Maintain respect for the game's Spirit or face report warns ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today called on all international players to recommit themselves to playing within the Spirit of the Game after a spate of Code of Conduct reports and a war of words in the lead up to the Australia - South Africa series have raised concerns that the high standards expected of international cricketers are at risk of being eroded.

ICC Chief Executive Officer, Malcolm Speed, said that the players had worked hard over recent years to meet the standards expected of them and that umpires and match referees would not now allow the Spirit of the Game to be compromised.

"In recent times series such as Pakistan v India and England v Australia have highlighted the importance of the Spirit of the Game in cricket," said Mr Speed.

"Unfortunately, since the Ashes there has been a spate of Code of Conduct offences committed by players which have resulted in a series of penalties being applied, including suspension.

"There have also been a series of comments by players and former players ahead of the Australia - South Africa series that I believe make it necessary to remind the players of the importance of playing within the Spirit of the game ahead of this series."

Since the start of November, eight players and officials have been found guilty of ICC Code of Conduct breaches, twice the number of guilty verdicts in the same period last year.

This year 38 players and officials have already been charged with offences as the game heads into what is traditionally one of its busiest periods with a number of Test Matches and ODIs remaining before the end of the year. This compares with a total of 37 charges in the whole of 2004.

Mr Speed said that it was accepted that verbal exchanges between players were part of the game but warned that any player who crosses the line faced action under the ICC Code of Conduct.

"Players should be under no illusions. Cricket is a game that expects high standards of behaviour from its players, Umpires will report Code of Conduct breaches and where a breach occurs, it will be dealt with."

Mr Speed said international captains had a particular responsibility to ensure teams behaved in a responsible manner.

"In cricket, the captain of the team has a powerful role in setting the tone for the rest of his team and this is made clear in the Preamble to the Laws which highlights that captains are responsible for ensuring play is conducted within the Spirit of the Game as well as within the Laws," he said.

"At the captains' meeting in October we were extremely pleased to be able to praise the captains for helping to improve the standards of on-field behaviour. Those same players now have the responsibility for ensuring that these standards are maintained," added Mr Speed.

Links to the ICC's Code of Conduct and a list of players and officials charged under that code can be found here