THE ugly scenes that soured England's cricketers' Test match win in Sri Lanka are largely the players' own fault.

For years, intimidation of umpires through over-appealing has been increasing while the notion of fair play - which sees a batsman walk if he knows he has edged a ball - has been decreasing.

The standard of umpiring has to be addressed, but if players weren't putting umpires under so much pressure, they might stand a better chance of making correct decisions.

It is shocking when cricket, a supposedly genteel game, grabs these sort of headlines. But cricket is not alone. During Saturday night's football, there were two extravagant penalty claims within 30 seconds of each other.

The referee, Stockton's Jeff Winter, decided that neither theatrical fall merited a penalty and so the BBC commentator began comparing the tumbles as if he were analysing an Olympic diving competition and not a football match.

Mr Winter offered no admonishment to either of the players concerned - even though, because he awarded no fouls, he must have concluded that both launched themselves into the air in an apparent bid to fool him.

Without punishment, those players will continue to try to pressure referees. Similarly, the cricketers of both England and Sri Lanka have received numerous "final warnings" from the match referee, but he has yet to dish out any real punishment to dissuade them from their ungentlemanly behaviour.

Constant appealing and accusations of foul play are not limited to sport. For example, the opposition appealed so often and so loudly for the dismissal of Peter Mandelson that he was eventually given out - even though the replay evidence, in the form of the Hammond Inquiry, showed that he hadn't touched the ball.

This weekend, it was Robin Cook's turn to be the victim of a forceful appeal with accusations that he lied and misled smeared all over the headlines.

William Hague is already being investigated by the Standards Commissioner over one lengthy Labour appeal, and yesterday another loud shout went up against him concerning another elaborately alleged misdemeanour.

Footballers believe that the more times you dive in the penalty area, the more chance you have of winning a penalty. Cricketers believe the more you appeal, the more chance you have of winning a wicket. Politicians believe that the more hullabaloo you make about a minor matter, the more your opponent's name becomes sleazy in the minds of the electorate.

Yet the game of football has lost a great deal of respect because of the cheating; now cricket is going the same way.

And if turn-out at the election is miserably low because the vociferous appealing has led voters to conclude that all parties are only in it for themselves, politicians - like cricketers and footballers - will only have themselves to blame.