Ashley Giles: England Players To Follow 'One Skin One Ball' Policy During Their Training Sessions

Ashley Giles, England and Wales Cricket Board Director of Cricket has reckoned that the training that England players will kickstart from next week will take place according to the guidelines given by the government.

England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB] made a significant announcement on Thursday when it revealed that a pool of 30 cricketers will be prepared for the planned start of the International summer in 2020, with the bowlers set to be the first set of cricketers to start training, starting next week.

Each of England’s cricketers will be handed a box of balls each for their individual use and they will not be allowed to apply saliva on them, when they kickstart their training next week in order to prepare for the upcoming Test matches against West Indies and Pakistan.

“We should be able to get control of the environment so it’s safer to go back to practice than it is to go to the supermarket. I’m not making light of this but there are risks every time you go outside the house,” Ashley Giles told ‘The Guardian’.

Also Read: ECB Working Closely With The Government To Resume Cricket Amid COVID-19 Crisis

“We hope we don’t take another dip”- Ashley Giles

The ECB will be employing the ‘One skin One ball’ policy on all the 11 county grounds where players will train at different times in order to maintain social distancing.

“We need to mitigate as many of the risks as we possibly can. At one venue guys may train individually but with the same coach – a single coach for four or five bowlers. But with social distancing they shouldn’t be close enough to pass anything on. It’s essential we stick to these guidelines,” said Ashley Giles.

According to the report, players have been told to travel by cars and to bring along with them their own marked water bottles. The players will have to use the set of balls assigned to them and the balls must remain in the bag when not in use.

Players will undergo regular temperature checks under the supervision of a coach and a physio. Also, a 2-meter distance will have to be maintained with the coach.

“We hope we don’t take another dip, which would put all of us back. (But) If we continue on this trajectory hopefully we will have the right conditions to play some Test cricket,” Ashley Giles said.

Batsmen will kickstart their training sessions two weeks later where they will not be allowed to pick the ball up with their hands to pass it back to the coach. They will be required to either kick it or use their bat to hit it back.

Also Read: Revealed: The Staggering Amount Of Money ECB Will Lose If There Will Be No Cricket Due To COVID-19