Matthew Hayden disapproves ICC’s decision of allowing sweat over saliva

Matthew Hayden disapproves ICC’s decision of allowing sweat: The former Australian cricketer has spoken against making changes to integral elements of cricket.

Former Australia batsman Matthew Hayden believes that the ICC T20 World Cup is highly unlikely to be played in Australia this year.

Speaking in an interview with The Times of India, Hayden pointed out travel-related reasons being the biggest hindrance especially with respect to overseas fans travelling to Australia for the World Cup.

“I think the T20 World Cup in Australia this year is highly unlikely. Though the widely-followed rugby league is starting next week here, I will be surprised if the T20 World Cup goes on without travelling fans, more so because it’s a global event,” Hayden was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Furthermore, Hayden also opined about the disadvantage of playing matches behind closed doors. “Fans are the biggest stakeholders of the sport and cricket with empty galleries doesn’t look good at all. It definitely takes away the charm of the sport,” Hayden said.

Most recently, Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, fast bowler Pat Cummins and batsman Usman Khawaja, veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh, Pakistan batsman Imam-ul-Haq and veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor have been vocal about playing top-level cricket without spectators.

Matthew Hayden disapproves ICC’s decision of allowing sweat over saliva

Hayden, 48, also expressed disagreement with ICC’s new development regarding not allowing saliva to shine the ball. Rather than tinkering with the integral elements of the game, the southpaw laid emphasis on ensuring participating players are not COVID-19 negative.

ALSO READ: Kookaburra comes up with cricket ball shine polish to replace use of saliva

“I find the ICC’s ‘no saliva-yes sweat’ decision strange. These are things which are integral to cricket and I don’t know how it’s going to change. The more sensible option is to test the players properly and ensure that they are Covid negative. If the players in action are virus free, they should be allowed to use both,” Hayden said.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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