ICC’s decision to use sweat for ball shining is strange, opines Matthew Hayden
Mathew Hayden has opined that the ICC’s decision to use sweat ball shining is ‘strange’ since the usage of saliva is an integral part of the game and cannot be ruled out just like that. The ICC Cricket Committee, on Tuesday, has revealed its decision to allow sweat for ball shining purposes.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Cricket Council(ICC) Cricket Committee has had to resort to innovations given the unprecedented circumstances. One of these innovations includes looking for alternatives for the usage of saliva for ball shining. On Tuesday, the ICC Cricket Committee headed by Anil Kumble announced that they are going to allow the usage of sweat as there’s no way the virus could spread through sweat.
However, former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden didn’t seem to like the idea at all. According to Hayden, ball shining using saliva is an integral part of cricket and cannot be ruled out and he instead believes that players should be tested and ensure that they are virus free to negate the spread in the sport.
"I find the ICC's 'no saliva-yes sweat' decision strange. These are things which are integral to cricket and I don't know how it's going to change. The more sensible option is to test the players properly and ensure that they are Covid negative. If the players in action are virus free, they should be allowed to use both," Hayden told TOI from Brisbane on Tuesday.
The veteran batsman further added his opinion on cricket in front of empty stands. He believes that without the presence of fans cricket would be incomplete as it takes away the charm of the sport itself.
While he is fine with ICC's decision to have non-neutral umpires for bilateral series, the very idea of cricket without fans is something that Hayden is not too comfortable with. "Fans are the biggest stakeholders of the sport and cricket with empty galleries doesn't look good at all. It definitely takes away the charm of the sport," Hayden added.
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