With no fans, hand sanitisers on boundary; cricket gets a new look

No fans allowed, no saliva on the ball and hand sanitisers on the boundary ropes.

Welcome to cricket during coronavirus as it's being played out in the Caribbean this week. Six teams are taking part in the Vincy T10 Premier League.

It is the first tournament to be staged in a Test-playing region since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.

At first it was hoped that spectators would be allowed to attend as the risk of infection was considered to be extremely low in a country with just 18 recorded cases.

"The St Vincent and Grenadines Cricket Association (SVGCA) would have preferred an option of a limited number of spectators, maybe 300 or 500 max in the stadium," admitted SVGCA president Kishore Shallow.

Local fans had hoped to see home star Sunil Ambris, one of six so-called "marquee players" in the tournament which runs until May 31.

Yes, I could understand the frustration, but similarly, I appreciate the preference of (the health authority) that they do not want to encourage social gatherings," added Shallow.

"At the end of the day, our safety and wellbeing are of paramount importance."

The tournament is also the first to take place with bowlers banned from applying saliva to the ball, a long-standing tool in helping achieve swing. The game's rulers are outlawing the practice as part of the battle against the spread of coronavirus.

Other safety measures see hand sanitisers situated on the boundary as well as temperature checks and unpires were wearing face masks.