India warned for vigorous appealing
ICC Knock-out Tournament
September 1999
India received an unofficial warning for vigorous appealing that could have bordered on ''intimidation of the umpire'' in the LG Safari Cup match against Kenya.
Match referee Mike Denness said he had been particularly concerned over the dismissal of Kenya captain Maurice Odumbe.
Pakistani umpire Athar Zaidi belatedly raised his finger, appearing to respond to intense pressure from Indian fielders for a catch behind.
Odumbe said he felt his dismissal changed the course of the match, which Kenya lost by 58 runs.
''It was a warning in inverted commas,'' Denness said.
''We had a discussion with the captain, the coach and the manager about enthusiastic appealing, that it could be approaching intimidation of the umpire.''
Denness said he also warned the Indians over the behaviour of bowler Debashish Mohanty, reported by the umpires for sledging when he dismissed Kenyan opener Ravindu Shah.
Lee's action suspect
July 2000
The Australian Cricket Board revealed that two Indian umpires who officiated in Australia's Test series against New Zealand in March 2000 had raised doubts about the legality of Lee's action and that International Cricket Council referee Mike Denness, of England, had submitted a report to the ICC after the series.
Umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan raised doubts during the first Test and Arani Jayaprakash during the third. Neither they, nor Denness, told the Australian team of those concerns.
Because of confusion about changes in the procedures governing the reporting of illegal deliveries, the ACB was not informed about the report on Lee until June 27, at the end of the recent ICC meeting in London.
ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed was not able to tell Lee of the matter as both were overseas on holiday.
Speed and Waugh expressed their full support for Lee at a media conference attended by all three in Sydney yesterday. Lee said he was "shocked and disappointed" by the news but had full confidence that his action "was pure".
Speed said Lee would play for Australia in the one-day series against South Africa. He said the ACB would film all Lee's deliveries in those three games and the footage would be submitted to the ICC's panel on illegal deliveries, together with analysis from the world's premier fast bowling coach, Dennis Lillee, and from medical and biomechanical experts.
The report is likely to note that because of an old injury, Lee cannot fully straighten his right elbow.
"We'll work with Brett to mount the strongest, the most comprehensive and most compelling case that there is in fact no problem with his action," Speed said.
According to Speed, the ACB had expressed to the ICC its concern about the three-month delay before the report was passed on to Australian officials. It is believed that Denness's report also did not follow procedure, as it did not contain footage of Lee's action from the various camera angles required under ICC regulations.
The ICC letter informing the ACB of the report on Lee was handed to Speed during a tea break on the final day of the ICC meeting in London.
Lara breaches ICC regulations
West Indies vs South Africa
April 2000
West Indian batting star Brian Lara has been told his new bat sponsorship deal was in breach of International Cricket Council regulations. Lara used a bat with the logo of the Intertops Company, which claimed to be a bat manufacturer, when he made 83 for West Indies in the third Test against South Africa at Kensington Oval.
But match referee Mike Denness of England issued a statement saying bats that displayed the company's logo were in breach of ICC regulations on advertising.
The company announced its deal with Lara while the world record holder was batting. It said it had also signed up Lara's teammates Mervyn Dillon and Courtney Walsh.
Following Denness' intervention, Dillon used a bat without a logo when he batted.
Intertops marketing consultant David Folb said the company was launching a new range of bats.
Lara is one of the best batsmen in the world and has time and again showed his class by scoring against almost every cricket playing country in the world.
Lara who has to his credit the largest total in Test match was a bit off colour in the recently concluded Test series in Australia where he was off colour.
He said the company was based in Antigua and the bats would be made under the supervision of former West Indian captain Richie Richardson. ICC drew up strict guidelines for bat logos several years ago to ensure that only genuine bat manufacturers displayed logos on bats used by international players.
Mike Denness lets Windies of the hook
West Indies vs South Africa
April 2000
Match referee Mike Denness will not be taking any action against the West Indies over delaying tactics on the final day of the third Test against South Africa in Barbados.
The home side hung on for a draw after being reduced to 82 for seven in their second innings. But Dinanath Ramnarine repeatedly walked away from the crease in between balls to stretch a hamstring injury and then summoned the team physio out onto the field.
Partner Mervyn Dillon also took up valuable time by requesting a change of boots from the dressing room.
Denness, a former England captain, spoke to both players and the managers of the two teams at the end of the match, but decided that no punishment was necessary.
"What I wanted to find out was the reasons behind what I saw as a slowing down of the game and I got pretty satisfactory answers both from the management and from Ramnarine.
"And as far as Mervyn Dillon was concerned with a boot situation, I have no problems with that at all," Denness explained.
Despite his comments, he made it clear he did not want to see any repeat in the two remaining Tests.
Denness accepted Ramnarine's injury was genuine. Umpire Steve Bucknor appeared at one point to tell Ramnarine to hurry up, but he and fellow official Darrell Hair had no formal powers to take action.
"They have the power to give a first warning and a second warning but at the end of it, they have no strong powers.
"What we have to address is that the people who are playing the game have got to play within the laws of the game, within the spirit of the game and certainly within the conduct and the regulations," Denness added.
West Indies skipper Carl Hooper insisted that he had not given his batsmen any instructions about slowing the game down.
"That is Test cricket. It's gripping stuff and you are thrust into positions where you have to pull out all the stops to save the game. This Test match was one of those," he said.
Herschelle Gibbs reprimanded
West Indies vs South Africa
April 2001
South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs was reprimanded by match referee Mike Denness and warned about his conduct for the remainder of his country's tour of the Caribbean.
Denness met with South African manager Goolam Rajah, Gibbs, and South African captain Shaun Pollock before issuing a statement which read: "The reprimand and warning follows the actions and reactions of Gibbs following his dismissal in the second innings of the (current) fourth Test in Antigua."
Chris Gayle caught Gibbs at slip off leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine for 45 on day three, but clearly thought the ball had not hit his bat.
Gibbs was seen to point at his shoulder and then made his displeasure clear to umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan.
Legalistic spirit rules what was a gentleman's game
Colin Bryden
What was once a gentleman's game is now one of rules, clauses and legal toothcombs.
If there isn't a rule, it seems, there isn't an offence, even against the spirit of the game.
Mike Denness, the former England captain, who is the match referee in the Test series between West Indies and South Africa, is known as one of the more assiduous and strict match referees on the international circuit.
Yet, in the face of the most blatantly obstructive, time-wasting tactics, quite obviously making a mockery of the intention of Test match regulations and the International Cricket Council's (ICC) code of conduct, Denness failed to act.
The record will show that he took firm and decisive action once during the Test match in Barbados, issuing a formal statement to announce it.
Sharp-eyed television viewers might have noticed that Brian Lara had a bat with a new logo. Denness ruled that, although the company involved claimed to be a bat manufacturer, it did not qualify to be recognised as such in terms of the definitions of the ICC.
Denness intervened and the players were told that such logos could not be displayed. Mervyn Dillon and Courtney Walsh, who had done deals with the same company as Lara, used bats without logos the next day.
This was, I am sure, a matter of supreme indifference to the vast majority of people who watched the game.
It was right, of course, for the regulations to be applied and the decision will have been welcomed by traditional equipment manufacturers. It had nothing to do, however, with the conduct of the game.
By contrast, the delaying tactics of Dinanath Ramnarine, and to a lesser extent Mervyn Dillon, were a matter of raging controversy, seen by millions and clearly, even in the view of West Indian commentators, not in the spirit of the game.
Yet, Denness felt powerless to act, because there was nothing specific in the Test match regulations governing the circumstances and because he felt compelled to give Ramnarine the benefit of the doubt when he claimed to be injured.
In the legalistic spirit which prevails, there was a concern that disciplinary action might have been unfair if, indeed, the player was incapacitated.
Sadly, the only way the ICC can handle such matters is to write new rules. There are regulations stipulating a minimum number of overs, but it has become so rare for teams to bowl more overs per hour than the minimum that there is no provision to protect a team who get through their overs quickly.
Two additional clauses need to be added. First, umpires should be able to stop the clock when there is an abnormal stoppage, such as a player receiving treatment on the field. Second, if a man is down, he should be given a limited amount of time, perhaps a minute, to get ready to face the next ball, or have to retire hurt.
In soccer, the stretcher is brought on as soon as a player is on the ground. It is amazing how quickly most recover when faced with the prospect of having to be stretchered off so that the game can flow.
If Ramnarine had been threatened with a stretcher, with only Cameron Cuffy and Courtney Walsh left to bat out time to prevent a South African win, it is a fair bet that he would have been up and about almost immediately.
As for the time, if the umpires had added on five or 10 minutes of injury time, as in rugby or soccer, it would have been reasonable. Again, they had no power to act.
Denness had a meeting with the two players, the captain and the team management and decided to take no action beyond a rather limp warning that he did not want to see time-wasting in future.
Not surprisingly, in the departure lounge at the airport in Barbados the next morning, during one of the mass migrations of players, officials, media and supporters which are a feature of cricket tours, his decision remained a topic of consuming interest.
As one of many sounding forth, it seemed only fair for me to speak to Denness himself, who is an approachable man.
He was quite happy to chat but is not allowed, in terms of his appointment, to discuss or comment in public about decisions he has made.
Ironically, he may have exceeded his brief in telling the media the previous evening about the meeting to discuss the incident.
The ban on comments on contentious issues, even by responsible people in charge of the conduct of the game, causes issues to linger and fester. More rules and more accountability seem inevitable.
India's tour of South Africa: Complete coverage
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