Umpires disinfect ball after Dominic Sibley accidentally uses saliva

NEW DELHI: England opener Dominic Sibley became the first player to apply

saliva

on the ball while fielding against the West Indies during the fourth day of the second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday.


This is the first time that a player has applied saliva on the ball in international cricket since the new

Covid-19

rules were announced by the ICC.

However, Sibley, who had inadvertently used saliva to shine the ball, was quick to bring that to the umpire's notice.

Umpire Michael Gough then unsealed a sanitised tissue and rubbed the ball on both sides to disinfect the ball. But with players allowed some leeway, officials took no further action after cleaning the ball.

The incident happened after the 41st over of the West Indies' innings, two overs before lunch, but the good part was that the England team brought the incident to umpires’ notice.

According to the new rules, the bowling team will get a warning if saliva is used to shine the ball. If the team attempts the same more than twice, it will be given a five-run penalty.