Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan has urged the ICC to focus on producing more bowling-friendly surfaces now that the practice of using saliva to shine the ball is to be shelved. Pathan, one of the finest swing bowlers produced by India called saliva ban a “major handicap for pacers” and reckons good, lively pitches are the only way through which fast bowlers can stay relevant in the game.
“You will to have make sure that pitches are more suitable to the bowlers than batsmen to negate the advantage (of not being able use saliva). If you are not able to shine the ball properly, you will not be able to cut the air because of scientific reasons,” Pathan told PTI.
“And if you are not able to swing it, the batsman will have it easy because nobody fears just pace, it is the combination of pace and swing that troubles them.”
“It (ban) will affect bowlers a lot in Test matches. It won’t be an issue in white-ball cricket as the bowlers anyway don’t shine the ball after the first few overs, they want to make it soft (to make strokeplay tougher for the batsman),” Pathan explained.
As far as pitches are prepared, Pathan cautioned that producing a green surface may not be enough. Besides grass of the deck, the former left-arm quick batted for pitches that comprise a bit of moisture, such as those in England and Australia.
“If you look at England and Australia, there is not much grass but there is moisture and it helps bowlers,” he expressed. “You need to make sure that something happens for the bowler. If not through the ball, then through the conditions. If the conditions are helpful for bowlers they don’t look for reverse swing, they go for conventional swing.
