Cricket’s first red card for slow over-rate shown in ‘ridiculous’ scenes at the Caribbean Premier League

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Trinbago Knight Riders have become the first cricket team to receive a red card, with Sunil Narine paying the penalty for his team’s slow over-rate in a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match.

CPL organisers introduced a slew of measures to tackle the problem of slow over-rates this season, including a red card for a fielding side found to be behind schedule at the start of the final over of an innings.

The sanction means a team loses a player selected by the captain and must have six fielders inside the circle.

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The Knight Riders were left with 10 men for the final over their match against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots but still prevailed by six wickets, their first victory in three matches.

Narine had completed his quota of four overs, with figures of 3-24, before he was withdrawn for the final over of the Patriots’ innings, which yielded 18 runs.

Zahid Bassarath dishes out cricket’s first red card. Credit: CPL

Captain Kieron Pollard lashed out at the “ridiculous” rule.

“To be honest, it will take away the hard work everyone has done,” Pollard said.

“We are like the pawns and we are going to do what we are told.

“We are going to play as fast as we can. If you are penalised for 30-45 seconds in a tournament like this, it is absolutely ridiculous.”

The issue of slow over-rates has plagued the game, with matches often spilling over their stipulated time.

The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced fines for international teams found behind schedule in all three formats and also docks World Test Championship points.

The ICC dished out mammoth fines and docked Australia of World Test Championship points following slow over-rates during the recent Ashes series.

The Aussies lost 10 points and were fined half their match fees for being 10 overs short in the fourth Test at Manchester

England, meanwhile, received fines of 10 per cent for the first Test, 45 per cent for the second, 15 per cent for the fourth and 25 per cent for the fifth.

– With Reuters