County captains are to be asked by the cricketers' union to take more responsibility for their team's conduct in an attempt to improve the game's image.

After a meeting between the Professional Cricketers' Association and umpires at The Belfry, there was broad agreement that action needed to be taken to cut out dissent and tantrums on the field. The PCA wants the England and Wales Cricket Board to keep them informed about any players reported.

Umpires' chairman Barrie Leadbeater said: "There was no point on which we disagreed. Both sides accept we need to work together to restore and then maintain the game's image."

The PCA will also monitor the reports that captains make about officials after games and will put pressure on skippers who fail to provide constructive comments promptly. Both sides agreed communications between captains and umpires needed to be improved.

The players' association thought that an umpire should visit all the counties before the start of the season to explain the new laws and regulations which include five-run penalties for a variety of offences.

Leadbeater added: "They are looking for consistency of interpretation. It's a good idea which we will try to institute."

Matthew Fleming of Kent, the PCA chairman, along with Kent's David Fulton, Gloucestershire's Martyn Ball and Worcester's Steven Rhodes attended the meeting, which was led by secretary David Graveney and executive committee member Peter Walker, formerly of England and Glamorgan.

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