Chennai, Mar 24 : South Africa's wicketkeeper Mark Boucher welcomed the ICC's request for better player behaviour, but feels that it will be difficult for players to put a complete stop to sledging.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a "zero tolerance" crackdown on offensive language and gestures in the sport today.

As part of its drive to eradicate "sledging", the ICC sent a letter to international match officials and the captains and chief executives of full-member teams and top one-day sides calling for their support.

Boucher hoped the upcoming series against India would be played in the right spirit, with both sides understanding where to draw the boundaries.

"Hopefully the series will be played in the right spirit of the game, I know that's what I'm going to do. It's going to be very competitive and that's what everyone wants to see. So long as everything is kept above board and played in the right spirit, there shouldn't be a problem," he said.

Boucher added that one should not overstep the mark in reference to sledging in the game of cricket.

India aims to cash in on their traditional home advantage after their strong showing in Australia, where they climbed to second in the test rankings despite losing the close series 2-1 against the champions.

South Africa, fourth in the list, can displace India as number two if they win the three-test series.

ANI