England vs West Indies cricket: Umpires disinfect ball after star’s saliva mistake

Cricket is a strange game amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the umpires had to step in after an England star’s accidental hygiene slip-up.

Shining the ball is very different in 2020.

England has a fight on its hands as it looks to level the Test series against the West Indies, needing to take 10 wickets on day five, currently leading by 219 runs.

England’s best hope of victory in the second Test — with time lost to Saturday’s washout — was to dismiss West Indies for less than 270, but the hosts were frustrated for a large part of the day by a determined batting display from the visitors until a late collapse.

Half centuries for Kraigg Brathwaite (75), Shamarh Brooks (68) and Roston Chase (51) helped take West Indies to 4/242, and within 28 of their target, only for England to claim 4/18 with the help of the second new ball.

West Indies ultimately managed to nudge their way to 287, to make England bat again, and the home side sent in the big-hitters of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to open its second innings, in pursuit of quick runs before getting back to bowling on day five.

The plan didn’t quite pay off, with Buttler (0) and Zak Crawley (10) both clean bowled by Kemar Roach (2/14). England closed the day at 2/37, Stokes 16 not out, as it targets an early declaration on day five.

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England stuck to its task with the ball throughout the day, though was a little wasteful in the field early on, with Stokes dropping Alzarri Joseph on 19 and Dom Sibley missing a chance to run out the nightwatchman shortly after.

Sibley was in the thick of things again when he admitted to accidentally using saliva to shine the ball, forcing the umpires to disinfect the six-stitcher.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are not allowed to use saliva on the ball as they normally would. They receive two warnings before copping a five-run penalty for a third such infringement.

Umpires Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth sanitise the ball after the mistake.

It was the introduction of Dom Bess (1/67) that brought the breakthrough as Joseph flicked the off-spinner to square leg, where Ollie Pope claimed a sharp catch.

Brathwaite and Shai Hope, as they have a history of doing against England, then thwarted the bowlers’ efforts in a strong partnership past lunch.

It was Sam Curran (2/70) who broke the stand with a lovely little off-cutter to Hope that just held its line and drew the edge behind to Buttler.

But again, the flurry of wickets England was desperate for wasn’t forthcoming, with Brooks, in particular, playing beautifully for just his second Test fifty.

As is so often the case when England is looking for answers out on the field, Stokes was the provider. Bowling a long spell, with a clear tactic to bowl short from round the wicket, he drew a false shot from Brathwaite, swallowing a simple return catch off a leading edge.

And, after tea, with the arrival of the second new ball, England finally ran through the West Indies, Stuart Broad (3/66) producing one of those devastating spells he is so famous for, claiming three wickets in consecutive overs.

Brooks and Shane Dowrich were both pinned in front of their stumps while, in between, Jermaine Blackwood lost his with one that kept low — the latter two both gone without troubling the scorers.

Stuart Broad produced a magnificent spell with the second new ball.

When Chris Woakes (3/42) dismissed Windies skipper Jason Holder (2), steering to slip, his side was suddenly in trouble, still 10 runs shy of the follow-on target and with only two wickets to play.

Those two wickets went to Woakes but, crucially, 27 runs later as he dismissed Chase LBW, shortly after bringing up his half century, and bowled Shannon Gabriel with a slower bowl in the same over.

England’s ambitious plan of sending Buttler and Stokes out for a T20-style slog in the final eight overs of the day didn’t quite come off, with Roach producing a stellar opening spell to swiftly send two batsmen packing.

Buttler was undone by a perfect yorker just four balls into the innings, while Crawley’s stumps were also clattered with a length ball that beat the batsman’s expansive drive down the ground.

This article first appeared on Sky Sports and was reproduced with permission