Pollock calls for clear guidelines on offences

South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has called on world cricket's ruling body to outline clearer guidelines for on-field offences following the Mike Denness controversy.

"The best thing that can happen, whether it be excessive appealing or whatever, is that there should be a prescribed punishment for each offence," Pollock said after the series against India ended on Tuesday.

"Then it's not left up to each match referee to make his own assessment. If someone appeals excessively it needs to be written down what the punishment will be.

"Then everyone will accept it because they know what the consequences are before it happens."

South Africa's three-Test series against India was plunged into chaos when match referee Denness imposed penalties on six Indian players in the drawn second Test in Port Elizabeth last week.

The South African cricket board, under pressure from India, subsequently banned Denness from officiating at the third test, to which the International Cricket Council (ICC) responded by stripping the match of its test status.

Pollock added: "The ICC can maybe learn from this that everything should be set in place so that if anything does happen you have a code of conduct to deal with the situation."

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Mail Cricket Editor