WBBL pair fined for misbehaviour as CA signals stricter stance
Australia’s players are being allowed to get away with less this season, with two more international stars finding themselves in hot water for their behaviour.
A week after Marnus Labuschagne fell foul of match officials, two members of Australia’s all-conquering women’s team, Ash Gardner and Nicola Carey, have been fined for indiscretions in the WBBL.
Cricket Australia insists there is no crackdown over player behaviour, but at the very least there appears to be a more stringent application of the code of conduct in 2021-22 after a series of incidents in the back half of the last domestic season involving Tim Paine, Steve Smith and Labuschagne.
The trio – respectively the Test captain, a former captain and a man touted as a potential future captain – all came perilously close to being sanctioned for dissent.
The incidents involving Labuschagne and Smith have been highlighted among umpires and match referees as examples of cases that should have been cited but were not. Officials are now acting against behaviour which transgresses the code.
In Labuschagne’s case, he threw his head back and shook his head in disagreement after being given out for the second time in the game to what appeared a line-ball verdict.
Australia star Ash Gardner has fallen foul of match officials.Credit:Getty Images
Smith, too, struggled to conceal his disappointment in a game between NSW and Victoria, shaking his head several times and brushing his trousers with his glove seemingly to show the ball had hit his thigh instead of his bat after a caught behind decision.
The incidents involving Paine and Labuschagne occurred in a game between Tasmania and Queensland in which players from both sides were unhappy with the umpiring. CA later issued a statement calling on players to show respect to umpires.
It left some in the state system questioning whether higher-profile players were being assessed differently to the rank and file. There is a hope that such perceptions can be avoided by taking action early in the season.
Officials seem to be taking a dimmer view over players celebrating a wicket before the umpire has made a decision, an act also referred to as “celebrappealing”.
Such conduct is not uncommon in the international arena though the International Cricket Council appears to have shown more tolerance than CA is now.
Labuschagne was cited for excessive appealing after running the length of the pitch before turning around to appeal for an lbw against Lawrence Neil-Smith, though there is angst in some quarters it was deemed reportable in the first place.
South Australia seamer Nathan McAndrew was reported for a similar offence in the recent Shield game against Queensland and fined 25 per cent of his match fee – the same sanction as Labuschagne.
Sydney Sixers star Gardner was docked 20 per cent of her match fee for an audible obscenity after taking an errant throw in the field in the game against the Hobart Hurricanes.
The foul language may not been made it to air if Gardner had not been wearing a microphone. Some believe there should be more leeway given to players, who have agreed to be miked up for broadcasters, but Gardner pleaded guilty, and there has been no complaint made to the players union.
Carey was fined for 15 per cent of her match fee for equipment abuse after being dismissed in the same game.
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