T20 World Cup: Will Australia or its captain face a ban after Scotland match?
13 Jun 2024 8:16 AM GMT
Australia's bowler Mitchell Starc, right, talks to his captain Mitchell Marsh during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Australia and Oman at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Hyderabad: One of the most successful teams in ICC events, Australia, has yet again became the first team from Group-B to get qualified to the Super 8 in the T20 World Cup. The Aussies had dominated other teams winning all the three matches they played.
Meanwhile, defending champions England, after a washout game and huge loss against the Kangaroos, are facing an uphill battle to reach the super 8 stage.
England has to win their remaining 2 matches with a huge margin and hope Scotland gets defeated with huge margin for it to get a place in the Super 8.
It is in this backdrop, the clash between Australia and Scotland on June 16 becomes interesting.
Why is there a debate on "banning" Australia:
It all started when Australia's former captain Tim Paine suggested the team manipulate the match against Scotland in a bid to throw-out the English side.
"Absolutely they should do it and I'm not even joking. I've spoken to people about this in the last few days. I'm dead serious," Tim Paine said on a radio show.
This took the internet by storm and soon after was supported by Australian pacer Hazelwood. The player said, "Potentially you may come up against England at some stage again. We've had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament that's in our best interest as well as probably everyone else."
If Australia tries to manipulate the result, their captain may face a ban by the ICC, according to its rule book.
What the rule book says:
Article 2.11 of the ICC rule book reads, "2.11 is intended to prevent the manipulation of International Matches for inappropriate strategic or tactical reasons (such as when a team deliberately loses a pool Match in an ICC Event in order to affect the standings of other teams in that ICC Event)." The rule also applies to net run rate manipulation.
According to this, "The Captain of any team guilty of such conduct shall be held responsible (and subject to sanction) for any offence found to have been committed under this Article." say ICC rules.
Can ICC ban Marsh:
The ICC can direct National cricket boards if any team or captain is found violating Article 2.11 to take action, since it draws 2 suspension points, meaning they can be banned for 2 matches.
However, it is not so easy for an umpire or a match referee to prove that a team or player had deliberately lost or played slowly to manipulate the result.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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