England batsman Dominic Sibley on Sunday inadvertently broke ICC 'no-saliva' rule during the ongoing second Test against West Indies at the Old Trafford Cricket ground in Manchester. Sibley admitted to the mistake, as per Sky Sports commentary, and the umpires had to sanitise the ball immediately.
The incident happened before the start of the 42nd over, in the session before Lunch. Sibley and his teammates were quick to bring it to umpire's notice. The admission - in breach of the new interim regulation imposed by the ICC - will not incur a penalty. Repeating the mistake will, however, lead to a warning and eventually and potential five-run deduction from the fielding team.
Earlier in June, ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) ratified recommendations from the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee, aimed at reducing the risk amid the coronavirus concerns. One of the recommendations included the banning of the use of saliva to shine the ball.
According to the rule, "Players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball. If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning.
A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommences.
"Just pay attention. "He’s done the right thing - you’ve got to report yourself," said David Llyod on Sky Sports commentary. "It’s a bit like in golf, when you say 'I’ve just nudged the ball' and you’re going to get a penalty. You’ve got to have rules and regulations and he’s not messed up, he’s just forgot."
