Soon, indulging in aggressive behaviour on the field will get you a red card suspension.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), also known as the custodian of laws governing the game, is likely to get recommendations from its world cricket committee, which will empower the umpires so that they can send-off any player in extreme cases of indiscipline. The rule will come into effect by October next year.
The MCC’s world cricket committee chairperson Mike Brearly and his colleague Ricky Ponting have reportedly made it clear that the system of red-card suspension on threatening an umpire or physically assaulting players or even spectators has been recommended in wake of increasing incidents.
Remember the altercation between Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan at Queen’s Park Oval 13 years ago? Or Kieron Pollard throwing his bat at Mitchell Starc during an IPL match at Wankhede Stadium in 2014? Or, the on-field duel between Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir and his Royal Challengers Bangalore counterpart Virat Kohli in IPL 2013? There have been instances where cricketers have been involved in ugly altercations during matches. In the present era of Twenty20 cricket where competition is intense, such incidents have become common.
In the present era of Twenty20 cricket where competition is intense, such incidents have become common. Apart from sporadic incidents at the professional level, the incidents of violence have been witnessed in recreational cricket.
An important thing to note is that the MCC’s world cricket committee comprises former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, under whom the team players were often accused of sledging the opposition players. In one such Ashes match, Ponting was seen arguing with umpire Aleem Dar after an appeal for caught behind was turned down.
We hope the cricketers will not lose their cool during matches and set a good example for youngsters to follow.
