England cricketers have drawn sharp criticism for their jelly bean prank in the
second Test against India with former players describing the incident as
"juvenile rubbish" and calling for stern action against such gamesmanship.
The players deplored the England team for behaving in such a "juvenile"
fashion, especially when the hosts were slumping to defeat.
Former captain Nasser Hussain said a Test match was
not a place to play such childish pranks.
"This sweet thing was pretty childish. It is a Test match.
It is not a place for childish pranks. This is drivel," Husaain said referring
to England players' scattering jelly beans around the wicket when Zaheer
Khan was batting.
A fired up Zaheer waved a bat against Kevin Pietersen
thinking he was the culprit and then came back with vengeance to claim 5-75
in the England innings.
Former England coach David Lloyd described the whole
episode as a "crap" in an otherwise entertaining showdown on the field.
"This is juvenile rubbish. Both teams have played really well. Let us
just cut out this crap," he was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'
today.
Another former England captain Geoffrey Boycott felt
the players needed to be acted against for their behaviour.
"The International Cricket Council are to blame for not
telling the umpires to be much firmer with the players," he wrote in a
column for a British paper.
England coach Peter Moores admitted it was a learning
experience for his team and hoped such incidents would not be repeated in the
future.
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