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Cricket
ICC to act on player behaviour
By Malcolm Conn
MELBOURNE, DEC. 6. The International Cricket Council is considering a red card, yellow card player disciplinary system based on soccer in the hope of avoiding another crisis similar to that which threatened the current England tour of India. Chief Executive Malcolm Speed is working on a proposal for a four-tiered penalty structure to bring greater strength and consistency to the current adhoc system of match referee digression.
ICC president Malcolm Gray on Wednesday confirmed that player behaviour would be a priority at the next board meeting in March. It was discussed at some length during the previous meeting of leaders from the 10 Test-playing countries in Kuala Lumpur in October. ``There was a unanimous view expressing concerns that player behaviour had deteriorated over a long period of time,'' Gray said.
Following player concerns surrounding the confusion and inconsistency of match referees' decisions, the Australian Cricketers' Association put a detailed proposal to the Australian Cricket Board in May suggesting a three-tiered platform of sent penalties. The proposal was also put to the ICC through the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations.
It recommended a white card to give a warning for low level breaches, a yellow card which would trigger a two-hour send-off and a charge for repeat or more serious offences and a red card for the worst behaviour, which would result in a send- off for the entire match and further action.
The proposal also included demerit points so a player who committed a series of minor offences over a 12-month period would be automatically suspended once a certain number of points had been accumulated.
Brett Lee became the latest player to be punished under the current ICC code of conduct when he was fined the maximum for a first offence, 75 per cent of his match fee ($ 8250). The Australian fast bowler was found guilty of conduct unbecoming and using crude and abuse language and gestures after giving New Zealand tail ender Shane Bond a send-off during the recently draw third Test in Perth.
Lee's indiscretion raised the ire of captain Steve Waugh, who had pledged that his side would strive for high standards of conduct since Michael Slater went unpunished for arguing with an umpire and abusing an opposition batsman on the tour to India earlier this year.
``I was disappointed and he was disappointed in himself,'' Waugh said of Lee. ``It's something that we don't want. It wasn't called for and he knows he did something wrong. He's quite sorry that it happened and it won't happen again. We talked about it during the Ashes series, setting standards. He knows it was out of order.''
Lee, 25, is the first Australian to be punished by a match referee since Slater in March but his punishment was too little too late. Match referee Cammie Smith, a former West Indian opening batsman, failed to do anything more than give an unofficial warning to Slater.
However, when Slater told a Sydney radio station he had done nothing wrong Smith finally reacted, fining the opening batsman for commenting on a match referee's decision. This merely heightened the farce because Smith had not made a decision for Slater to comment on.
It was Smith's failure to adequately deal with Slater which proved the catalyst for the recent crisis that almost caused the cancellation of Englands' tour to India, highlighting the need for a major overhaul of the disciplinary system. In a bizarre sequence of events, India politicians, cricket officials and media reacted savagely when six Indian players were punished during last month's drawn second Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth.
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