The MCC have announced multiple changes to the Laws of Cricket – and there’s a couple of big ones to note.
The law introduced surrounding the use of saliva on the ball due to COVID has now become a permanent fixture, with players only allowed to use sweat to shine the ball moving forward.
The other big change is the Mankad, which has been moved from ‘unfair play’ to a legal run-out.
Law 41.3 – No saliva
When cricket resumed following the onset of Covid-19, playing conditions were written in most forms of the game stating that applying saliva to the ball was no longer permitted. MCC’s research found that this had little or no impact on the amount of swing the bowlers were getting. Players were using sweat to polish the ball, and this was equally effective.
The new Laws will not permit the use of saliva on the ball, which also removes any grey areas of fielders eating sugary sweets to alter their saliva to apply to the ball. Using saliva will be treated the same way as any other unfair methods of changing the condition of the ball.
