ICC makes ban on saliva permanent

A temporary ban on using saliva to shine cricket balls was on Tuesday made permanent by the International Cricket Council.

And the running out of the non-striker will no longer be classed under ‘unfair play’ after a raft of rule changes from October 1 were endorsed by a meeting of the ICC chief executives’ committee.

Next month’s T20 World Cup in Australia will be the first major tournament to be played under the new playing conditions.

The ICC said the ban on saliva to shine one side of the ball to help it swing through the air, brought in May 2020 as a temporary measure to prevent coronavirus transmission, would stay.

‘The ban on saliva use 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,’ an ICC statement said.