London, July 30: India batting great Sunil Gavaskar has called on cricket's governing body, and coaches at junior level, to do more to prevent the spread of sledging in the modern game. The former opening batsman, who scored a record 34 centuries before ending his test career against Pakistan in 1987, believes cricket's good name "will be mud" if stronger action is not taken soon. "In the modern world of commercialization of the game and the advent of satellite television and the motto of winning at all costs, sportsmanship has gone for a six," the 54-year-old Gavaskar said during a special lecture at Lord's on Tuesday. "With the game being marketed aggressively by TV, the rewards have become high, and rightly so, but it has to a great extent taken away from the spirit of the game, where bowlers applauded a good shot and batsmen acknowledged with a nod a good delivery from a bowler who beat them. "Today, although there is a code of conduct, the verbal bouncers go on pretty much unchecked and, unless something is done quickly done about it, the good name of the game that we all know will be mud.

"Just look at any school games anywhere in the world and we will see bowlers having a go at the batsman. They see it on TV from their heroes and believe that it is a part of the game, and so indulge in it.

"It is crucial for the coaches to step in and tell them, while the kids are at an impressionable age, that this is wrong and cricket has been played for years without indulging in personal abuse."

Gavaskar, the second most prolific run maker in Test history with a career aggregate of 10,122 from 125 matches, added that greater protection should be given to players who were subjected to on-field abuse.

"If a player even so much as glares at the umpire or stays a micro-second longer at the crease after being given out, he is hauled up and in trouble," he said while giving the (Colin) Cowdrey lecture for 2003 at Lord's -- the home of cricket.

"If there is protection for the umpire from the players (via cricket's code of conduct), why not protection to players from abusive players?"

Gavaskar, while emphasizing sledging was not a widespread problem at test level, echoed concerns expressed earlier this year by outgoing International Cricket Council (ICC) president Malcolm Gray over Australia being the biggest offenders.

"Lest I sound pessimistic, let me say that, out of a possible 150 test cricketers from 10 test-playing countries, there are perhaps not even 15 who indulge in this verbal abuse and intimidation," said Gavaskar.

"But unfortunately most of these belong to a champion side (Australia) and it makes others believe that it's the only way to play winning cricket.

"Did (Australia captain) Don Bradman's all-conquering side of 1948 practise these tactics? I don't know, though I know for certain that Clive Lloyd's (West Indies) champions of the 1970s and 1980s never uttered a word on the field to an opponent.

"A glare and raised eyebrow were enough to put the scare in to you.

"We are all custodians of the game, and the game will prosper if we can leave it better than we found it," added Gavaskar.

Gray, who retired as ICC president in June, said the previous month that Australia's players had a bad reputation in the cricket community after years of on-field rows and accusations of sledging.

Gray added that the ICC needed to lead the change towards better player behaviour, but that national cricket boards also had a responsibility to improve player behaviour.

Bureau Report