Michael Parkinson warns chucking has to be addressed

Michael Parkinson, the sports writer and broadcaster, has urged cricket's administrators to get tough with chuckers, and not to shy away from tackling controversial issues if the sport is to avoid becoming "bereft of any principle" - like English football.

Making the second Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Brisbane (click here for full text of speech), Parkinson was, as ever, forthright in his condemnation of those who tarnish the game's image. "Bowling with an illegal action: chucking ... this is a particular bee in my bonnet," Parkinson said. "It would be wrong to say there is an epidemic, but I believe there are enough dodgy actions in the game to create a suspicion the problem might be a growing one.

"Even more worrying is the nagging thought that no-one - administrators, umpires, commentators - seems able or willing to confront the problem. It would be wrong to compromise on this matter and I sincerely hope that those charged with the future of the game don't let it down.

"It is important cricket sticks to its principles, that it does not choose the convenience of political expediency.

"If you want to know the consequences of negligence on such issues then I will ask you to consider what has happened to football in England. There you have a game awash with money and bereft of any principle. The culprits are some players, ill-educated and witless, who behave without concern for the world around them. They are helped in their misdemeanours by greedy managers, unscrupulous agents, inert chairmen and a palsied governing body, much of it sanctioned, by a media dominated by former players.

"Cricket is not to be compared with soccer, except as an example of what can happen to a game when money distorts values and those who are paid as watchdogs act as lapdogs."