Remember what Gordon Greenidge said

ICCu00a0should go easy on disappointed batsmen, who take a while to leave the crease, says Windies batting great Gordon Greenidge

Wonder what West Indies batting great Gordon Greenidge would think when he reads the news about India tailender Amit Mishra being fined 10 per cent of his match fee for standing his ground after being dismissed on Day One of the ongoing India vs West Indies Test at Sabina Park in Kingston.


Fidel Edwards celebrates after taking Amit Mishra's wicket on Day One
of the first Test on Monday. Mishra was fined 10 per cent of his match
fee for standing his ground after being dismissed. Pic/AFP

According to reports, Mishra breached Article 2.1.3 of the International Cricket Code of Conduct for "showing dissent at an umpire's decision by action or verbal abuse."

Mishra was caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan at slip while dealing with a short ball from paceman Fidel Edwards. He pointed to his arm guard, but what also got him into trouble with match referee Jeff Crowe was that he took a while to leave the crease.u00a0

Greenidge, who played for the West Indies from 1974 to 1991, told MiD DAY when he was in Mumbai last February that penalising players for taking their time to vacate the crease is wrong. "We all have different ways of dealing with things and it is very disappointing when you might have played a bad shot. Or on getting out, you shake your head or look disgusted and you don't move immediately. That is considered showing dissent.

"When you can't or stop showing emotions, you become a bit robotic and that is not right. Yes, you've got to control your feelings and of course you cannot expose your feelings in a violent manner," said Greenidge.

Crowe, a former New Zealand captain, said in Jamaica: "Amit stood his ground for a lengthy period of time and while doing so gestured to his arm guard until finally he left the crease. Batsmen are taking too long to leave the crease after being given out. Whether it is just disappointment, it's still disrespectful and, as the code clearly states, unacceptable."