Ranking of England and India among the Disciplined and Indisciplined Teams in International Cricket
Over the last two years, England has managed to maintain a relatively clean disciplinary record in international cricket, despite some on-field behaviour issues during the Manchester Test against India. According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct, players can be sanctioned for excessive appealing, abuse of cricket equipment, use of audible obscenities, actions or gestures which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal, and other similar infractions.
Sri Lanka, however, stands out as the international men's team with the highest ICC Code of Conduct demerit points, accumulating 11 points across 92 matches (0.120 points per match). Afghanistan follows closely behind with 8 points from 67 matches (0.119 points per match), and Ireland with 4 points from 53 matches (0.075 points per match). England, Australia, and South Africa have the fewest demerit points, with only 2 points each, despite varying numbers of matches played. India sits roughly in the middle, with 5 demerit points from 109 matches (0.046 points per match).
The ranking is based on the total demerit points each team has received under the ICC Code of Conduct, reflecting disciplinary infractions during international matches over the last two years. Individual incidents, such as Tim David's recent sanction for dissent, also contribute to these totals.
The teams' disciplinary records by demerit points per match over the last two years can be summarized (highest to lowest) as follows:
- Sri Lanka: 11 points / 92 matches = 0.120 points per match (ppm)
- Afghanistan: 8 / 67 = 0.119 ppm
- Ireland: 4 / 53 = 0.075 ppm
- West Indies: 6 / 94 = 0.064 ppm
- Zimbabwe: 4 / 77 = 0.051 ppm
- India: 5 / 109 = 0.046 ppm
- Pakistan: 4 / 90 = 0.044 ppm
- New Zealand: 4 / 94 = 0.043 ppm
- Bangladesh: 3 / 98 = 0.031 ppm
- South Africa: 2 / 80 = 0.025 ppm
- Australia: 2 / 92 = 0.022 ppm
- England: 2 / 97 = 0.021 ppm
Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) or two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), whatever comes first for the player. When a player has four or more demerit points on their record within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points, and a player is banned.
The England v India series has seen a significant escalation in terms of on-field behaviour. Mohammed Siraj was sanctioned for sending off Ben Duckett at Edgbaston, and Rishabh Pant was handed a demerit point after throwing the ball on the ground in the first Test of the series.
England, Australia, and South Africa are commended for their disciplined behaviour, having only been sanctioned with two points in the last two years. England's points per match score is just lower than Australia's. No comprehensive official ICC summary ranking publicly aggregates these demerit points into a continuous leaderboard, but this dataset from Wisden is the most detailed available on disciplinary standings in recent cricket history.
- Despite the England v India series exhibiting a notable increase in on-field behavior issues, England has impressively managed to maintain only 2 demerit points under the ICC Code of Conduct in sports-analysis over the last two years, which equates to a disciplined sports record.
- In stark contrast to England's sports-analysis results, Sri Lanka holds the highest number of demerit points among international men's cricket teams, indicating a pattern of disciplinary infractions in sports, working out to an average of 0.120 points per match.
