Use of saliva permanently banned as ICC announces changes to playing conditions

The use of saliva to shine the ball has been permanently banned as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced changes to its playing conditions that will come into effect on October 1. The bowler running out a non-striker for backing up too far is also now part of the "run out" section. It was earlier termed as "unfair play".

The changes were confirmed after the Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) approved recommendations made by the ICC Cricket Committee, which is led by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly.

The use of saliva to polish the ball was initially banned in the wake of COVID-19 as a safety measure. However, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Custodian of cricket laws, had imposed a complete ban while amending the rules earlier this year.

Backing the permanent ban, an official ICC statement said:

"This prohibition has been in place for over two years in international cricket as a Covid-related temporary measure and it is considered appropriate for the ban to be made permanent.”

On batter’s being run out at the non-striker's end, the ICC clarified that, as per the updated playing conditions, the law will view it as a “run out” and not “unfair play”.

“Mankading”, as the dismissal was earlier referred to, has divided opinion in world cricket. Some, like Ravichandran Ashwin, have backed it and implemented it as well.

---

Other changes in playing conditions announced by ICC

The ICC also announced some other changes to playing conditions. Referring to the position of the new batter at the crease in case of a catch, the game’s governing body said:

"When a batter is out Caught, the new batter will come in at the end the striker was, regardless of whether the batters crossed prior to the catch being taken."

The ICC also revealed that "an incoming batter will now be required to be ready to take strike within two minutes in Tests and ODIs, while the current threshold of 90 seconds in T20Is remains unchanged."

Also, if no part of the striker’s bat or person is within the pitch, “the umpire will call and signal dead ball."

Any ball that would force the batter to leave the pitch will also be called a "no ball". The ICC added:

"Any unfair and deliberate movement while the bowler is running in to bowl could now result in the umpire awarding five penalty runs to the batting side, in addition to a call of Dead ball."

Also, bowlers throwing the ball at the striker before delivery to try and get the batter run out will not be considered now. This practice will be called a “dead ball”.