BBC SPORT | Special Events | 2000 | England on Tour

England opener Michael Atherton believes the International Cricket Council is responsible for a decline in umpiring standards.

The Test series in Sri Lanka, which England won 2-1, was blighted by a series of poor decisions during the first two matches at Galle and Kandy.

Atherton himself was given a warning by ICC match referee Hanumant Singh after a finger pointing confrontation with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara during the second Test.

"In a game which generates millions of pounds, it is a disgrace the ICC have allowed umpiring standards to fall so low," he said, during an interview for Channel 4.

"They must get together a group of competent and professional young umpires with recent Test experience.

Atherton returns to England following the Test series in Sri Lanka
Atherton arrives home at Heathrow airport

"Only when you have that right can you look at whether the use of new technology can be expanded - and I'm not convinced the new technology is good enough to help much more at this stage."

Atherton, who was 33 on Friday, is not part of England's one-day squad and returned home earlier this week.

He will now take a break before preparing for the summer series against Pakistan and Australia.

Atherton accepts that players have a responsibility for moderating their own behaviour in the middle.

"I agree if a player decides he is not going to walk, he shouldn't show dissent to any decisions which go against him, " he added.

Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has, meanwhile, been fined 65 per cent of his match fee following Saturday's first one-day international at Dambulla, according to The Island newspaper.

The newspapers claims he was also given a suspended ban coovering one Test and two one-dayers for showing dissent at an umpiring decision during England's innings.

Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuirya and England's Graeme Hick was handed suspended bans for dissent during the Test series.

Four other Sri Lankans were fined by the match referee for excessive appealing during the first Test.