da imperador bet： Malcolm Gray, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has expressed concern at the increasingly aggressive on-field behaviour of the Australian players, and stated that the ICC would scrutinise the incidentsthat took place during
Wisden CricInfo staff21-May-2003Malcolm Gray, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has expressed concern at the increasingly aggressive on-field behaviour of the Australian players, and stated that the ICC would scrutinise the incidentsthat took place during Australia’s ongoing tour of the West Indies.Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Gray indicated that the match officialsshould have taken stern action against the errant players. “From all of thereports we got it appeared…that the behaviour of the players was quiteover the odds. It’s something that we don’t want in the sport and that inthose circumstances, greater action and more sterner action should have beentaken.”Gray was especially worried that the Australians were building a reputationas poor sportsmen. “Australians are not liked around the world,” Gray said.”The messages we were getting was that the Australian public and theAustralian press felt it was way over the top…this time the Australianpeople believed the actions were beyond the pale.”Gray stressed that the onus was on both the ICC and the national cricketboards to ensure that player behaviour improved across all teams. “In termsof process it is an ICC matter, in other words the umpires, referees and soforth,” he said. “However, in terms of the longer-term problem, it really isup to the national bodies to develop within their teams a change inculture.”The four-Test series between Australia and West Indies were marred byon-field altercations, which reached a head when Glenn McGrath charged atRamnaresh Sarwan and exchanged heated words in the fourth Test in Antigua.Both players were reprieved by Mike Procter, the match referee, who decidednot to take any punitive action.