RED cards could be introduced into the laws of cricket for the first time next year following an MCC World Cricket Committee meeting in India.

The committee met in Mumbai and said it will propose a new law that players could be shown a red card by match officials for threatening an umpire, physically assaulting another player, umpire, official or spectator or for any other act of violence on the field of play.

Committee member and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes stricter deterrents are needed to ensure such acts don’t become a part of the game.

“It’s got to the state where something had to happen to prevent those things happening on the international stage,” Ponting said.

Umpire Billy Bowden jokingly shows bowler Glenn McGrath a red card after he pretended to bowl underarm in 2005. Source: News Corp Australia

“The modern player now understands their role in society, about being role models and want to play the game the right way for younger kids.”

The committee also debated punishments, including run penalties and sin bins for lesser offences, but decided that it would be difficult to achieve consistency. But it may introduce an appendix to the laws in order for governing bodies or leagues to implement their own system.

The committee also agreed that limitations to the sizes of bats should be added to the laws as it believes “the balance of the game has tilted too far in the batsman’s favour.”

The International Cricket Council in June recommended that bat sizes be limited, with too many mis-hits still going for four or six in the modern game.

Ricky Ponting is a member of the MCC World Cricket Committee. Source: AFP

Bat edges will have a maximum allowance of 40mm and bat depths must not exceed 67mm (60mm plus an allowance of 7mm for a possible curve on the face of the bat).

“Many of the top players’ bats have edges of between 38mm and 42mm, but there are some which have edges of up to 50mm, which was felt to be excessive and in need of restriction,” the committee said.

A bat gauge will be used to enforce the new resolution in the professional game but a moratorium will allow amateur players to continue to use their existing bats which may be in breach of the new law.

Among the committee’s other discussions:

* Catches and stumpings will now be permitted after the ball has struck a helmet being worn by a fielder, or become lodged or trapped in the grille of a helmet. But a ball hitting an unattended helmet behind the wicketkeeper will still earn five runs for the batting side.

* The committee decided the laws on ball tampering will not be changed.

* The committee was split on the idea of four-day Tests.

* The committee also reiterated its support for Twenty20 to be added to the Olympic charter and that a World Test Championship should be introduced.

The MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) is the guardian of the laws and spirit of the game, and its world cricket committee — established in 2006 and comprised of 12 current and former top international players — has been a leading independent voice on the game’s major issues.