Australian David Warner has come under fire for his verbal tirade directed at Indian batsman Rohit Sharma during a one-day international match across the Tasman on Sunday where he told Sharma to "speak English".
Warner, a talented batsman, was fined 50 per cent of his match fee and has since clarified his stance on the argument, but former New Zealand representative John Morrison said umpires needed to have more influence to help curb abuse.
"I do agree the umpires should have more power and they should introduce something like a yellow card and they should also make any card a suspension," Morrison said as he echoed Martin Crowe's suggestions of a card system.
"The punishment should be a suspension, not fining them, that's a waste of time."
Morrison said if a player was threatened with the possibility of being suspended for a match like the World Cup final, they would immediately rein in their behaviour.
During the past two months, 12 players were cited by the International Cricket Council for breaches of their code of conduct and the punishments largely included fines, while some players were let off with a warning.
Australia and India have pushed the boundaries around competing within the laws of the game throughout the summer and it has come shortly after the death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes.
Following Hughes' death, many of the Australian players said they would look to uphold the spirit of cricket in memory of their fallen teammate.
The Black Caps and Sri Lanka have enjoyed good-natured competition during their series this summer and New Zealand seamer Tim Southee said sledging was commonplace in the game.
"It's getting a bit boring. There's a place for it but there seems to be a little too much [at the moment] although you can't tell unless you're there in the middle with a bit of heat going on," Southee said.
"Warner is a player who thrives on it, so it's probably best not to chip at him. He's playing some amazing cricket and batting like a genius so you do everything you can to make him feel uncomfortable. He does seem to thrive off other sides trying to get at him.
"If it's in you, it's in you, if you need to get in the battle and contest, but those days are gone for me I think."
Warner's conduct during the summer prompted former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe to label him "the worst culprit" of sledging.
Crowe's latest column on website ESPNcricinfo said those in charge of the game needed to step in and clamp down on sledging before a violent incident marred a match.
The Kiwi said a yellow-card system should be brought in to provide suspensions for those who flouted the rules.
"Fining these serial offenders is not going to work. You have to take them out of the game for extended periods," Crowe wrote in his column.
"Two yellow cards should result in a red card, which should ban any player for six months. This is the only way it will be dealt with. My concern in the immediate future will be that Warner will be in the centre of an ugly on-field fight during the upcoming World Cup."
- By Daniel Richardson of NZME
