Mark Smit
10 December 2008
Johannesburg — WITH the three-Test series between SA and Australia now just eight days away - and recalling several unsavoury incidents during the last South African tour there - the CEs of the countries affiliated to the International Cricket Council (ICC) have sent out a clear warning.
They will be intensifying the war against spectators wanting to turn the series into a racial sideshow.
The last time SA toured Australia several players -- Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Justin Kemp and others -- complained about a variety of slurs hurled at them by spectators -- particularly in Perth, the city which is to host the first Test from December 17.
On Monday the CEs, after their meeting in Cape Town, said they had agreed the ICC should draft a separate antiracism code to run independently from the ICC code of conduct.
A draft code will be drawn up after the receipt of written comments and suggestions from all the ICC members.
This is a signal that the ICC wants to up the ante in its quest to force host unions to eradicate the growing problem of racial abuse from the stands.
At the meeting the Chief Executives' Council (CEC) was informed about proposed amendments to the code of conduct, specifically to do with levels three and four charges being referred to an independent, legally qualified adjudicator.
The last Indian tour of Australia was almost submerged under the torrent of publicity given to alleged racial exchanges on the field between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds. This had a sequel at the meeting where the CEC expressed the feeling that a stronger stance should be taken against players guilty of verbal abuse. This goes to the heart of an issue facing every team that tours Australia -- sledging.
While players have tended to use every euphemism in the book to defend on-field sledging -- calling it things such as "a bit of banter", "normal competitiveness" or "just a bit of aggro" -- there is a growing feeling among administrators that this practice is leading to frayed tempers, which in turn lead to outbursts that bring the game into disrepute.
Sport in general has adopted an increasingly high-profile stance against racism in the past few years after several complaints in soccer from players of colour alleging abuse in the form of monkey noises made by spectators around the world.
Cricket will join the rest of the sporting world in the fight against drug abuse -- a phenomenon that has not really affected cricket yet -- by agreeing to have World Anti-Doping Association -compliant codes by July 1 next year.
The CEC agreed that draft copies of each member's antidoping code must be with the ICC by March 1 to allow for any necessary amendments to be made by the required deadline.
Another problem , that of slow over rates, also received attention, with members calling for stronger action against teams bowling their overs too slowly in Tests and one-day internationals.
ICC management will review the relevant regulations with a view to encouraging better over rates and strengthening sanctions against offending teams.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting was the target of intense criticism from media in his own country for putting his spin bowlers on to catch up on his over rate during the final Test against India. He did it at a time when most believed persisting with his pace attack could have won Australia the game. Repeated infringements in this area can lead to match-bans for captains.
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