Kemar Roach Calls For The Use Of Wax Or Change Of Ball After 50-55 Overs In The Wake Of Saliva Ban

Kemar Roach, West Indies pacer, has backed the idea of using wax to shine a cricket ball, now that players aren’t allowed to use saliva.

The International Cricket Council [ICC] has banned the use of saliva on a cricket ball, as part of precautionary measures in the post-Covid world.

The decision has invited a plethora of apprehensions from both current and past cricketers, as far as the balance of the game is concerned.

Roach has likened the idea of changing the ball after every 50-55 overs of an innings, as compared to the standard practice of changing it after 80 overs.

“It is tough to gauge at this point. I have grown up playing cricket my entire life, using saliva to shine the ball. I guess we can try a wax and see how it works, but the new ball every 50 overs is a decent idea as well. At least give the bowlers a chance,” Kemar Roach told ANI.

Also Read: It Will Be Difficult To Suddenly Start Playing Without Saliva: Umesh Yadav

“We have to experiment and try to find ways”- Kemar Roach

Roach has echoed the same thing that former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee had suggested a few days ago. Brett Lee, during an interaction with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar on the latter’s app ‘100 MB’, had thrown his weight behind the use of wax.

“I think, right now, things are tilted towards the batting side. We have to experiment and try to find ways to balance the cricket and ensure we are keeping bowlers interested in the game,” Kemar Roach added.

On the same show, Sachin Tendulkar had suggested that the ball should be changed after every 50-55 overs to ensure a fair balance between the bat and ball.

Coming back to the ICC’s ratified playing conditions, a player will be given a couple of warnings for shining the ball, post which five penalty runs will be added to the opposition’s tally.

If a player uses saliva, umpires will have to clean the ball before commencing the game.

The first instance of bowlers bowling without the use of saliva will take place next month when West Indies locks horns with England in a three-match Test series in bio-secure environments in Southampton and Manchester.

Also Read: Yuzvendra Chahal Reckons Spinners Will Also Be Affected Due To Saliva Ban