Ensure player safety, Walcott tells Dalmiya

Former International Cricket Council chairman Sir Clyde Walcott called on his successor, Jagmohan Dalmiya, to take the lead in ensuring that players were protected from spectator violence.

During an interview with BBC Radio Walcott, referring to incidents during the recent Australian tour of the West Indies, said, "I think that something has to be done because the ICC is very concerned about players' safety. This crowd invasion could have caused injury to players.

"We've had these sort of problems so the ICC will have to sit down and discuss what action should be taken to safeguard the players."

Walcott admitted there was no realistic way to stop objects being thrown onto the field. "I don't think any security could stop that really. But you can stop people rushing onto the ground by making sure the fences are up and strong, and the security systems are in place," he added.

One problem, Walcott indicated, was that security forces at the grounds tended to watch the match, not the crowd. This, he said, was an area that needed looking into.

Last weekend, a meeting of the West Indies Cricket Board decided to appoint a security and crowd control expert to advise officials, and also call on local governments to enact legislaion aimed at crowd control.