Use of saliva won't be risky once players are in a bubble, reckons Shaun Pollock

International cricket is all set to resume in England from July 8 with the three-match Test series against the West Indies. The ICC has released the guidelines which the teams will have to adhere and one among those is the ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball. The step has been taken in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak across the world and now, only sweat can be used to shine the red cherry.

However, former South Africa cricketer Shaun Pollock reckons using saliva won’t pose any risk to the players once they are in a bio-secure environment. As for the West Indies team, they are set to embark on the England tour on June 9 and then the cricketers will be quarantined for 14 days according to the rules.

According to Pollock, if there are no COVID-19 symptoms among the players, then they are anyways going to be in a safe environment and there will be no contact with the outside world. “I think the environment that’ll end up being created is almost going to be like a bubble. 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.

“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,” he said in ‘Following on Cricket podcast’.

Shaun Pollock feels Australia is the safest place for T20 WC to take place

The ECB has followed all the guidelines stated by England’s government and has chalked out a plan to go ahead with its international home season. Shaun Pollock feels that with matches being played behind closed doors and all the care being taken, there shouldn’t be much of a problem for the players.

“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,” he added. The 46-year-old also opined that the T20 World Cup can take place in Australia as it is one of the safest countries to create a bio-secure bubble. “I think Australia is probably in the best scenario to create a little bit of a vacuum or bubble where maybe things can happen,” Pollock further said.