Boycott calls for firm action

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India seamer Shantha Sreesanth was fined for barging Michael Vaughan at the non-striker's end on Monday, and was accused of running through the crease - bowling from far over the popping crease - at Paul Collingwood and bowled a beamer at Kevin Pietersen, while Zaheer Khan accused England players of dropping jellybeans on the wicket when he was batting on Sunday.

Boycott told BBC Radio Five Live: "The ICC are to blame for not telling umpires to be much firmer with the players. They are the guardians of the game, they run it."

He added: "You bowl a beamer, it can slip out of your hands, he said sorry and I accept that. You can be cynical and say he meant it but I don't accept that.

"What I don't accept is when he runs a yard through the crease, that's deliberate, and the umpire should have got hold of the captain straight away and said I'm not having it, if he does it again he's off, he's not bowling again."

Boycott would also like to see an end to sledging, or on-field verbal abuse, insisting he was never subjected to it during his time as Test batsman.

"With verbals, I ask myself why do people carry on abusing players when they're batting," he said.

"It can only be because they are frustrated they can't get him out because he is batted in, or they think he's a new batsman they're not going to get out and they want to upset him.

"I never had it in my day and I faced some of the greatest bowlers there has ever been.

"I faced the great West Indians (Joel) Garner, (Michael) Holding, (Malcolm) Marshall and (Colin) Croft and (Andy) Roberts and I never had one abusive word off them."