Watch: Joe Root Shines Ball On Jack Leach's Head. Pakistan Cricket Board Says 'Ingenious'

Since the usage of saliva has been banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), cricketers have only been able to use their sweat to shine the cricket ball. Palm and foreheads have been the best body parts for players to apply sweat on the ball. During the Day 3 of the 1st Test between Pakistan and England, however, Joe Root found another great source of sweat for England. That source was spinner Jack Leach's head. The video of the incident has now gone viral.

Leach, who doesn't have the best hair density on the head, was found standing still as Root rubbed the cricket ball all over his head, looking to get hold of every drop of sweat. The visual, however, turned out to be an amusing affair, leaving cricket fans in splits. Here's the video:

"Absolutely ingenious!"

Root finds a unique way of shining the ball with the help of Leach #PAKvENG | #UKSePK pic.twitter.com/mYkmfI0lhK

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 3, 2022

"It's classic. It's ingenious, it's absolutely ingenious, because you are no longer allowed to use saliva. Tests have apparently proven that sweat is much more effective in shining the ball than saliva - a relic of the Covid days. But I never thought of using that particular scalp as a way of sourcing the shine," said David commentator Gower in between as he struggled to control his laughter.

As for the match, Pakistan came close to England's first innings total of 657 runs. In reply, Babar Azam's men are on 499/7 at the end of third day's play, with the skipper himself being the top-scoring player for the team.

England would be happy to dismiss the remaining three Pakistani batters in the first session on Day 4 and build on their lead in the remainder of the day.

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Jack Leach Joe Root Cricket