Cricket might have a red card system soon. The MCC, custodians of the laws of the game, have come up with a radical proposal to bring greater on-field discipline and deter players from engaging in serious disciplinary breaches, mainly physical assaults.
The idea behind the move is to curb the increasing incidents of reckless behaviour at lower levels of the game, especially club cricket were umpires are being threatened with alarming regularity.
According to a survey conducted in lower leagues in England, nearly 40 per cent of umpires were considering giving up because of the abuse they had been receiving.
If the recommendations are accepted, they will be in force across all levels of the game from October next year.
While the purpose of this exercise is to bring some sanity to the proceedings in club cricket, it is not expected to be used a lot at the higher levels of the game.
However, there have been a few incredible incidents at the top level in the past which might have attracted a red card or two had the system been in place at the time.
Kicking up a strom: Miandad and Lillee lose their heads in Perth.
Here are a few of them.
Miandad and Lillee almost come to blows: The most famous incident involving physical contact between players in the field was the altercation between Pakistan’s Javed Miandad and Aussie pacer Dennis Lillee in the 1981 Perth Test.
Miandad tucked Lillee for a single and as he walked towards the non-striker’s end, somehow collided with the bowler who also turned into him. After that, tensions boiled over and Lillee kicked Miandad on his leg and the incensed batsman turned around, threatening to hit the bowler with the bat and was stopped by the umpire who came in between.
It is without doubt the most shameful behaviour by international players during a match.
Pollard flings his bat at Starc: The altercation between Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc during the 2014 IPL is another where players completely lost the plot.
During the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Starc gave Pollard a piece of his mind after beating him with a bouncer.
The next ball, Pollard pulled out of the delivery but Starc continued, following the retreating batsman and directing the ball at his legs.
The West Indies batsman lost his cool and wound up to throw his bat at the bowler. While he was probably only threatening to do so, the bat slipped out of Pollard’s hand and hit the pitch hard. Had the bat slipped out earlier, Starc would have been in the firing line.
After the match, Pollard lost 75 per cent of his match fee while Starc was penalised 50 per cent. Gambhir elbows Watson: India batsman Gautam Gambhir has been involved in many on-field altercations.
But the incident involving Australia’s Shane Watson in the 2008 Delhi Test takes the cake. Gambhir had a series of verbal clashes with Watson during the first day of the Test and things took a turn for the worse when going for a second run, Gambhir turned and stuck his elbow out, hitting Watson in the chest.
The India opener was banned for a Test but under the proposed system, might have been ejected from the Delhi Test itself.
Inzamam takes the law into his own hands: During the 1997 Sahara Cup clash between Pakistan and India, a young Inzamam-ul Haq got embroiled in a fight that would have attracted a far stricter punishment in the modern era.
After being verbally harassed by section of the crowd, who taunted Inzamam’s weight, the Pakistan batsman barged into the stand, with a bat in hand, and had to be restrained by security officials before some serious damage could be done. After the ensuing delay, the match resumed and Inzamam took the field. I doubt if that would have happened if the card system had been in place.
Verbal altercations are part of the game and it is almost impossible to stop players from having a ‘chat’.
But if umpires are given the power to issue marching orders to those who cross the line, incidents like the ones mentioned above might reduce substantially. Since players don’t play under the threat of being ejected from a game, some do push the boundaries and wait for a verdict after the game which might affect their future matches.
However, if players know teams might be a player short in light of such incidents, on-field behaviour is likely to improve and we should, hopefully, not have to see matches where bats are flung and players kicked.
What about replacements? When teams are forced to make changes to the team due to injuries, the players coming in pose a peculiar challenge. They are expected to do a certain job and then make way once the first choice players regain their fitness. But what happens when the replacements steal the show? Both India and England are facing this uncomfortable scenario.
After regular wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha sustained a hamstring injury, the Indians brought in Parthiv Patel. The diminutive keeper, playing after a gap of eight years, looked nervous with the glove in the Mohali Test and dropped a few chances but grew in confidence with the bat and scored the winning runs.
His glovework has been a lot more solid in Mumbai and he already has seven catches and two stumpings to his name.
For England, opening batsman Keaton Jennings scored a sizzling century on debut in Mumbai, having replaced the impressive Haseeb Hameed, who sustained a finger injury. Jennings looked at ease in the first innings of the fourth Test and showed that he deserves more chances at the highest level.
But once Saha and Hameed regain their fitness, should Patel and Jennings be asked to pack their bags and leave? Or should Saha and Hameed, who themselves were doing a fine job, be asked to wait and let the replacements keep going?
Someone in the Indian and England team management will have to make a very uncomfortable call.
