CRICKET SLEDGING SHOULD BE A ‘NO GO’ ZONE

Sledging in sport has reached to horrific and disproportionate levels. This is particularly the case with cricket.

ANY Attack on people on the playing field should attract penalties. Umpires should use yellow or red cards to dismiss players for a session (yellow) or a day (red). Dismissed players should not be replaced if the side is fielding meaning the team is one fielder short for the time during which the penalty applies. A yellow card should attract three runs for the abused batsman, a red card six extra runs.

If the sledging is done by the batsman, a yellow level should attract a deduction of five runs. If the level of offence sits at red level, the batsman should be declared out and the team penalised by a loss of ten runs from it’s accumulated total.

This ruling should be applied to domestic cricket at all levels, Sheffield Shield, One Day and Big Bash fixtures.

Although I have only commented on men’s cricket, the same rules should be shaped and applied to women’s cricket.

Cricketers need to grow up. Many of us have had enough of grossly inappropriate behaviour on the cricket field.