Cricket
authorities are actively debating whether it is time for more stringent rulings
about on-field confrontations, amid concerns among some players that the
current ICC system is providing scant deterrent to those who visibly
"cross the line" in trying to press an advantage for their team.
Assurances
from David Richardson, the ICC's chief executive,
that umpires are being pressed to manage on-field behaviour more assertively
are part of a wider debate about clamping down on flash points during the
forthcoming World Cup.
It is reported that players from more than one international team have been told
in recent times by team leadership figures that "I don't care if someone
gets fined" in their efforts to push opposition players out of their
comfort zone, making a mockery of the usual punishment for abusive language and
other offences.
There are
worries that current interpretations of the ICC's code of conduct and penalties
for repeat offences do not serve up sufficient penalties for anything but the
very worst or most repeated of behaviours, and that "the line" of
what is acceptable is often crossed because the financial sanction creates
minimal pain for the transgressor - in contrast to the more severe cost of
"minor" over rate offences.
If bans
are sanctioned for over rate offences then it is begging the question why the
ICC's code of conduct, as constituted, means that bans occur so rarely for other
more serious misdemeanours.
This
week's events in Australia have highlighted this inconsistency, as David Warner was docked 50% of his match fee -
small change for one of Cricket Australia's highest-ranked contracted players -
for his confrontation with Rohit Sharma, while the captain George Bailey
was suspended from a match in Hobart for his team's tardy over rate.
The
Australian coach Darren Lehmann has been publicly outspoken in his insistence
that his men push things to the edge of what is acceptable, for it has become
Australia's cricket custom.
After the
Melbourne Test against India, in which the Australians had Virat Kohli offering
them up a couple of chances following a hyper aggressive period on the field
when Mitchell Johnson fired at the stumps and hit India's champion batsman in
the back, Lehmann was asked if they would temper their approach to him.
"Oh no, we haven't started yet," was his reply.
After
Warner's penalty on Sunday, Lehmann said: "If the ICC decide it's not in
the spirit of the game or we cross the line, they'll come down on us. We all
know that. So we've got to make sure: we're always going to teeter pretty close
to it, that's the way we play, but we've got to make sure we don't cross it.
David's an aggressive character and we support that. It's just making sure he
does the right things on the ground, and he knows that more than most. We'll
work with him with that."
While no
members of the team are believed to have a problem with Warner's barked request
that Rohit "speak English" after the pair had exchanged words in the
Australian batsman's native tongue at earlier times in that match and the
Border-Gavaskar series, it is broadly agreed that he should not have broken
stride to confront his Indian counterpart.
At worst,
it is felt he would have been better off expressing his annoyance that Rohit
had run after a return to Brad Haddin appeared to hit him with a few words
delivered as he walked past. Players, umpires, coaches and administrators are
all aware that, apart from extreme instances of vilification, occurrences of
intimidatory body language and appearances of confrontation on matches
broadcast worldwide are more significant transgressions than colourful
language.
According
to Cricket Australia, Warner will miss the Hobart ODI and stay in Sydney in
order to rest hamstring soreness, but he is fortunate not to have been suspended.
During the Adelaide Test in December, Warner, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were
found guilty of conduct contrary to the spirit of the game following a series
of confrontations when Australia batted.
The
fracas with Rohit was addressed under the same charge, and as a second level
one offence was bumped up to the equivalent of a level two. Luckily for Warner,
the match referee Andy Pycroft judged the case leniently, handing Warner the
minimum penalty applicable under the code.
It was
within Pycroft's right to fine Warner more heavily or even suspend him for up
to two ODI matches. As has been flagged ahead of next month's World Cup, there
is now a growing mood towards interpreting the ICC code more severely, a
decision that would leave the likes of Warner and others with far less room to
cross the line of acceptability, and make it far less likely that teams will
merely "cop the fine" for their sins and go on behaving in the same
way.
The ICC's
chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle will be reminding each side of their
on-field responsibilities, and stressing the importance of improved player
behaviour, to team leaders during the technical briefings that will take place
in the week before the start of next month's World Cup in Australia and New
Zealand.
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