Tim southee demanded to lift the ban on using saliva on ball: Former New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has supported India’s fast bowler Mohammed Shami’s call to lift the ban on the use of saliva in international cricket to help the bowlers to achieve reverse swing from the ball. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had banned the use of saliva to shine the balls as a temporary remedy during the Kovid-19 epidemic in May 2020. In September 2022, the ICC permanently banned it.
After India’s four -wicket victory over Australia in the Champions Trophy semi -finals, Shami said, ‘We are trying (to achieve reverse swing), but the use of saliva on the ball is not allowed. We keep appealing that we should be allowed to use saliva so that we can bring back reverse swing in the game and it becomes interesting. Supporting Shami’s call, Saudi urged the ICC to lift the ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball and give some benefits to the bowlers.
Saudi said on the match day of ESPN Cricinfo, ‘This rule was brought due to Kovid, as the virus was spreading around the world, but I think you want a little profit as a bowler. We see the game moving forward in the way it is running and teams in this format make 362 and often more than 300 scores. I think there should be something in favor of the bowlers, and even if it is a little saliva, yes, I don’t think they can’t take the risk of bringing it back. ‘
The experienced fast bowler of Black Caps highlighted that using saliva to shine on one side of the ball and inspire reverse swing is more effective in red ball cricket than white ball.
He said, ‘I think the ball initially swings only for a few overs (in white ball cricket), but with the red ball, you are able to bring it back, and of course, the amount of sweat can be limited many times in different parts of the world, while for saliva you can clearly reach many sources and all parts of the world.’ He said, ‘I think there is an advantage of placing saliva on the ball, perhaps more in red ball cricket than the cricket with white ball.’
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