Players' abusive behaviour is orchestrated, says Kumble

Stricter punishment for offensive behaviour on the field, apparel checks and retention of toss were some of the recommendations made by the ICC cricket committee at a two-day meeting in Mumbai, which was chaired by former India captain Anil Kumble. It was also decided that ball-tampering should be made a Level 3 offence.

These and other recommendations by the committee will now be taken up at the ICC annual conference in June. The Kumble-led committee also mooted checks on taped hands by umpires, if deemed necessary, as is done in other sports like rugby. Though there have been calls by former cricketers like Ricky Ponting and Michael Holding to do away with toss in Test cricket, the committee decided to retain the age-old tradition.

After the meeting, in an exclusive interaction with THE WEEK, Kumble emphasised on “orchestrated player behaviour” and need to check, control and punish it. Also, he said how the committee wanted individual cricket boards, too, be penalised and not just the players for any major infringement on the code of conduct.

The cricket committee consists of former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, New Zealand national coach Mike Hesson, full member representative David White, former Australian international cricketer Belinda Clarke, former South African skipper and all-rounder Shaun Pollock, umpire Richard Kettleborough, ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle and MCC representative John Stephenson. Former Australian opener David Boon and former England skipper Mike Gatting were present as special invitees.

Excerpts from the interview:

What are the committee's key recommendations on player behaviour and ball-tampering in the aftermath of the eventful Australia-South Africa Test?

It was good that Mike Gatting and David Boon had come down as invitees, because we wanted players outside of cricket committee to give their inputs. We have recommended strengthening the match referees and on-field umpires more, by raising the level of offence and the sanctions on ball-tampering, and personal insult or orchestrated abuse. We also believe that abuse or behaviour is orchestrated.

But isn't it a subjective thing?

It is, but that is why umpires need to be subjective, right? At the end of the day, they are closer to the action. It's always been a contest between the bowler and the batsman. You don't want a point fielder, cover fielder, mid-off fielder or square-leg fielder to get into the act.

And what we also believe is that it stems, sometimes, from the start of the tour. It's important that, as a host team, you need to give proper facilities to the visiting team, particularly, the practice areas, warm-up matches and logistical arrangements. When you look at winning at any cost, all these factors get ignored and the on-field behaviour of the players sometimes get affected by it.

It's also about greater accountability of the cricket boards. It's not just about the players. Invariably, when such issues happen, focus is on the player, but I think greater accountability should be there on the support group around the players and also with the board. That's something we have emphasised as a group.

Does the committee feel that player behaviour has deteriorated considerably over the years?

No, it's not that it has deteriorated but the general consensus was that we need to be serious about the way we deal with certain situations. The only way to negate or control these situations from not reoccurring is to be stricter and give officials more support. There is a code of conduct for all of that but the support group, boards... they should also be taken into account.

How did the committee approach the issue of ball-tampering?

The ICC can give certain sanctions and respective boards need to do their bit. The sanctions are there already but the recommendation is to make it a Level 3 offence. It needs to be looked at seriously by the ICC, boards and team managements.

Member boards need to take responsibility of their players. There is lot more scrutiny now on all this and the only way to possibly curtail it is to have the umpires scrutinise it more. We are recommending tapes in hand to be looked at just like in rugby, and apparel checks by umpires if they need to.

How does one look at the whole issue of swing or reverse swing?

You don't use an external object to tamper with ball. Shining is fine, natural wear and tear of ball is fine. That is something umpires will monitor. They will scrutinise the apparel and what the players are carrying.

What was the committee's view on pitches being doctored or tampered with?

There are already sanctions in place but the fourth umpire needs to be more watchful when it is being swept, or when lines are being drawn.

Does the demerit point system stay as it is or has the committee recommended a change?

The demerit point system stays but we have suggested to the ICC that it needs to be communicated to the larger public. Suddenly, somebody crosses eight demerit points, with the last one being for a small offence and he is out of the game due to the cumulative demerit points. That's something that needs to be communicated well to the players.

Was the broadcasters role in hyping up incidents or vice versa discussed?

That is something the cricket committee cannot make any recommendations on. It's up to the local board or the match referee in that situation. We cannot control what should be shown or not. It's not in our purview.