New Zealand’s all-rounder Glenn Phillips caught applying saliva on ball against Bangladesh in 1st Test

New Zealand and Bangladesh are clashing against each other in the 1st Test of the 2-match Test series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet. The match was kicked off on November 28, however, on day 3 of the match, an incident took place which caught the attention of many fans. 

New Zealand’s star all-rounder Glenn Phillips, who has made himself a regular player across all formats of the game for the Blackcaps, was caught applying saliva on the ball during Bangladesh’s 2nd innings on day 3. The act is against the rule of the game and it took place during the 34th over but surprisingly, the on-field umpire didn’t take any action against him.

What action will the officials take on Phillips?

Players can’t apply saliva on the ball which they were allowed to do before 2020. However, after the arrival of the deadly COVID-19 virus, players were asked to not apply saliva, however, the rule continued and came into effect in October 2022.

“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.” Law 41.3 is quoted as saying by OneCricket.

It would be interesting what action the officials will take on Phillips after the conclusion of day 3. The last player who was penalised for applying saliva on the ball was Alishan Sharafu in the ODI game between Nepal and UAE. Nepal were given 5 penalty runs but we can expect more strict action against Phillips as he was spotted breaking the rules multiple times.