Australian pacer suspended after applying hand sanitizer to ball
The incident took place during a Bob Willis Trophy match between Sussex and Middlesex last month.
Fast bowler Mitch Claydon has been suspended by English County Club Sussex for applying hand sanitizer on a cricket ball during a Bob Willis Trophy match against Middlesex last month. The 37-year-old Australian will thus no longer take part in Sussex’s next game against Surrey.
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“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,” Sussex said in an official statement.
The act was performed by Claydon during the first innings of the match where in which he picked up three wickets. Earlier this year, the ICC strictly banned the use of saliva as a component to shine the ball.
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Claydon is a veteran fast bowler having played 112 First-Class matches, 110 List-A games and 147 T20Is. He has 310 FC wickets including 11 five wicket-hauls and nine 10-fors. In List A and T20s, Claydon has 138 and 159 wickets respectively.
Sussex is the third County team Claydon has represented. He started off his County career with Yorkshire, spending a year at Leeds before switching to Durham, a team he played for between 2007 and 2012. He spent the next six season with Kent (2013 to 2019) before landing a deal with Sussex last year. Claydon was part of the Durham sides that won the County Championship in 2008, 2009 and 2013 and featured for Kent as they won promotion from division two in 2018.
South Africa’s David Wiese has been included in the squad and will be available for selection, along with 16-year-old James Coles and 19-year-old Ali Orr.
