Using saliva won’t pose any risk in bio secure environment, feels ex-SA skipper Shaun Pollock

The Anil Kumble led ICC Cricket Committee recently recommended a ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball due to the coronavirus threat. The committee suggested the use of sweat as an alternative, but that idea hasn’t been accepted too well by current and former fast-bowlers.

England will make bio-secure arrangements to host the West Indies behind closed doors for a proposed three-Test series and Pollock believes such environment would not require banning any activity.

''I think the environment that’ll end up being created is almost going to be like a bubble. People will get tested, they’ll go into a two-week camp where they’re just going to sit and monitor how the conditions of their bodies change,'' Pollock told the 'Following On Cricket Podcast'.

''And if there are no symptoms, it doesn’t really matter about shining the ball then, because you’re in the bubble and no one you come into contact with will have coronavirus. So you can just get on with normal proceedings,'' he added.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is planning to create such a bio-bubble to prevent spread of the COVID-19.

It includes the monitoring of players and staff, while they will continue in this environment upon their arrival in the UK, staying and training at venues where facilities are in close proximity.

''I’d presume that there’d be no crowds in place, every single environment they go into would be cleaned down and sprayed, and everything along those lines,'' said Pollock.

Pollock, who has has played 303 ODIs and 101 Tests for South Africa, also reckons these bubbles should be an advantage to ensure a safe T20 World Cup in Australia at the end of the year.

The ICC is due to meet to decide whether or not to postpone the T20 World Cup to next year and the proposed ban on saliva is also likely to be taken during the board meeting on Wednesday.