Saliva ban made permanent as ICC announces changes to playing conditions

The game's governing body also changed running out of the non-striker by the bowler from the 'Unfair Play' section to the 'Run out' section.

The use of saliva to polish the ball was on September 20, 2022 banned permanently as the ICC announced a slew of changes to its Playing Conditions, which will come into effect on October 1.

The game's governing body also changed running out of the non-striker by the bowler from the 'Unfair Play' section to the 'Run out' section.

Also read: Saliva ban forces ball manufacturers to put on their thinking caps 

The changes were announced after the Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) ratified recommendations made by the ICC Cricket Committee, led by former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.

The ICC had earlier barred use of saliva to shine the ball in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Custodian of cricket laws, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in March had completely banned its application in its amendments to the 2022 code.

"This prohibition has been in place for over two years in international cricket as a Covid-related temporary measure and it is considered appropriate for the ban to be made permanent," the ICC said in a statement.

Regarding the position of the new batter at the crease when his teammate is caught, the ICC said: "When a batter is out Caught, the new batter will come in at the end the striker was, regardless of whether the batters crossed prior to the catch being taken." The game's governing body also said that "an incoming batter will now be required to be ready to take strike within two minutes in Tests and ODIs, while the current threshold of ninety seconds in T20Is remains unchanged."