TIL Desk Sports/ The International Cricket Council asked an internal panel to suggest harsher punishment for ball-tampering and other misbehaviour by players in its bid to establish a “culture of respect”, chief executive Dave Richardson said.
The game’s image was sullied in Cape Town last month when Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera tampering with the ball during the third Test of the ill-tempered series against South Africa.
Bancroft, then captain Steve Smith and opener David Warner, were promptly sent home and handed hefty bans by Cricket Australia. Addressing a news conference after an ICC board meeting, Richardson said the punishments under its code of conduct for such misbehaviour are inadequate.
“We want to move towards stricter and heavier sanction for ball-tampering and all other offences that are indicative of a lack of respect for your opponent, for the game, for the umpire, for fans, for the media etc,” he told.
