Markable

Ravi Shastri, the former India allrounder and IPL governing council member, has warned that a repeat of altercations such as the one involving Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc could result in much stiffer penalties for the players, including "double" their match fee or even a ban. 

"They should be given a fine and then a stern warning stating that (if) once more then it could be double the penalty and even a match ban," Shastri told ESPNcricinfo. When asked whether increasing monetary sanctions alone could prevent a breach of the IPL's rules, Shastri remained confident. "It could. It is in the hands of the match referee. But I would tell the player that next time if you even come close (to a breach) you will face serious consequences."

Shastri provided the example of the "stiff" $50,000 fine imposed on then Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne during the 2011 IPL for breaching the playing contract. Warne had allegedly verbally abused the then Rajasthan Cricket Association secretary Sanjay Dixit, and a disciplinary panel comprising former IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and Shastri imposed the penalty. "The penalties can be pretty stiff. We penalised Warne an amount which amounted to his match fee for a match. He was on a $700,000 contract with Rajasthan Royals. Tell me one player who has been fined $50,000 anywhere."

Shastri, who also sits on the IPL's code of behaviour committee and the technical committee, said that no advisory has been issued to match referees in light of the Pollard-Starc incident since the officials were aware of the rules. "That is the match referee's jurisdiction. Only after they take a decision do we have a right to comment."

The IPL's handling of the incident has once again reopened the debate about whether slow over-rates are more important to the league than bad behaviour and attract more fines because of the impact on TV programming. Shastri rubbished the notion and said that the IPL had set a better example than anybody else, including the ICC, when it came to penalizing tardy over-rates. "Slow over-rates slow the pace of the game and captains are appropriately fined. No other cricket body in the world takes so strong (an action) as the IPL. Even the ICC can take a leaf out of the IPL."

Shastri had earlier expressed his annoyance at Pollard and Starc's behavior in his Times of India column. "This one went beyond bad behavior," Shastri wrote. "You can joust, tease, stare, have a spat, give a send-off and all that can still be tolerated, but you can't almost come to blows. It bordered on violence, luckily without anything untoward happening. Both aimed to hurt each other with bat and ball. The faults by both are many - disrespect to umpires, abuse of equipment, utter disregard for the name of their employers, contempt for sponsors and injuring the spirit of the game itself.

"Starc likes to provoke. We all watched him give a mouthful to Virender Sehwag after his short ball had rammed the opener on the helmet and gone to the fence. Even that is tolerable in small doses. Pollard was nothing if not physical. Both need to be spoken to with a stern warning and not just a fine."

The altercation began with an exchange of words after Starc bowled a bouncer to Pollard in the 17th over of Mumbai Indians' innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Pollard pulled away as Starc ran in for the next delivery, but the bowler continued and bowled the ball at Pollard's body. In response, Pollard threatened to throw his bat at Starc, but it fell close to the batsman. Andy Pycroft, the match referee, fined Pollard 75% and Starc 50% of their match fees.

The bad behaviour in the match, Shastri wrote, wasn't just confined to Pollard and Starc.

"In the same game, [Yuzvendra] Chahal was also involved in a pronounced send-off to the batsman he dismissed," Shastri wrote. "It was Chahal's good luck that Yuvraj Singh was at hand to humour the offended on-field umpires. Mostly it's the bowlers who are stepping out of line.

"All the stakeholders must clamp down on such behaviour. It doesn't improve you as a cricketer much less as a human being. It's been a splendid IPL so far and it deserves better from its performers."

England, Ireland, Scotland and Sri Lanka begin preparations for World Cup 2015

Download the Reliance ICC Rankings App via www.icc-cricket.com/mobile to predict the outcome of the series

One month after the conclusion of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, action in international cricket resumes this week and One-Day International (ODI) cricket will be in focus.

Dublin will host two ODIs between 1996 world champion Sri Lanka and the giant-killer of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, Ireland, on 6 and 8 May.

Then on 9 May in Aberdeen, three-time ICC Cricket World Cup finalist England will square-off against Scotland, which qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014 earlier this year in New Zealand.

With just nine months to go before the start of the event, which runs between 14 February and 29 March, these three ODIs mean that the first phase of build-up for all sides has well and truly begun.

While England and Sri Lanka have more to lose, Ireland and Scotland have plenty to gain from their respective series.

Ireland currently sits in 11th place on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings with 34 ratings points, and trails third-ranked Sri Lanka by 78 ratings points. Because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, Ireland will gain points if it wins even one match in the series.

Scotland, currently unranked, has an opportunity to inch closer to getting on to the main rankings table. However, to make that happen, it will have to beat England.

To get on to the main rankings table, Scotland needs to either win two ODIs against Full Members, or achieve one win in an ODI against a Full Member and also win more than 60 per cent of ODIs against other Associates.



Meanwhile, fans in Dublin and Aberdeen will get to see some of the biggest names in action during the ODIs to be played there.

Among the stars in the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen likely to be seen in action are Eoin Morgan (15th) and Alastair Cook (20th).

Among the bowlers inside the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers likely to be seen in action are James Anderson (eighth) and Angelo Mathews (16th).

Sri Lanka captain Mathews also starts the series against Ireland as the number-two ranked all-rounder on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders.

Forthcoming fixtures:

Ireland v Sri Lanka

6 May: First ODI, Dublin

8 May: Second ODI, Dublin

Scotland v England

9 May: One-off ODI, Aberdeen

Oman beats Nepal by two wickets on third day of the Asian Cricket Council Premier League

Craig Wright will take charge of the coaching responsibilities until Grant Bradburn takes the reins in July

 

The Scotland selectors today named its 13–man squad to face England in the ODI match between Scotland and England on 9 May at Mannofield, Aberdeen.

Kyle Coezter will lead his team out in front of a sell-out crowd in Aberdeen to play England for the first time since 2010 in Scotland’s marquee match of the year.

Aberdeen born Josh Davey, who is now with Somerset, has earned a place in the squad. He last featured in an ODI for Scotland against Pakistan in May 2013. Since making his debut, the all-rounder has played in 11 ODI matches scoring 254 runs at an average of 25.40 and taken 15 wickets at 21.33. He is a like-for-like replacement for the injured Richie Berrington (hamstring).

Some impressive performances by seam bowler Alasdair Evans has earned him a spot alongside Aberdonian’s Michael Leask and Matthew Cross who along with Davey and Coetzer mean that the host city has produced nearly a third of the national squad.

Craig Wright will take charge of the coaching responsibilities until Grant Bradburn takes the reins in July, after which Wright will continue as his assistant.

Wright commented, “The match against England is a wonderful opportunity for us to continue the progress which the team made in New Zealand earlier this year.  The challenge for us regardless of the opposition is to continue to display the strong, positive mentality which was the cornerstone of our recent success.

With the World Cup to look forward to in under a year, this game will be a great chance for us to test ourselves at the type of level we want to be successful at moving forward.  I hope the occasion is a memorable one for Scottish cricket”.

Scotland Squad in full:

Kyle Coetzer (Captain), Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw.