Former Cup Match captains Randy Horton and Clarence Parfitt have called for tough sanctions to be imposed on the players who demonstrated unsportsmanlike conduct during the two-day classic at Wellington Oval.

Players on both teams remonstrated with the umpires after being dismissed, while Somerset colt Zeri Tomlinson was physically intimidated by some of his opponents, Tre Manders was barged and had water thrown in his face on his way to the crease and coach Janeiro Tucker was allegedly assaulted by St George’s vice-captain Macai Simmons.

Horton, a former sports minister who led Somerset to a famous victory in 1979 to end 19 years of St George’s dominance, is adamant that such behaviour must not go unpunished.

“I think they definitely need to be punished because it shows just no respect for the game,” Horton said.

“The deportment was bad, particularly around Somerset’s young Zeri Tomlinson when he came out to bat in the first innings. He couldn’t even get to the wicket because they were surrounding him.

“I don’t know what they were saying to him, but it’s just not cricket and they need to be dealt with. They were terrible to him once he got out and they were the same way on the second day.

“I was very disappointed and what the players need to realise is that when you are playing Cup Match, you are playing in the highest level of game in the country. You have thousands of people who are paying to come and see you play and you have a responsibility to play the game well and to behave like good cricketers should behave.”

Horton also took issue with players remonstrating with the umpires after being given out.

“Players were disrespectful to the umpires and you can’t have cricket played like that,” he said.

“It wasn’t just once that it happened, it was too many times and all this business of remonstrating with the umpire is out of hand

“Umpires are not going to give the right decision all the time, but we have to play as it is. I’ve seen times I’ve hit people and thought they were out, but if the umpire doesn’t give them out, then you’re not out.”

St George’s legend Parfitt feels the players responsible for the bad behaviour should be banned by their respective clubs.

“They are not bigger than the game and need to be suspended by the clubs to set an example,” he said.

“You have young players coming into the teams now so play them and get rid of the ones that want to act up.”

The all-time leading wicket-taker in Cup Match, Parfitt said he has observed the respect players have for umpires decline in recent years.

“I’ve seen this behaviour for about eight or nine years, players running up to umpires and other players and screaming in their faces,” he said.

“That’s not how you play cricket and it’s disappointing to see. When we played, we played hard cricket but not like that. We didn’t get in anybody’s face. We joked and had a little say but we were never in anybody’s face throwing water. That’s not cricket.

“I played hard cricket all my life but I never stooped that low. It turned me off and I got tired of looking at the match because it just wasn’t cricket.

“The two clubs have to solve this problem because it can’t continue like that. You have to get some decent structures and discipline in place.

“Can you imagine Bummy Symonds [former St George’s captain Calvin Symonds] doing stuff like that? No, that’s not the way.”

It was not just former players condemning the bad behaviour with Terryn Fray, the Somerset captain, calling it out in his post-match comments.

Speaking in front of Somerset president Richard Scott, his St George’s counterpart Mishael Paynter and Andrew Murdoch, the Governor, Fray encouraged players to respect umpires and the spirit of the game.

“As players, we’re lacking deportment and we’re lacking respect in the game,” he said.

“Between both clubs we need to understand that umpires are here to do a job and they might not get it right but at the end of the day we have to respect them as they make cricket happen.

“Going forward I would like to see both teams start to have more respect towards the umpires. For the guys that have hard outs, live with it. We have all had hard outs and we have to move forward in this game with respect.

“We’re not just playing for ourselves, I hope next year we can come together as two teams and try to play in the right way.”

Kim Swan, MP for St George’s and junior minister of sport, threw his weight behind the need to sanction players.

“Good sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct were demanded of me as a junior cricketer under Eugene ‘Buck’ Woods and as a collegiate golfer under both Joe Sanculius at Palm Beach Junior College and the legendary Mike Griffin at Troy [State] University,” Swan said.

“I remember Coach Griffin severely disciplining several seasoned senior players for bad behaviour at Troy University in 1979 and those lessons always stood with me for my entire life as a a competitive athlete.

“I hope officials will review the videos and address the transgressions appropriately. We had five young colts, several young reserves and many aspiring young players who must be shown good examples of sportsmanship especially by veteran players.”