Sports
Harsher punishment for breaching conduct code: ICC
Melbourne, Feb 7
Following the ongoing debate
as to what exactly separates legitimate aggression from verbal abuse,
the International Cricket Council (ICC) has warned that any player who
cross the divide can expect harsher sanctions during the coming World
Cup.
The game's powerbrokers are in the midst of a series of
pre-World Cup briefings with the 14 competing nations and one of the key
messages being imparted is that breaches of cricket's Code of Conduct
will be viewed dimly.
The International Cricket Council's
general manager, former Victorian Sheffield Shield batsman Geoff
Allardice, said Saturday that any player who oversteps that mark between
gamesmanship and intimidation would find themselves significantly
lighter in the pocket.
And possibly serving time on the
sidelines if the nature of the transgression is deemed to escalate
beyond the base level of mandated offences.
These 'Level Two'
offences include displays of serious on-field dissent and serious cases
of public criticism or inappropriate comments.
"The main message
is that the umpires over the last four months or so have been quite
strong in the way that they've been reporting players who step over the
line in the way that they conduct themselves to the umpire, or to their
opponents or to the game," Allardice was quoted as saying by Cricket
Australia (CA) website.
"For the (World Cup) tournament itself,
the umpires probably aren't going to do a lot different in terms of
reporting players but the penalties might be a touch higher than they
otherwise would be.
"A Level One offence you've only got the
option of fines and a majority of the incidents that occur in matches
are at that level, so it might be steeper fines. If players are reported
on a Level Two charges then suspension is an option.
"We don't
take the suspension of players lightly and there's not going to be an
over-reaction in that regard but I think if a player does step across
the line to that extent that warrants a suspension then I think the
referees will consider that."
The World Cup begins Feb 14 with
matches in Melbourne and Christchurch, with the final to be staged at
the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) March 29.