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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CMC): Cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), blasted the West Indies cricket team for the behaviour of some of its players following the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in India earlier this month.

In an unusual step yesterday, the ICC labelled the players’ behaviour as “inappropriate and disrespectful” and argued that it “brought the event into disrepute”.

In a statement following a meeting of its board over the weekend, the ICC said it had even given “serious consideration” to bringing sanctions against the players.

INAPPROPRIATE:

“The board considered the behaviour of some of the West Indies players in the immediate aftermath of the final and unanimously agreed that certain comments and actions were inappropriate, disrespectful, and brought the event into disrepute,” the governing body said.

“The board acknowledged an apology by the WICB but was disappointed to note that such behaviour had detracted from the success of what was otherwise a magnificent tournament and final.”

West Indies beat England by four wickets in a dramatic final over in Kolkata to win their second Twenty20 World Cup, following their triumph four years ago in Sri Lanka.

Many of the Caribbean players celebrated wildly afterwards, with some removing their shirts as they danced in delight.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy also stunned many by openly criticising the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) during the official post-game interview and highlighting the players’ ongoing pay dispute, which had marred the build-up to the tournament.

Man-of-the-Match Marlon Samuels was also fined for his verbal tirade against bowler Ben Stokes during the final over of the game.

While not specifying exactly what behaviour the ICC found offensive, the ICC chairman, Shashank Manohar, said the Windies players actions were not “acceptable conduct” for ICC events.

“The sport of cricket is proud of its unique spirit and this involves being gracious in victory as well as defeat and respectful at all times to the game, one’s opponents, the sponsors and the fans,” Manohar said.

“The Board also noted that very serious consideration had been given to bringing Code of Conduct charges in respect of the behaviour of the West Indies players and emphasised that this was not acceptable conduct at ICC events played out on a world stage in front of millions of people around the globe.”

Following Sammy’s interview, WICB president Dave Cameron also tendered an apology for what the board deemed to be his “inappropriate” comments and promised to investigate. (Reprinted: Jamaica Gleaner)