Demerit points in cricket were introduced in September 2016 by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The move to bring in demerit points came in with respect to the ICC Code of Conduct.
These demerit points are used to punish cricketers for various offences they make. These offences are further categorized into four levels. The ICC punishes any cricketer who accumulates four demerit points within 24 months. The punishment for four demerit points within two years is that the player gets banned for one test match or two white ball matches.
How are demerit points given?
The four levels of the offence have different punishments for the players. For a level 1 offence, a player is handed out either one or two demerit points. For a level 2 offence, a player is given three or four demerit points. For a level 3 offence, a player is handed out either five or six demerit points. For a level four offence, a player is given 7-8 demerit points.
In most cases, it is the umpire who reports these incidents to the match referees. These demerit points then are given by the match referee depending on the severity of the incident. If a player receives eight demerit points within the period of two years then their punishment gets doubled. The player involved and the team can contest the decision of the match referee which leads to a hearing.
Ravindra Jadeja
The star Indian all-rounder has a history with demerit points. In the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy, Jadeja was given a demerit point in the second test held in Nagpur.
It was a level 1 offence as Jadeja applied a pain relief cream on his fingers while bowling during Day 1.
ICC issued a statement regarding the incident which said, “In reaching his decision to sanction the player along with the Level 1 sanction he imposed, the Match Referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes. The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently, it did not change the condition of the ball.”
Interestingly, it is not the first time that Jadeja has been handed out demerit points by the ICC. In 2017, in a match against Sri Lanka Jadeja was given three demerit points for throwing the ball at the batsman Malinda Pushpakumara which was deemed to be dangerous by the umpires. The three demerit points resulted in totalling up to six demerit points within the two-year period resulting in Jadeja getting banned for a test match. Jadeja was also given three demerit points in October 2016 when he ran on the pitch in a match against England.
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