Sydney: Australia batsman Steve Smith on Monday said that he does not think it is great to ban saliva as a method to shine the ball and added that it might tinker with the balance between bat and ball.
His remark comes as International Cricket Council (ICC) issued guidelines for safely resuming cricket in the times of coronavirus and as a part of those guidelines, players would not be able to use saliva on the cricket ball.
"I have always been one to want a fair contest between bat and ball, so if that's taken away, even as a batter I don't think that's great. Whether they can find other ways with certain things, it'll be hard. I actually spit on my hands most balls and that's how I get grip and stuff," ESPNCricinfo quoted Smith as saying.
"So that might take some adjusting to certain things like that, but that's something for the ICC to figure out what they want to do going forward and different regulations. We'll see how it all lands, everything is up in the air at the moment, but we'll see where everything goes," he added.
Shining the ball is a major thing for bowlers in trying to extract some swing from the match.
As the game starts swaying in favour of batsmen by each passing day, bowlers have to try everything they can to trouble the batsmen.
Currently, all international cricket has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, the ICC issued guidelines for safely resuming cricket and the body said that chartered flights should be used for travel for some period of time.
The ICC also said that international teams should strongly consider travelling with a medical doctor. Travelling teams should ensure necessary arrangements are in place to support a team member should they test positive while on tour.
The players and umpires have also been asked to maintain social distancing on the cricket field and that includes no handing over of player items (cap, towels, sunglasses, jumpers) to the umpire or teammates.
