Will coronavirus take the shine off one of cricket's great oddities?

The days of polishing the ball with spit and sweat look set to be over, and Kookaburra's wax applicator solution could give batsmen the edge

Teams will have to take a look at their ball-shining methods once cricket resumes. AFP

Whatever the standard of cricket being played, the red stripe emblazoned down the front or back of a bowlers’ trousers is worn like a badge of honour all summer long.

For the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins or Jofra Archer performing in the Test arena, the bright streak is inevitable during days spent in the field, and the hundreds of occasions that they plod back to the beginning of their long approach.

For children trying to emulate their heroes, it is a sign that they are serious about their game – and a claim that they know what they are doing.

During a match that is just 10 or 20 overs long, you’ll often see a 12-year-old frantically rubbing the ball in an effort to exercise that extra notch of non-existent swing that simply cannot be found from a 60kph ankle-grubber of a delivery.

And for the club cricketer, it is often a sign of the star bowler. Certainly in English conditions it is one of those nagging medium pacers who opens up from one end, and continues bowling unchanged, albeit off an ever-shortening run-up, to the conclusion of the innings, and will then lead his teammates off the field with closing figures of 23-7-45-5 or similar.

Meanwhile, those who turn up with the previous weekend’s red-stripe slacks are quickly the target for some typical sportsman banter: “Washing machine broken?”

Such trouser tales could however be a thing of the past thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the many strands of sporting life that is set for change is the cricketing oddity of rubbing the ball on one’s trousers. For those not in the know, it is done to make one side of the ball shiny so that it swings in the air as it approaches the batsman.

Spit is applied to the ball, or sweat during the months when it is warm enough to obtain, and then the rubbing begins.

The health concerns from cricket’s authorities, and players, is understandable during these times given the ever-rising death toll around the world.

Pakistan's Wahab Riaz wipes sweat on the ball. Andrew Couldridge / Reuters

As it stands, the decision-makers at the International Cricket Council are yet to make any concrete calls, although in Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)’s protocols for the return of sport in the country specifically rule out the use of saliva and spit to shine the ball.

A potential solution has arisen from Australian equipment manufacturer Kookaburra, which is developing a wax applicator that could minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission.

The innovation involves applying wax to the ball via a sponge – a move which would go against the current laws that prevent using artificial substances on the ball.

"This could be available within a month,” Kookaburra group managing director of the brand, Brett Elliott, told PA News recently. “However, it has yet to be tested in a match conditions as the ability to complete real trial matches at the moment is inhibited.

"It may not be something we need to make forever, it's designed to get cricket back and give administrators time to make decisions. Nobody was calling out for this 12 months ago so maybe it is more of an interim measure."

The ramifications on cricket could go well beyond not needing to urgently wash the cricket whites the night before a match.

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25 of the most beautiful cricket stadiums in the world

1). Cricket has been blessed with some truly beautiful venues, as this picture gallery will show. Picturesque stadiums are dotted across the globe, and we can add another name to the list. The Gwadar Cricket Stadium in Balochistan, Pakistan, has one of the most stunning backdrops in the world. Courtesy @falamb3

2) Queenstown, New Zealand. New Zealand could fill the top 10 of a list like this all on its own. The Queenstown Events Centre is a prosaic name for an extraordinary venue in the country’s south, which has the Remarkables mountain range as its backdrop.

3) Dharamshala, India. India will see New Zealand’s Remarkables, and raise them the Dhauladhar mountains, which are part of the Himalayas. Has there ever been a more spectacular setting for a major ICC tournament? The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium hosted matches at the 2016 World T20.

4) Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. From one side of the Himalayas to another. Nepal’s international cricket ground is built halfway up a hill that leads from the road from Kirtipur to Kathmandu at the bottom, to the campus of the country’s largest university at the top. When Sandeep Lamichhane and Co are in action, thousands throng the banks inside the grounds walls, while many others find canny vantage points outside.

5) Lord’s, London. OK, so it doesn’t back on to the Himalayas or the Remarkables. But, still, cricket grounds don’t come any more handsome. The Grade II* listed Pavilion must surely be the best-known structure in the sport. It is undergoing refurbishment at the Nursery End, so will have a slightly different look next time we see it.

6) Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand. Unquestionably beautiful, and more than a little quirky, given the way the viewing areas are cut away from the hills to the sides of the ground. And just sneaks into this list on account of the one ODI it staged, between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the 1992 World Cup.

7) Pallekele, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka might be the closest rival to New Zealand in a list of the loveliest international venues. Pallekele International Stadium, 7kms from Muttiah Muralitharan’s home town of Kundesale, was built – by an Emirati businessman, incidentally – among the hills of the Kandy plateau.

8) Newlands, South Africa. It is not clear which is the most photographed ground in word cricket, but this one must be up there. There are few more striking sights at any venue than when the Tablecloth rolls in over the mountain behind.

9) Al Amerat, Oman. Oman’s first turf grounds staged ODI cricket for the first time in January, when UAE played there in Cricket World Cup League Two. The Oman Cricket Academy grounds are surrounded by the Western Al Hajar mountains. And they’re gorgeous.

10) Galle, Sri Lanka. A six-hit from the Indian Ocean, Galle International Stadium is a perennial favourite for almost everyone – apart from bowlers, perhaps. The view back towards the old fort is among the most celebrated on the international circuit.

11) Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. International cricket does not make it here quite so often since what was then the Bombay Cricket Association decided to build the Wankhede Stadium half a mile up the road instead. But maybe only Lord’s reeks more of historic splendour than the Cricket Club of India’s ground.

12) National Cricket Stadium, Grenada. Refitted in time for the 2007 World Cup, the Spice Isle’s National Cricket Stadium is situated just along the coast from Grand Anse Beach. It is walled on three sides by lush green hills, and on the other is the Caribbean Sea.

13) Adelaide Oval, Australia. Many Australian grounds have supplanted former charm with unsympathetic new-build stands. The benches may have gone, but the Adelaide Oval still retains most of its allure.

14) Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Arguably the most eye-catching of international cricket’s modern structures. On the approach to the ground, it looks as though the Starship Enterprise has landed in the desert. The state-of-the-art grandstand contrasts with the pleasantly old-fashioned grass banks square of the wicket.

15) Quetta, Pakistan. Pakistan suffers in a list like this for the fact most of its international grounds are city centred, and generally have unspectacular views. Extend the criteria to domestic grounds, and Abbottabad would be a shoo-in. Quetta’s Bugti Stadium, which staged ODI cricket in 1996, is scenic – even when not dressed in snow.

16) Singapore Cricket Club. This just goes to show that city-centre grounds can be spectacular, provided the city centre is spectacular. The historic Padang hosted an ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996.

17) Scarborough, England. Out of commission as an international venue since the late 1970s, and unlikely to return to the roster any time soon. No harm in remaining a charming little secret, though. North Marine Drive hosts county matches for Yorkshire.

18) Basin Reserve, Wellington. It is stationed on a roundabout, and has a public footpath running through it, which does not exactly sound too special. But the older and smaller of the two international venues in New Zealand’s capital is a classic.

19) Sylhet, Bangladesh. On one side of the ground, Sylhet International Stadium is accessible only via a tramp through jungle. Built just outside of town, in the tea-producing area of Bangladesh’s north-east, it has a different feel to many of the country’s other utilitarian stadiums. UAE played there in the 2014 World T20.

20) The Grange, Edinburgh. Lined by sandstone houses that are characteristic of Edinburgh, and with a distinctive pavilion, the Grange hosted matches at the 1999 World Cup – and more recently, Scotland’s win over England in 2018.

21) Daren Sammy National Stadium, St Lucia. Built to host matches at the 2007 World Cup, it was later renamed to honour the country’s greatest cricketer. Inland from the coast, but surrounded by verdant hills pockmarked with houses.

22) Sydney Cricket Ground. Much of its previous character has been chipped away with the new, practical stands, but its two most notable landmarks – the Ladies Pavilion and the adjacent Members Pavilion - remain.

23) Chester-le-Street, England. The Riverside Ground is in view of Lumley Castle. Which wins it extra points for style, given that was where Shane Watson and a number of other Australia players were spooked by the ghost of Lily of Lumley in 2005.

24) Nelson, New Zealand. The Saxton Oval, where the UAE played their first World Cup match in 19 years in 2005, was half the world away – literally and figuratively – from what the national team players were used to. From Sharjah, they had been transported to the green and pleasant land of the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island.

25) The Wanderers, Johannesburg. South Africa’s biggest cricket ground by capacity. It might lack the natural splendour of Newlands, but it still has plenty of architectural character.

26) Kensington Oval, Barbados. The atmosphere may be entirely different to what it once was, but it retains a unique feel. The Garfield Sobers Pavilion remains its most endearing feature.

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Administrators will be pondering rulings such as how much wax can be used, how many times it can be applied, who applies it and whether the amount differs depending on the format of the match?

Then there is the potential effect on the behaviour of the ball to consider.

Would it swing more with the aid of an artificial substance? Or would it nullify the threat of the game’s great swing bowlers such as James Anderson. How will reverse swing function as the ball gets older?

It could be a leveller for bowlers who have suffered so much in modern times against batsmen using ever-bigger and more powerful bats.

But, should the ball swing more, would the achievements of the wax-era bowlers then be diluted compared to their predecessors? Another 100 Test match wickets from Anderson may be felt as an easy ride and in turn raise the admiration of pre-wax swingers such as Wasim Akram.

It is an argument along the lines of the pre and post covered pitches periods – and one that will hopefully only be short-lived.

Australia’s Cummins has already voiced his concerns at the prospect of playing without any form of shining.

“Why everyone loves Test cricket is because it has so much art to it. You have swing bowlers, spinners, you have all these different aspects that make test cricket what it is,” he said in an interview with his IPL team, the Kolkata Knight Riders.

“I think if you can’t shine the ball, that takes away swing bowling, that takes away reverse swing bowling and I just don’t want to give batsmen another reason to score runs.”

Pat Cummins with his cows while in isolation at his property in Southern Highlands, Australia. Getty Images

Cricket, though, has shown it is able to move with the times. The days of buckle-up pads and umpires trusted to make the final decision out in the middle are fading memories. Technology has moved in both on and off the pitch.

But aside from concerns over the appeal of the Test format, it has and continues to evolve to provide entertainment.

If it means that people around the world can get back out and play the sport, then a period of less or extra swing will be a minor compromise.

“Can I have the wax please, umpire?”