SYDNEY (APP) – The International Cricket Council has warned players they face possible suspension if they cross the line and misbehave at this month’s World Cup.
ICC chief David Richardson said match referees will be empowered to crack down on aggressive sledging, overzealous send-offs of dismissed batsmen or on-field altercations that could taint cricket’s global showpiece.
Richardson said players at the World Cup have been put on notice that the penalty for crossing the line will be “a little bit more serious or higher than before”. “The crackdown has already started,” Richardson told reporters on Tuesday. “First offence likely end up with a fine, which no player likes.”Repeat offence some players already sitting with some offences behind their name, will be punished with a suspension.
“We’re not expecting too much trouble. Hopefully, those who get a little bit excited on occasions will keep their calm.” Volatile Australia batsman David Warner is one player who faces a suspension should he fall foul of the umpires over the next six weeks of the World Cup.
Warner has been twice found guilty of code-of-conduct breaches this season; having exchanged words with India paceman Varun Aaron in the first Adelaide Test then demanded India’s Rohit Sharma “speak English” during a one-dayer in Melbourne.
