England Test captain Joe Root believes that the ban on usage of saliva will not make much of a difference in English conditions.
Notably, England are all set to face West Indies in a three-match Test series starting 8 July in a cricketing competition that will mark the resumption of sport after the coronavirus enforced break.
“Don’t think it would change too much in England,” said Root on Sony Ten Pit Stop which was aired on the network’s Facebook page. (via IANS)
“It depends on the conditions. There has not been too much cricket played so the squares and the outfield will be really lush so the damage to the Duke ball really doesn’t take effect until the 40th or 50th over if that is the case so there should be enough swing. They normally stay hard longer than the Kookaburra or the SG balls.
“So I can’t see it having as much of an impact especially at the start of the summer. Ultimately it’s going to be the same for both sides and it has to be managed by both teams.”
“There is no saliva for a reason — it is to keep everyone safe and it might play towards the batsman’s advantage slightly but it is going to be the same for both sides,” he said.
“I suppose it is about how skillful can you be at using different things, whether it be getting lateral movement off the seam, the spinners come into play a little bit more.
“Or whether to find different ways of getting wickets whether it be by creating pressure and forcing batsmen to mistakes. There are lots of ways of thinking about it and we will be exploring leading into the game.”
Root stated that the fast bowlers are practicing in the nets without using saliva but they would get to know the real effects only when matches are played.
“The guys are actually practicing really hard without saliva, seeing how it plays out and whether there is any deterioration. But we will really know only when we start playing the matches. It might be different in different grounds or have a bigger effect in the second innings,” he said.