In the ongoing second Test between England and West Indies at the Old Trafford, umpires had to disinfect the ball after Dom Sibley accidentally put saliva on the ball before the end of first session on Sunday.
Bess at the top of his mark, preparing to bowl the penultimate over of the session, the on-field umpires, Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth came together to examine the ball after Sibley himself had admitted to the accidental use of saliva to polish the ball.
Gough pulls out a disinfectant wipe from his pocket and rubbed down the shiny side of the ball prior to handing it back to Bess.
As a precautionary measure against the coronavirus, the apex cricketing body has decided to ban using saliva to shine the cricket ball and this decision has attracted polarising opinions.
According to new ICC guidelines, 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.
( With inputs from ANI )
