Harmony as captains have code spelt out (5 May 1999)

5 May 1999

Harmony as captains have code spelt out

Michael Henderson

International cricketers, give or take the odd infant, have long outgrown the headmaster's study, but just in case they had forgotten what happens to naughty boys, the World Cup organisers summoned the captains and managers of the 12 teams to Lord's yesterday, to spell out what is expected of them in the next six weeks.

Michael Browning, the tournament director, and David Richards, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council, were present at the meeting in the new media centre, which was chaired by Doug Insole. Afterwards one captain pronounced it "extremely boring", which was, in its way, oblique praise. It suggested that there were no petty squabbles, and that, for the time being, the players are all speaking to one other.

Today it is the turn of the umpires and the match referees to 'listen with Doug'. So long as the players behave themselves, and the captains observe the spirit of the game at all times, the umpires can get on with their jobs.

Alec Stewart gave voice to the consensus. "The competition will be seen by millions," said the England captain, "but whether it's seen by millions, or thousands, the way in which the game is played must be at the right level."

That means, of course, there must be no silly outbursts on the field, or exhibitions of unseemly behaviour. In other words there must be no repetition of the scenes in Adelaide earlier this year when Sri Lanka beat England in a match that will be remembered for the no-balling of Muttiah Muralitharan, the off-spinner, for throwing, and the subsequent nastiness. What is the first match of the World Cup, a week on Friday? England against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

Everybody will be hoping that ill-will does not spill over into more unpleasantness. Stewart was involved twice on that occasion, first by locking horns with Arjuna Ranatunga, the Sri Lankan captain, who had threatened to lead his men from the field, and then by barging into Roshan Mahanama at the end of an over, though that incident was open to interpretation.

There is no love lost between Stewart and Ranatunga. "Your behaviour has been disgraceful for the captain of an international side," Stewart told the portly 'Arju' in Adelaide, and he had a point. Ranatunga, for his part, denounced Stewart upon arrival in England last week as somebody "who knows nothing" about Sri Lankan cricket.

If the captains again agree to differ in the middle, their conversation is unlikely to be relayed to viewers. The stump microphones in this competition will be switched off as soon as the batsman has played the ball. As David Graveney, the England manager said: "There's a balance between what the game wants and what the television companies want. Sometimes the mikes are left on unnecessarily."

Nor will there be a procession of players leaving the field, pretending to be 'injured', to be replaced by a superior fielder. "You see somebody make a hundred," said Stewart, "and then, because he isn't the best fielder in the side, he develops an injury in the lunch break. The captains must make sure the game is run as it should be."

In the light of recent events, and bearing in mind the public order problems that may arise from a meeting of subcontinental teams later in the competition, Browning and Richards spoke at length about the security provision for players. "Every effort has been made to ensure the safety of the players," said Graveney.