Malcolm Speed: Players must clean up act

By Austin Peters

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Malcolm Speed, the International Cricket Council chief executive, admitted that the sport has received a "wake-up call" about on-field behaviour after a damning statement from the judge who heard Harbhajan Singh's appeal.

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Justice John Hansen overturned the India spinner's conviction for racist abuse after stating that he was uncertain whether the India spinner had called Australia's Andrew Symonds a "monkey".

But Harbhajan was told he was lucky to escape with just a fine after pleading guilty to a lesser charge when it emerged database and human errors meant previous convictions were not taken into account.

There were also harsh words for Symonds, whose role in the incident during the second Test in Sydney earlier this month caused Hansen to call the all-rounder's sportsmanship into question.

Speed said: "One thing that has come out of this is the need for players to review their on-field behaviour.

"In this case, it is clear that Harbhajan verbally abused an opponent, having been provoked to do so by that opponent. This is not acceptable behaviour on the cricket field. I expect all players to use this as a wake-up call that on-field behaviour must improve."

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Related articles 30 January 2008: Singh cleared of racial abuse

External links International Cricket Council Cricinfo - Australian cricket Cricinfo - Indian Cricket

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