Former England batsman and international umpire Peter Willey has hit out at the poor standards of crowd behaviour during Twenty20 matches.

Speaking to Ivo Tennant in The Times, Willey said he was going to write to the ECB to call for professional security to be employed next year.

"This has happened because the weather has been so bad," Willey said. "Spectators have sat around drinking pints and perhaps the information they have been given over the tannoy has not been as good as it should have been." He went on to explain that while the major grounds were relatively safe for players and officials, "the outgrounds are a different matter because spectators can approach the players.

"There might be some clubs who will be reluctant to employ security guards, but how expensive is a life? Those clubs would not want to be sued. And we don't want the kids to hear foul and abusive language.

"There is so much excitement and expectation for Twenty20 cricket for a few hours. When the competition started, I thought it was a load of rubbish, but now I reckon it is good fun and most umpires enjoy standing in the matches - after all, two-and-a-half hours in the middle is a doddle. There is generally a good atmosphere and the matches are played in the right spirit.

"The pity is that not many of the spectators who come are returning for four-day championship matches."