Sam Billings Banned From Wearing Eco-Friendly Gloves

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned England’s Twenty20 vice-captain Sam Billings from wearing his new eco-friendly batting gloves. The apex body stated that the colour of the gloves doesn’t comply with the rule and regulations of ICC.

Billings wore them during the two warm-up games against a New Zealand Cricket XI in Lincoln. But ICC match referee Andy Pycroft told Sam Billings that he cannot wear those gloves for the T20 Internationals. Pycroft said that the Gray-Nicolls gloves – known as ‘Off-Cuts’ because they are made from recycled cricket equipment, including sweatbands, padding and leather – were illegal.

Best laid plans

You might have been expecting @SamBillings to be in the Off-Cuts Gloves last night

Unfortunately, the gloves don’t conform to ICC regs for colour?

So Sam wore a pair of gloves from @CricketExpresNZ, picked up by our former colleague Josh prior to the game? pic.twitter.com/RDfcmK6gkL

— Gray-Nicolls ? (@graynics) November 1, 2019

Read More: England Name Sam Billings As T20I Vice-Captain For New Zealand Tour

As per ICC regulation, more than 50 per cent of any batting glove worn in a limited-overs international ‘must be white, or the same colour as the base colour of the relevant team’s playing shirt’. England’s T20 shirt is predominantly red. However, the fingers of Sam Billings’s new gloves are lime green, maroon, sky blue and dark blue. Instead, Billing wore white gloves he got from a cricket retailer in Christchurch.

The gloves were launched only a week ago when the English batsman himself led the praise. Sam Billings also praised the quality and colour of the product during its launch.

“It’s a great initiative,’ he said. ‘I think the world generally now is trying to get far cleaner and recycle far more. I love the fancy colours, and the great thing about it is the quality is the same as any other product – and it looks incredible,” Billings added.

After a ban from ICC, Sam Billings intends to wear it again at the T10 competition in the UAE starting later this month – a tournament not governed by the ICC.