PERTH, Oct 7: Australia captain Steve Waugh said on Tuesday his side would take it upon themselves to discipline their own players for breaches of the new national code of conduct.

Cricket Australia (CA), the national ruling body, issued a statement last week warning players they could face life bans if they breached a new code of conduct outlawing on-field sledging.

Waugh’s side has thrived on getting a psychological advantage over opponents with some on-field chat, which the captain has described as a policy of “mental disintegration”.

Speaking on the eve of the two-Test series against Zimbabwe starting here on Thursday, Waugh said the players had agreed among themselves to take the disciplinary measures a step further.

“We’ve talked about that and hopefully it won’t get to that,” Waugh told a news conference.

“Cricket Australia and the ICC have got regulations in place, but if we think someone is stepping out of line and not doing the side any favours then we’ll try and work it out among ourselves to start with.”

Australia’s players announced their own code of behaviour on Tuesday after finalising details at a training camp last week.

Australia batsman Darren Lehmann was suspended for five One-day Internationals after a racist outburst during a match against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Jan 15.

Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath’s finger-pointing exchange with West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan in May this year attracted criticism from ICC president Malcolm Gray and CA chief executive James Sutherland who called it an “ugly incident”.

Waugh, who attracted his own criticism for failing to intervene in an incident involving team mate Michael Slater claiming a catch against India in 2001, said his team was serious about improving their behaviour.

“We want emotion, we want passion in the game. That’s the way we play our cricket and that’s why we say banter is a part of the game,” Waugh said.

“But now we know the standard expected of each other and hopefully (breaches) will be less and less.”

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed welcomed the move.

“It sends a very strong message to others involved in cricket when the best team in the world is prepared to say this is what we believe in and we are prepared to be judged by our ability to uphold these beliefs,” Speed said.—Reuters