Mar 14th, 2018

Mar 14th, 2018

Cricket should introduce a red and yellow card system similar to football to police the ongoing problems with sledging, according to Peter FitzSimons.

The Sports Sunday panellist addressed the issues that has blighted Australia’s tour of South Africa on the first edition of his Five Minutes with Fitzy program for Wide World of Sports for 2018.

The first two tests have been marred by ugly incidents, with Australian vice-captain David Warner taking offence at a sledge directed towards his wife by Proteas' Quinton de Kock.

Proteas spearhead Kasigo Rabada will also miss the rest of the series after being banned for bumping Aussie captain Steve Smith and giving both him and David Warner a send-off in the Second Test.

"Enough already," FitzSimons said.

David Warner and Quinton de Kock involved in heated exchange

"We need to go to red cards or yellow cards. When it gets to personal abuse if an umpire said, 'Yellow card, get off for 10 minutes. I heard what you said about his wife, his child, his whatever, that is in the field of personal abuse, yellow card, get off. And then you said what? Red card, out!'

"I just think people have had a gutful of it.

"I mean banter, funny banter, that’s part of the folklore of cricket. When it gets to the vicious stuff about David Warner’s wife and all of that stuff. Just no, no, no."

FitzSimons also said he agreed with the opinion for former Test captain Ian Chappell after he called on Australian captain Steve Smith to play a more active role in shutting tense situations down.

"Ian Chappell said, 'This is happening on your watch mate. Stop it'," FitzSimons said.

"Steve Smith needs to actually crack heads together and say, 'We're not doing this anymore.'

(AAP)

Australia's Mitchell Starc exchanges words with South Africa's Theunis de Bruyn. (AAP)

He also slammed the behaviour of South African officials, who posed for photographs with fans wearing Sonny Bill Williams masks to further bait Warner.

The matter is now being investigated by South African cricket with both officials facing punishment.

"It's not mental disintegration as Steve Waugh called it, and it needs to come from the South African side too," FitzSimons said.

"That issue where the South African officials posed for the photos with the guys with the masks of Sonny Bill Williams, what are they thinking?"

The third Test starts in Cape Town on March 22.