Pollard, South Africa fined

Published Fri, May 21 10 10:57 PM

Antigua, May 21 (PTI) Explosive West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard was today fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching ICC Code of Conduct during his team''s second Twenty20 International match against South Africa here. South Africa were also fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 13-run victory yesterday. Pollard was charged with a Level 1 offence under article 2.1.8 of the code which relates to conduct contrary to the spirit of cricket. The incident took place in the 18th over of the West Indies innings when Pollard ran towards the non-striker''s end in such a way that he impeded the bowler''s path to the ball. The charge was laid by on-field umpires Norman Malcolm and Clyde Duncan as well as third umpire Goaland Greeves. The player pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the proposed sanction offered to him by Match Referee Roshan Mahanama. "A competitive attitude is to be promoted and cherished on the cricket field but players must also remember at all times to play within the spirit of the game," Mahanama said in an ICC statement. "On this occasion Kieron has overstepped the mark and I have fined him 25 per cent of his match fee, a penalty that he has accepted," the statement added. Graeme Smith''s side was ruled to be one over short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount. As such, Smith has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee while his players receive 10-per-cent fines. "Smith was guilty of a similar offence in T20Is during the ICC World Twenty20 2010 and, under the terms of the ICC Code of Conduct, if he is guilty of three in total in this format of the game over a 12-month period, he will automatically receive a one-match suspension," the ICC statement said.

Source: Web Search