LONDON, July 5: Former England cricket captain Ted Dexter, who is now president of the MCC, has initiated an investigation into slow over rates in Test cricket.

“We have all failed and should hang our heads in shame,” Dexter told The Times newspaper Friday.

“We have been looking into what it is that slows the game down so much and I think we need a better balance between the laws, the playing conditions and code of conduct”.

Teams can now be docked match fees for not completing an ODI innings within a certain time frame, but the measure has proved an ineffective deterrent.

The MCC has also authorised umpires to intervene in cases of time wasting in their spirit of cricket preamble to the laws of the game.

However it is unclear what action umpires should take in an effort to stop the game from lagging.

“As well as maintaining decent over rates, cricket should be played below the shoulder line and sledging should never go beyond good natured temper. Those were Colin Cowdrey’s last wishes for the game and no one at the ICC has told me I am out of order,” Dexter added.

Sledging and short-pitched bowling have both become staples of the modern game and the ICC will have its hands full in reversing the trends of the last fifty years.—PPI