Sweat, not saliva, will be permitted to shine the ball. Home umpires will replace neutral umpires. Every team will get an additional review per innings across formats. And there will be no Covid substitutes. These are the key recommendations finalised by the ICC cricket committee on Monday as cricket takes measures to return to the field in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anil Kumble, the head of the cricket committee, said the above recommendations were “interim measures” for cricket to resume safely. “We are living through extraordinary times and the recommendations the committee have made today are interim measures to enable us to safely resume cricket in a way that preserves the essence of our game whilst protecting everyone involved,” Kumble said in an ICC media release.
These recommendations would now be sent to the ICC board, which is scheduled to meet on May 28 through a virtual conference, and are likely to be ratified.
More to follow