MCC proposes sending-off players for bad behaviour

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the body in charge of governing the Laws of Cricket, has recommended that umpires should be given power to eject players during matches for serious disciplinary breaches.

This recommendation was made among other recommendations after a meeting of the MCC World Cricket Committee in Mumbai on December 6 and 7.

"The MCC world cricket committee recommended that umpires be empowered "to eject cricketers from a game for serious disciplinary breaches" such as threatening an umpire, physically assaulting another player, umpire, official or spectator, and any other act of violence on the field," the MCC said in a release.

"The World Cricket committee believes that the game must now include a mechanism to deal with the worst disciplinary offences during the match and not subsequent to it as is presently the case. If approved, the ability to send a player off would therefore come into effect at all levels of the game from 1st October 2017," it added.

The committee, which includes Australian legend Ricky Ponting among other cricket luminaries and is chaired by former England captain Mike Brearley, also suggested that size of a bat's edges and depths should be limited to 40 mm and 67 mm, respectively.

"As a result, the main Committee of MCC will be asked to approve a limit to bat edges of 40mm and bat depths of 67mm (60mm for the depth plus an allowance of 7mm for a possible curve on the face of the bat). If approved, these changes will be implemented into the new code of the Laws of Cricket, which will be introduced on 1 October 2017," the MCC suggested.

"Many of the top players' bats have edges of between 38mm and 42mm, but there are some which have edges of up to 50mm, which was felt to be excessive and in need of restriction," the governing body emphasised.

While the committee did not make any recommendation to change the current ball-tampering laws, the committee was split on the introduction of the four-day Test matches.

Allowing catches and stumpings after the ball has struck a fielder's worn helmet and introduction of a football-hockey-like red card as punishment for violent acts on the cricket field were among the other significant recommendations made during the MCC meeting.