Cricket Australia set to prevent WACA blacklist

Perth, Feb 2(ANI): Cricket Australia (CA) has said that the WACA Ground in Perth should continue to host international cricket matches and they will push for government help to prevent it from being blacklist.

CA is opposed to limiting alcohol sales and installing high wire fences to prevent ground invasions by spectators and believes the best way of preventing a repeat of Sunday night's security breach, when a spectator crash-tackled Pakistan's Khalid Latif, is to increase penalties for ground invaders drastically.

The fine for ground invasion at the WACA is only 500 dollars, compared to 7000 dollars at the MCG, 5500 dollars at the SCG and 4000 dollars at the Gabba.

"The ICC has the power to strip grounds of their status and it was discussed at the MCG a few years ago. It (the WACA Ground) could lose it, like New Delhi lost it recently (because of a sub-standard pitch), and the ICC has asked us to get an official report to them as soon as we can, and we will do that," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Peter Young, CA spokesman, as saying.

"Having received an official response from our security people we don't think it's appropriate that the ground be stripped, but we'll be appealing to the state government to toughen up the laws," he added.

Earlier, a seething Australian skipper Ricky Ponting had demanded the authorities to make an example of the invader.

Ponting said he would have hauled his side off the field if an Australian player had been assaulted during a match featuring two pitch invasions. (ANI)