England statistically the worst behaved team in world cricket

Australian cricket’s culture shift since the infamous ball-tampering scandal has paid dividends, but their Ashes rivals have some work to do.

England's Stuart Broad appeals successfully for LBW.

The Australian cricket team’s culture shift since the infamous ball-tampering scandal has paid dividends, with Justin Langer’s side among the sport’s best-behaved teams.

Since the Cape Town saga in March 2018, only two Australian men’s players have breached the ICC Code of Conduct — Zimbabwe is the only Test-playing nation with fewer breaches in that period.

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Australian captain Tim Paine was fined 15 per cent of his match fee and given a demerit point after showing dissent to an umpire’s decision during the recent Test series against India.

And at the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England, spin bowler Adam Zampa was given a demerit point after stump mics picked up an audible obscenity during a one-day match against the West Indies.

These have been Australia’s only two ICC Code of Conduct breaches since Cameron Bancroft was reprimanded for “changing the condition of the ball” three years ago.

Comparatively, the Australian women’s team has breached the Code of Conduct on four occasions since April 2018, with Elyse Villani and Jess Jonassen the culprits.

Tim Paine and Justin Langer.

A study by Wisden found that England has been charged for the most Code of Conduct breaches over the last three years, with the Ashes rivals accumulating 12 offences since April 2018.

This includes two for James Anderson, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, while Test paceman Stuart Broad has registered three — the most of any cricketer in that period.

However, Bangladesh has been pinged more frequently than England when accounting for games played.

CODE OF CONDUCT BREACHES PER MATCH SINCE APRIL 2018

Bangladesh — 0.122 (9 total)

England — 0.109 (12 total)

West Indies — 0.073 (8 total)

Sri Lanka — 0.047 (4 total)

India — 0.042 (5 total)

South Africa — 0.038 (3 total)

New Zealand — 0.038 (3 total)

Afghanistan — 0.036 (2 total)

Ireland — 0.029 (2 total)

Pakistan — 0.019 (2 total)

Australia — 0.019 (2 total)

Zimbabwe — 0.018 (1 total)

England's Stuart Broad passes the ball to James Anderson.

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All but one of England’s 12 breaches were classified as Level 1 — the lowest possible.

Five of England’s offences were for obscene language, most notably during last year’s Test series against South Africa.

English wicketkeeper Jos Buttler was overheard calling Proteas paceman Vernon Philander a “f***ing k***head”, while superstar allrounder Ben Stokes came under fire for brashly calling a spectator a “f***ing four-eyed c***”.

Broad’s three offences were each for directing inappropriate or offensive language at opponent players.

Originally published as England statistically the worst behaved team in world cricket