ICC saves the coin toss in test cricket

Sports Desk: The International Cricket Council's Cricket Committee has decided not to do away with the toss in test cricket.

During the the two-day meeting, which concluded in Mumbai on Tuesday, there were discussions about scrapping the tradition of a coin toss prior to test matches in order to put an end to countries doctoring pitches to suit their team.

However, the committee didn't recommend the move, as it "felt that it was an integral part of test cricket which forms part of the narrative of the game".

Instead, the committee urged member nations to continue to focus on delivering pitches that provide a fair contest between bat and ball.

The committee voted in favour of raising the sanctions associated with ball-tampering and having penalties for "personal, insulting, offensive or orchestrated abuse", following the ugly incidents in the South Africa test series against Australia.

It also recommended giving the match referee the authority to "down or upgrade a level of offence or sanction".

"The group felt that excessive personal abuse and ball tampering were serious offences in the game and that should be reflected in the way in which they are dealt with," the ICC release said.

"There was also strong support for giving the match officials more authority and subsequently greater support around their decision making."

The announcement follows the ball-tampering incident that occurred during the third test in Cape Town, which resulted in Cricket Australia banning sacked Australia captain Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
 

Source: Agencies
 

risingbd/Dhaka/May 30, 2018/A K Azad