Australian captain Mitchell Marsh could face a ban for violating ICC regulations if his team manipulates the margin of victory against Scotland.
Australian pace bowler Josh Hazlewood has sparked controversy by suggesting his team might manipulate the margin of victory in their upcoming T20 World Cup match against Scotland. This strategy, if implemented, could potentially knock arch-rival England out of the tournament.
However, such a move could land Australian captain Mitchell Marsh in trouble. Deliberately manipulating the outcome of a match violates the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) code of conduct.
Hazlewood, quoted by ESPNcricinfo, justified the potential manipulation by stating, “In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again; they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day, and 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.”
He further added, “It’ll be interesting to see. We’ve never really been in this position before as a team, I don’t think, so whether we have discussions or not, we’ll just try and play it again the way we did tonight. That’ll be up to [other] people, not me.”
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If Australia goes through with this strategy, captain Mitchell Marsh could be suspended for two crucial Super Eight matches. The ICC’s code of conduct, Article 2.11, prohibits “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 manipulation of run rate also falls under this category, potentially leading to a Level 2 offence charge against Marsh.
This situation presents a complex dilemma for Australia. While knocking out a strong contender like England might seem strategically advantageous, the potential consequences of violating sporting ethics and facing ICC sanctions are significant.
Last Updated on June 13, 2024