 ICC tells captains, Boards to stop sledging
23rd Mar 2008 23:01 IST
Agencies
India's recent acrimonious tour of Australia has prompted the International Cricket Council to send a note to captains of all international teams and all ICC Full Members asking them to curb sledging.
Stressing on the need to shun "obscene, offensive or insulting language", the note signed by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed and General Manager Dave Richardson pointed how it has become important to address the issue of sledging in the wake of India's ill-tempered series Down Under.
"Recent events and, in particular, the series between Australia and India have highlighted the issue of 'sledging'. We seek your support in learning lessons from these issues and moving forward in a positive way," the note read.
Confirming receiving the note, a BCCI source said, "The ICC has written a letter to all the 10 Test captains and CEOs of the 10 Full Member boards, besides 7 Match Referees and nine Elite Panel umpires."
"Copies have also been sent to some other people and the letter stresses that it is necessary to adhere to the spirit of the game. It says the captain, as well as the team, should be responsible to ensure that the game is played in the true spirit and curbing sledging is the responsibility of the captain," the Board source said.
The letter pointed out that several controversial incidents stemmed from use of language or gestures "which are considered obscene, offensive or insulting."
India's tour of Australia reached the boiling point in the Sydney Test where Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Andrew Symonds, an issue that snowballed into a huge crisis and India threatened to pull out of the series.
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