Cricket bosses to crack down on bad behaviour James Sutherland: "Whether these things can be nipped in the bud by stronger action, by blowing the whistle earlier, is something that has been up for discussion for a few months now." Photo: Arsineh Houspian World cricket bosses want match officials to "blow the whistle" on bad behaviour before it escalates into an international incident after a series of blow-ups in Test cricket this year. A tougher stance on player behaviour, including verbal abuse, has been discussed at International Cricket Council meetings amid concern aspects of the Code of Conduct being ignored, suggesting players will be swiftly pulled into line if they transgress during Australia's series against South Africa and India this summer. High-profile confrontations between England paceman Jimmy Anderson and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, and between Australian captain Michael Clarke and South African spearhead Dale Steyn, have led to the issue being raised by the reformed governing body alongside the need to stamp out illegal actions and speed up the game. "A couple of incidents through the course of this year, I think, have given senior people in ICC cause for concern, more than anything to ask the question whether some of these big blow-ups could have been avoided if they had been dealt with more proactively from the start," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland told Fairfax Media after returning from ICC meetings in Dubai. Whether these things can be nipped in the bud by stronger action, by blowing the whistle earlier, is something that has been up for discussion for a few months now. Clarke has signalled there will be no let-up in his side's aggressive approach, and that he does not expect his players to be friendly with opponents on the field. I hope opposition teams respect that once we walk out onto the field we're going to play a tough brand of cricket, that's our style and that's how we play our best, and that's the Australian way I think, that's our culture. But our team is also a big believer that win, lose or draw we'll walk into the opposition change room, congratulate them and have a beer with them after a Test series or match," Clarke said at his book launch on Friday. Sutherland has no problem with that, but there was considerable ill-feeling between the Australians and the Proteas during the Test series in South Africa, which spilled over into a one-day tournament in Zimbabwe. AB de Villiers said the Australians could not expect to be matey off the field if they unleashed personal abuse on it, and only one South African joined the tourists for a traditional end-of-series drink in Cape Town. Warner's publicly aired misgivings about the way the South Africans generated reverse swing appear to have provided the context for the hostilities that followed. The return of stars from both sides - Clarke, Warner, de Villiers, Steyn and Faf du Plessis - for the ODI series starting in Perth on Friday sets the scene for further flashpoints. "The best cricket teams in the world have always played with controlled aggression," said Sutherland. What we are looking for, we as in Cricket Australia but across the board as ICC members, is that consistency of treatment and application of the code. If it says about language or abuse, you don't give someone three opportunities and then draw the line, the whistle should be blown earlier. Chief executives also discussed the contentious decision review system. Although Sutherland believes progress is being made towards universal acceptance of the ball-tracking technology, India is not expected to agree to use the DRS during the Test series in Australia. "Our understanding is that it won't happen this summer," he said. Sachin Tendulkar has said he supports a referral system as long as the same tools are adopted in all parts of the world, but the crux of the BCCI's opposition has been that it lacks confidence in the technology. I don't know right now what BCCI's stance is. From an individual point of view I can definitely say that we can't have bits and pieces in different, different parts of the world," Tendulkar said in London. One part of the world is using Snickometer. The other part of the world is Hot Spot. Somewhere else we are using something else. It's got to be standardised. Meantime, vice-captain Brad Haddin is likely to miss the ODI series against South Africa but is considered a good chance of being fit for the first Test at the Gabba on December 4 after injuring his shoulder during the Abu Dhabi Test.