London, July 16: Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has recommended “stern punishment” for James Anderson if the England pacer is found guilty of abusing and pushing Ravindra Jadeja on the second day of the first Test at Trent Bridge.
“If anybody’s found guilty, and if I had a say in it, I believe he should be punished and punished harshly, that will stop it. I think everybody (found guilty) deserves a stern punishment. I didn’t see any pushing and I could have easily missed it. If he’s found guilty of that, then there’s no excuse,” Boycott said.
Anderson could be banned for two to four Tests if charges against him are proved. The altercation took place during the lunch break of the second day’s play when the two players were walking back to the pavillion for lunch. It is not yet known what triggered the fracas.
Jadeja was unbeaten on 24, and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 81, while Anderson had bowled the last over before lunch. Anderson was charged under Level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct after India team manager Sunil Dev lodged the complaint.
“What is going on in cricket, verbals between players, and particularly bowlers trying to rile batsmen by flagging them off, I don’t like it,” Boycott was quoted as saying by ‘ESPN cricinfo’.
He added: “I’ve never agreed with it, I don’t think there’s a place for it in cricket. The modern player, in a lot of countries, accepts it as a norm as if they are growing up with it and everybody does it and everybody should do it.
“They believe it is not hurting cricket. Well, I believe it is. Jimmy (Anderson) is known to be one that talks to players. Now what he actually says I don’t know, I’m not near enough to hear it and I certainly can’t lip-read. But he is known to do a lot of talking. I don’t agree with it.” (PTI)
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