They have to try & be lenient: Mark Taylor on penalty for saliva usage

SYDNEY: Former Australia captain Mark Taylor feels there has to be a fair bit of leniency shown to players on the issue of saliva ban, which has been put forward by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The ICC recently introduced the system of issuing two warnings per innings to players found violating the saliva ban. Any further violation will result in a five-run penalty.

"They have to try and be lenient which I'm sure they will be but eventually one umpire is going to stick his neck out and say athat's a five run penalty'," Taylor told 'Channel 9'.

The 55-year-old fears that if bowlers are unable to effectively shine the ball, it can result in deliveries becoming too predictable for the batsmen in Test cricket. He also said that this can result in the higher totals which ultimately is not good for the longest format.

"I think it is a bit of a concern because I like, particularly in Test matches, to see the ball slightly dominate the bat, it is much better game when Test cricket is played that way," Taylor said.

"My concern will be that if the players can't shine the ball and the ball does get very straight and very predictable we are going to see more and more runs, more and more high scores in Test match cricket," Taylor said.

"And that is not the best Test match cricket. Test cricket is much better when the score is around 300," he added. IANS