The Australian ball manufacturing company Kookaburra is developing a wax applicator for ball-shining to avoid usage of sweat or saliva.
According to ESPNcricinfo, who recently reported that the ICC is considering to allow official ball-tampering or external substance to keep the ball shining post Coronavirus pandemic.
Now, the portal has reported that Kookaburra is trying to create a wax formula that can be applied using a pocket-sized sponge and then the ball can be polished and shined as it has always been done. It can be used as a substitute for saliva when cricket returns post COVID-19.
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Brett Elliott, the managing director of Kookaburra, told the PA news agency that the most effective mitigating action to avoid risk would be to introduce a temporary ban on the traditional shining method.”
“This could be immediately introduced, enabling cricket to resume as soon as it is safe. This could be available within a month. However, it has yet to be tested in a match condition as the ability to complete real trial matches at the moment is inhibited. It may not be something we need to make forever, it’s designed to get cricket back and give administrators time to make decisions. Nobody was calling out for this 12 months ago so maybe it is more of an interim measure.”
Bowlers across generations have expressed their concerns about the shine of the ball and how it can affect them. Ashish Nehra had told ESPNCricinfo that banning saliva would be equal to “murdering bowlers”.
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