DELHI: Cricket is not a contact sport. There should be zero tolerance for deliberate pushing and elbowing. Such incidents should be suppressed along with raising their heads.
Twice during the game on Friday, the third day of the ongoing first Test between India and England, English bowlers crossed such limits. While the umpires asked both to remain calm after a verbal duel between James Anderson and KL Rahul, they did not caution Anderson and later Ollie Robinson, who rubbed shoulders with the Indian batsmen.
A spokesman for the International Cricket Council, when asked for comment on the incidents, said the match referee (in this case Chris Broad, Stuart’s father) took any action in consultation with the Cricket Operations Department after the umpires filed charges. proposed.
Section 42.2.1 of the ICCA governing the 2021–2023 World Test Championship, of which the current series represents an opening, states, any of the following moves by a player would be responsible for a level 4 offence.
– Threats to kill the umpire
– Making inappropriate and intentional physical contact with the umpire
– Physically attacking a player or any other person
– Committing any other act of violence.
In other words, pushing or elbowing a player on the field is not considered a punitive action. This gives the players the freedom to indulge in such an event. If it is not suppressed, the spirit of cricket, which is to be played with gentility, will be in danger.
