Cricket's bad boys could be "sin-binned" this New Zealand summer if Northern Districts Cricket adopts a number of radical "get tough" measures.
Borrowing from rugby's "sin bin", ND plans to send its bad boys from the field for an hour when they fall foul of the law.
The unprecedented new disciplinary measures will be discussed at ND's annual forum at Trust Bank Park on Saturday.
If the draft rules are adopted, bowlers and fieldsmen would be sin-binned for up to an hour for a first offence. Any repeat offence and the player is off for the rest of the match.
Results for batsmen would be even more drastic. They can be sent off and not allowed to resume their innings until the ninth wicket falls. If they don't return, their innings will be recorded by the scorer as suspended and "not out."
A suspended bowler would have his over completed by a team mate. Once allowed back he will still not be permitted to bowl for the same period he has been off the field.'If a batsman's offence happens at his dismissal, instead of coming back at the end of the innings, he can be kept off the field for up to an hour of his team's time in the field.
Two suspensions in a season mean appearing before an ND judicial commissioner after play on the day of the second suspension.
No replacements are provided for suspended players.
The proposed penalties are aimed at "any player who uses abusive or offensive language or makes offensive or abusive gestures to any player, umpire or spectator during the course of a match." The draft makes no reference to any form of physical interference or assault.
The new rules would apply only to representative matches within ND in the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl (two-day), Lion Brown Trophy (one-day) and Basil McBurney (second XI) competitions and ND-sanctioned friendly or trial matches. They would only apply to matches with official umpires who agree to the action. If there is only one umpire, he may act "in his sole discretion."
Meanwhile, Saturday's forum will also consider a proposal for Hamilton to host Northern District's annual crciket tournament in mid-November. Northland would host it next summer and Taupo for the 1999-2000 season. The tournament would have three two-day matches and run from November 16 - 21