Kumble hopes saliva ban will enhance role of spinners
CRICKET chief Anil Kumble hopes a ban on using saliva to shine the ball after the coronavirus shutdown could see a resurgence of spin bowling in Test cricket.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to order a temporary ban next week on using spit as part of measures to get the sport restarted.
Fast bowlers could struggle to swing the ball under the new rules, with Australian quick bowler Mitchell Starc saying the game could be come “boring” if batsmen dominate.
But Kumble, the former Indian Test captain and now chairman of the ICC cricket committee that recommended the ban, is hoping spinners could play a bigger part as a result.
“You can probably leave grass on the surface or even rough it up and have two spinners,” he told an online forum last Wednesday (3). “Let’s get spinners back in the game in a Test match. Because if it’s an ODI or T20 game, you’re not worried about the ball or shining it.”
The former leg-spinner said he would love to see “two spinners playing in Australia, two spinners playing in England, which never happens”.
And he said ground staff could create pitch conditions to favour spinners. “You can play around with the surface and bring about a balance between bat and ball,” he said.
“All of us are yearning to start the game and are not really worried about saliva or sweat – we just want to play cricket.”
Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah said last week there should be an alternative to saliva when cricket resumes, while fellow paceman Mohammed Shami said sweat was not a viable replacement.
Australian ball manufacturer Kookaburra is developing a wax applicator to shine the ball, but the ICC is reluctant to allow artificial aids. Kumble believes allowing an artificial substance on the ball would kill the creativity of the sport.
“We’ve been strict about substances that have been used on the ball,” he said.