Kolkata: The gentleman’s game is likely to become more ‘gentlemanly’ in the near future as the system of sending off players in case of a breach of behavioural or disciplinary conduct(which is an intrinsic part of football) is likely to become a part of cricket as well.
The MCC (Marlyebourne Cricket Club) World Cricket Committee met in Mumbai and arrived at the conclusion that an umpire can send off or remove a player, provided he breaches the discpline or threatens the umpire or other players.
Just like football,the system of yellow cards and red cards would be used. Yellow cards would be shown for minor issues while red cards would be shown for creating major problems on the field including threatening to assault the opposition players and so on. However each card shown, could also invite a penalty of five runs.
One of the great ambassadors of the game and one of Australia’s best captain, Ricky Ponting was also someone who did back down from a verbal duel on the field. Coincidentally, he had something to say on this, “We’re talking about a significant change to lower-level cricket because it has got completely out of hand down there. “The chairman of the committee, Mike Brearley and his colleagues too had similar views.
As per the reports by The Telegraph (UK), Fraser Stewart, the MCC’s head of laws had to say something on this issue, “It was felt that now was a good time to review this whole area and perhaps try and find leagues, competitions and schools willing to trial means that act as a deterrent.”
He also said, “Following a global consultation in 2015, the majority of umpires felt they would be better able to control player behaviour if they had more power to deal with the problem during the game, rather than through a reporting procedure afterwards.”
As per this new rule, a player can be suspended from the field for various reasons ranging from threatening an umpire, engaging in ugly spats with the other cricketers to physical assaults.This move has been adopted keeping the mind the decreasing standards of conduct and behaviour in cricket.This rule,if applied, will be a part of all cricket matches,ranging from domestic to international levels.
The MCC,is a body governing the laws and the spirit of the game and is formed by former cricketers.
Among other recommendations,the MCC has said that the width of the edge of the bat could be restricted to a maximum of 40 mm and the depth to be 67 mm. Also,the MCC has overturned an earlier rule that a batsman cannot be dismissed or stumped if the ball touches any part of the fielder’s helmet.
Moeen Ali and Tom Latham are among the two modern examples who are have survived as per the old rule. If the committee’s recommendations are followed, such incidents would now favour the bowlers.If all the above measures are approved,the new laws could come into effect from October,2017.
We all are very familiar with the on-field spats players have among themselves, which is also called sledging. As a matter of fact, modern day greats like, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Steve Smith, among many others are also known for being someone who give it back to their opponents, not only with the willow and ball in hand but also with their words.
There has been a lot of incidents of similar kind over the years.Who would forget the infamous incident when Javed Miandad threatening to hit Dennis Lillee with the bat.Or,the infamous, “Monkey gate” incident where Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds alleged that his Indian counterpart, Harbhajan Singh had racially abused him.
Also, the spat between Virat Kohli and Mitchell Johnson during a test match in Australia is a similar kind of an incident. There are a many many more happenings like this cricket today and it the application of such a measure would perhaps, help in uplifting the spirit of the gentleman’s game and reduce the rivalry between cricketers on-the-field, if not off it.