Damp towel is the best thing: Lungi Ngidi on alternatives to shine the ball

South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi feels that a damp towel could be used as an alternative to shine the cricket ball as players have now been banned from using saliva.

South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi feels that a damp towel could be used as an alternative to shine the cricket ball as players have now been banned from using saliva. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already announced a temporary ban on applying saliva to the ball as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus.

With this, many former and current players are suggesting some alternative ways to maintain the balance between bat and ball. The lanky fast pacer said that bowlers have to find a new game plan to get the ball to swing as the cricketing action resumes amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

"Once they said there's no saliva, a few of the batsmen posted on the group that now they are going to be driving on the up so already we can see what type of mentality the batsmen are coming with so now we have to find a game plan to get the ball to swing," ESPNcricinfo quoted Ngidi as saying. "Probably a damp towel is the best thing but you've got to find something somehow, to shine it," he added.

Earlier, former England spinner Monty Panesar had backed the idea of using wax to shine the cricket ball after the use of saliva was banned. "You can have wax which can be used throughout the Test match, you could apply it on the ball to shine the ball, this will be a good option. Look, at the end of the day you cannot make the game too batsmen friendly because then it will be difficult for the bowlers to take wickets," Panesar had told ANI.

Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa has announced the 45-man training squad which will resume training, with most of those players also scheduled to participate in the 3 Team Cricket Solidarity Cup scheduled for Nelson Mandela International Day, July 18. These sessions will be in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Cricket South Africa's (CSA) COVID-19 Steering Committee and approved by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), an arm of the National Department of Health. (ANI)

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