MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has advocated introduction of harder punishments for slow over-rate in Test cricket, saying the current system lacks sanctions and remedies to curb the menace.
Sutherland suggested a complete overhaul of current system of fines and suspension and said punishments like docking of championship or rankings points -- introduced in Australian first class cricket -- could be the answer.
"We've been very successful here in first-class cricket by introducing penalties that are aligned to points, so, all of a sudden, no one has trouble bowling 96 overs in a day in Sheffield Shield cricket because if they don't, it will impact on their points and it will mean there will be a greater likelihood they will miss out on the Sheffield Shield final.
"Now that is a big stick, and I would suggest that these fines and possible suspensions are not a big enough stick," Sutherland said.
Sutherland said the problem of slow over-rate was not new and ICC need to think about it.
"I think we and other member countries with the ICC need to have a close look at where we're at with over rates, where we're getting to in terms of whether the remedies in place are appropriate, and how we can improve in that regard because it's obviously been an issue in this series as it has been in the last couple of years," he was quoted as saying in 'The Age' said.
Ricky Ponting drew flak at Nagpur Test when he used part-timers in order to make up a nine-over shortfall rather than going for kill.
