Five-run penalty for saliva use, additional DRS review - ICC announces interim playing regulations

Replacements for COVID-19 and penalty runs for applying saliva to the ball were some of the decisions of the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee that were approved by the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) of the ICC on Tuesday (June 9).

In line with concussion replacements, the match referee has been given the power to approve the nearest like-for-like replacement for players displaying symptoms of COVID-19 during Tests. However, the replacements won’t be applicable in white-ball cricket.

Banning the use of saliva and its implications were something that was debated ever since it was announced by the Cricket Committee in May. However, the CEC has now put the onus on the umpires to manage this.

“If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning,” said the statement.

It was added that after a couple of warnings per innings, a five-run penalty will be levied on the fielding side. Moreover, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play can resume.

The CEC also permitted the appointment of local match officials and relaxed its ‘neutral officials’ rule keeping in mind the current logistical challenges with respect to international travel. However, they have to be from the ICC Elite Panel of Match Officials and the ICC International Panel of Match Officials.

An additional review per team per innings has also been increased, keeping in mind that there may be less experienced umpires on duty at times. So a team will have three reviews in each Test inning and two each in a T20I and an ODI inning.

Meanwhile, the CEC has also approved a relaxation of rules on apparel logos for the next 12 months, allowing a logo not exceeding 32 square inches in size to be placed on the chest of the Test match shirt and sweater in addition to the three other logos already allowed. This is on level with that in ODIs and T20Is.