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Players's ignorance of ICC code no excuse: Van Der Merve

International Cricket Conference observer Peter Van Der Merve declared today that players's ignorance of the ICC code of conduct "is no excuse" for their behaviour on or off the field.

The South African observer, who has come under fire for suspending Saurav Ganguly for the first one day game at Kochi, said as in the case of courts of law, a player was expected to be conversant with the ICC code of conduct. "It is sacrosanct," he added.

Merwe, who spoke to newsmen after inspecting the facilities at the Nehru stadium in Kochi, said he was for suspension rather than fines to penalise a player for violating the ICC code. The South African observer also fined Indian wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia half his match fee for allegedly showing dissent when he was given out.

He said regarding the reduction of overs vis-a-vis the total scored by a team which had batted first after which a match was interrupted, he preferred a simple system of calculation. Different countries adopted different systems to calculate the target for the team to bat second. "Yours is a simple system. I agree with it", he said approving the method followed in the country.

UNI

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