By Tony Becca - From The Boundary 
SIR NEVILLE Cardus, one of the greatest cricket writers of all time, once wrote that cricket mirrors society and, based on the general decline in discipline in societies around the world, it is not surprising that cricket is plagued with indiscipline.
So long described not as the sport of kings but as a gentleman's game, cricket is losing that image due to indiscipline - to the ungentlemanly conduct of players on the field and, as the West Indies have done, something needs to be done about it.
Acting on the manager's report of indisciplined behaviour by Sulieman Benn and Tino Best during the "A" team's tour of the United Kingdom and Canada recently, the West Indies Board fined the two players, and hopefully it will be a lesson - not only to them but also to other players in the region and particularly so to the young players.
The fine is 10 per cent of their tour fees, and the only question is this: was the penalty too lenient?
The answer to that question, however, depends on the level of indiscipline.
Without spelling out what the charges were, the Board has said that the breaches of the Code of Conduct concerned dignity, standards of behaviour, confrontation with players and officials, the use of bad language and sledging and, if they were guilty of all of that, the fine is too lenient.
According to reports coming out of England - certainly from one club at whose venue one of the matches was played, the behaviour of the players was deplorable and from West Indians who attended the matches, it was embarrassing.
If that is so, if the West Indies Board intended to send a message, the penalty should have been stiffer - not so stiff that it would destroy the players' career, but stiff enough to be a meaningful reprimand and a strong warning to others.
The penalty, for example, was not as stiff as that handed out to another player - to Runako Morton.
A member of the West Indies team to the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September, Morton asked permission to return home because of a death in the family, he was granted permission and it was later found out that he had lied.
Morton was find 10 per cent of his tour fee, he was banned for one year and he was told not only to seek professional counselling, but also that he will have to provide evidence at the end of the year that he did get professional counselling and that he is fit to resume participation in West Indies cricket.
Morton, like Benn and Best, deserves to pay a price for what he did and there can be no question about that.
What is interesting, however, is the difference in the price for wanting to return home and for telling a lie and that for bringing the game into disrepute to the extent that West Indians watching the games were embarrassed.
Based on reports out of the UK, the behaviour of Benn and Best was an embarrassment to West Indies cricket, as far as the image of West Indies cricket is concerned, it was probably worse than Morton's, and unless there is one punishment for some players and another for others, the penalties should have reflected that.
Based on the reports out of England and what the Board said in handing down the fines, what Benn and Best did in the UK suggests that they need help - probably moreso than Morton, and that at least they too need professional counselling.
In the fight against indiscipline, it is good that the WICB has acted. In comparison to Morton, however, Benn and Best got off lightly.
