Former Cricket South Africa captain turned commentator, Shaun Pollock feels that cricket can resume normally even with the use of saliva under bio-secure environment , as it won’t pose any COVID-19 threat.
He also reckoned that using the traditional practice to shine the ball will not pose any threat since teams will already serve the quarantine period and then playing in the bio-bubble would mean that no body would have the contagious virus with them.
“I think the environment that’ll end up being created is almost going to be like a bubble,” said former South Africa great during a Following On Cricket Podcast.
If no symptoms use of saliva won’t matter
The apex cricketing body had issued a set of advisories to resume the action, with ban on use of saliva during the global crisis, being the foremost one. But former South Africa all-rounder has a different opinion that using saliva in the bio-bubble won’t be a threat.
“People will get tested, they’ll go into a two-week camp where they’re just going to sit and monitor how the conditions of their bodies change,” Pollock added on the podcast.
“And if there are no symptoms, it doesn’t really matter about shining the ball then, because you’re in the bubble and no one you come into contact with will have coronavirus. So you can just get on with normal proceedings.”
West Indies tour of England to be played in bio-bubble
The West Indies Tour of England, which will see the resumption of international fixture post COVID-19, has been planned to be played under bio-secure environment but with no use of saliva to sign the ball.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), has chalked out a set of safety measures to resume international cricket by preventing the spread of contagious virus like limiting travel by picking venues with on-site hotels, mandatory 14-day quarantine for the visiting team and regular check-ups, among others.
“I’d presume that there’d be no crowds in place, every single environment they go into would be cleaned down and sprayed, and everything along those lines,” Shaun Pollock said backing up his point.
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