.
Like other popular sports around the world, some countries are planning regulations and guidelines for the return of cricketing actions, once governments provide relaxation in lockdown restrictions.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) intends to resume its season with the Test series against West Indies scheduled in July. Also, the English players initiated their individual skill-based this week with the delayed summer of cricket in the foresight.
Following the West Indies series, England is slated to host Pakistan for a three-match Test series in October. Subsequently, England and Pakistan lock horns for a three-match T20 series.
All matches will be taking place behind closed doors, with no room for spectators, as a preventive measure to fight the fatal pandemic.
“Bowlers are at a particularly high risk of injury on return to play after a period of enforced time-out,” the apex cricketing body stated in a release on Friday, in its enlisted guidelines.
However, ICC will look to supervise workload of bowlers and advised the teams to use a larger pool of players in the roster.
Further, the Dubai-based council said Test cricket would require a bare minimum of 8-12 weeks in preparation, before taking part in the high-octane matches scheduled later.
Also, the duration of preparation for the bowlers prescribed for the limited-overs format was a minimum of six weeks.
Furthermore, ICC counselled the boards to look at appointing medical advisors or biosafety officials, when cricket finally resumes under the new guidelines.
According to the back to back guidelines, it was stipulated that players and umpires need to maintain social distancing.
Also, the cricketers must not engage in needless body contact, which would involve the prohibition of handing over items such as towels, sunglasses and caps to the umpire or teammates.
Earlier, the ICC caused a lot of furore within the cricketing fraternity for the abolishment of saliva usage on the cricket ball. Bowlers are used to shining the ball for movement in the air and off the pitch.
