Covid-19: Australian Cricketer Suspended by Team for Application of Sanitizer on Ball

Veteran Australian seamer Mitch Claydon has been suspended by his English county Sussex after being placed under investigation for allegedly applying hand sanitiser to the ball. A case against the 37-year-old was opened by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following a match against Middlesex last month in which he took three wickets.

"Mitch Claydon is suspended pending the outcome of an ECB allegation of placing hand sanitiser on the ball in our match against Middlesex. There will be no further comment at this stage," said Sussex on their website.

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Under strict health protocols in cricket following the COVID-19 crisis, players are banned from using saliva to shine the ball. Claydon will not be part of the 14-man Sussex squad for their next Bob Willis Trophy match against Surrey.

Meanwhile, English county cricket side Yorkshire launched a formal investigation after one of its former players claimed institutional racism at the club left him close to taking his own life. Azeem Rafiq, a former England under-19 captain, said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo that he was made to feel, as a Muslim, like an outsider during his time at Yorkshire. I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire, he said.

Do I think there is institutional racism? Its at its peak in my opinion, Rafiq added. Its worse than its ever been.

The 29-year-old Rafiq played for Yorkshire from 2009-17, and became its youngest ever captain when he led the team in a Twenty20 fixture in 2012. He is not currently working in cricket.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton said the allegations were hugely concerning to everyone from the board to the playing staff and were being taken very seriously.

On Monday this week, the club took the decision to launch a formal investigation into the specific allegations made by Azeem Rafiq, and a wider review of YCCCs policies and culture, Hutton said. “We are in the process of finalising the structure of this investigation and we will be approaching impartial external parties to be part of the review to ensure complete transparency.”