• Proteas speedster Lungi Ngidi has revealed that the national team's bowling group is already wary of the implications of the ICC banning the use of saliva for shining the ball during matches.
• The world governing body has banned the practice as a measure to improve on-field safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Shabnim Ismail, kingpin of the national women's team's attack, says the new rule creates a 'difficult situation', not only in terms of her bowling arsenal, but also changing the habits of designated 'ball-shiners'. 
• Even Tabraiz Shamsi, a spinner, bemoans the current situation as the tweakers use saliva for gripping the ball better.
• Ngidi hopes the adjustment is made easier by the fact that SA's planned assignments are currently in white-ball formats.

Lungi Ngidi admits the ICC's ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball has already prompted the Proteas bowlers groan in protest on the national team's WhatsApp group.

"It's definitely something we're thinking about," said the 24-year-old quick, who was named SA Men's ODI and T20 Cricketer-of-the-Year at CSA's annual awards ceremony last weekend.

"A few of the boys have complained. When the news was confirmed, a few batsmen on the group bragged that they're now going to be driving on the up. Obviously that's a bit of banter, but it does show the possible mentality of the batters. We now have to find a way to counter (their newfound confidence)."

The world governing body last month announced the new regulation in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to improve on-field safety.

The virus is predominantly spread by air droplets.

Various critics, notably out of Australia, have responded by arguing the rule is overly cautious and disrupts the already wobbly balance between bat and ball further.

Saliva is used to shine the ball and help bowlers achieve swing.

"We've got to find a game-plan to make the ball swing somehow. A damp towel might not be the best idea, but we need ideas and we need them quite quickly," said Ngidi.

Shabnim Ismail, the Proteas women's bowling kingpin, agrees that adapting will be a challenge.

"It is of course something to be worried about on top how we deal with not being able to practice our bowling at the moment," she said.

"Shining the ball is important, we want some initial conventional and reverse swing in the 50-over format. There are one or two players normally who are tasked with shining the ball, but going back now is going to be difficult for us because that's not going to happen anymore.

"It's a difficult situation."

Even Tabraiz Shamsi, the Proteas' frontline spinner in the one-day formats and a man who would actually prefer the ball to deteriorate as quickly as possible, is concerned over the adjustment.

"It's going to take a lot of time to adjust. We've started training last week and it's been a change for me personally. As a spin bowler, I found it's really hard to grip the ball because we normally use a bit of saliva to get some grip, especially as a leg-spin bowler. We've all done this (saliva on the ball) for 20, 30 years of our lives... that's the way we've always played cricket and bowled. I've found without that (saliva), the ball literally slips out of your hands and you don't get grip on the seam," he told Sport24.

"For me personally, I'll be interested to find out what the ICC will implement in that sense, they might come up with a solution that aids with swing but as spinners, we need some grip. To try and find a new way completely, I don't know, I've given it some thought and I haven't come up with an alternative."

The ICC has asked umpires to be lenient with the players "during an initial period of adjustment" before a five-run penalty for repeated infringements are applied.

Ngidi believes the Proteas' process of getting used to the new rule will be assisted by the team only having one-day assignments tentatively scheduled for now.

"The first thing we're coming back to is white-ball cricket and I'm well aware that the ball only swings in the first three or four overs anyway. We'll take it from there. As a result, we haven't discussed anything in this regard."