By IANS,
Dubai : The International Cricket Council (ICC) said there was a feel-good factor about Test matches after the tie between India and England and has asked the umpires to crack down on on-field abuse and slow-over rates.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said he had written to all ICC match referees and umpires asking them to be “assertive and proactive” in dealing with such issues.
“Players, and especially captains, also bore a major responsibility to ensure the game was played in the right spirit and at the right pace.
“After the recent Test match in Chennai there is a real feel-good factor about the game, and rightly so,” Lorgat said.
“It’s great that the game is in the news for all the right reasons and I want that to carry on now. That is why I have written to all of the Emirates ICC match referees and umpires urging them to be assertive and proactive in dealing with slow over-rates and verbal abuse.”
He said that both problems have the potential to impact negatively on the way the game is perceived.
“We have seen that in the past and we must do all we can to ensure that does not happen in the future. Both issues need to be strongly managed and the ICC is now looking at options to encourage better over-rates and strengthen sanctions against offending teams.”
At the recent ICC Chief Executives’ Committee meeting, representatives of all the ten ICC Full Members agreed these were two significant issues for the game moving forward.
“Players, and especially captains, must also play their parts to make sure the game is played in a great spirit. I will look to them to fulfil those obligations over the coming weeks and months.