Sanitising cricket

Quite unlike their footballing cousins, cricket players can’t put a foot even slightly out of place on the field without being charged for some or other indiscretion under a wide-ranging code of conduct. Surely, in modern sport (and indeed in society as a whole), this is an attribute worthy of high praise? Ryan Bubear in iafrica.com has more.

Yet in cricket, a batsman who merely shakes his head (sometimes almost imperceptibly) after getting another roughie from the umpire is charged for dissent, fined and sometimes even banned! Never mind the fact that the ball was missing a second set!

And if a bowler even points a finger to the pavilion, guiding the dismissed batsman back to his seat, he is hit with a Level 1 offence and a fine of up to half of his match fee. What’s so vile about a quick send-off? To me, that’s good TV!