COLOMBO, Sept 23: West Indies manager Rickey Skerritt Monday accused Sri Lankan police bodyguards of “high-handed and authoritative” behaviour after a move to crack down on women entering hotel rooms of players.

Skerritt’s lawyers, in a letter to a local newspaper which Monday published a report of a police complaint, said that “interested parties” were trying to “sully the good name of our client”.

Police had said in a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) that three women were found in the rooms of Skerritt and his computer operator, Garfield Smith, in violation of the strict ICC access control rules.

The ICC sought police protection for the Champions Trophy tournament, which started on Sept 12 and is due to continue until the end of the month, not so much to protect players, but to make sure they don’t get up to dirty tricks.

The tight regulations were aimed at preventing bookmakers or their agents coming into contact with the players taking part in the mini-world cup tournament.—AFP