Phillips seen applying saliva on ball, receives no penalty

New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips was shown using his saliva to shine the ball during the third day's play of the first Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand in Sylhet but didn't receive any penalty for his action.

The incident took place before the second ball of the 34th over of the Bangladesh innings when Phillips was bowling to Najmul Hossain Shanto with Mominul Haque at the non-striker's end.

Before delivering the ball, the off-spinner was seen on television applying saliva twice on the ball, which violates Law 41.3 of the game, where the use of saliva on cricket ball has been barred since October 1, 2022.

For breaking this law, the fielding team could be penalised five runs by the on-field umpires. However, the on-field umpire of the match - Ahsan Raza and Paul Reiffel - seemingly missed the incident as they didn't take any action.

After the day's play, Mominul, who made 40, also told the reporters that he too didn't see it happen during the match.

The Bangladesh team manager Nafees Iqbal said that he, on behalf of the team, has informed the fourth umpire of the incident.

Bangladesh ended the day's play on 212-3, leading by 205 runs.