Ishant Sharma found guilty of breaching ICC Code of Conduct

India fast bowler Ishant Sharma has been found guilty under Level 1 of the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct following an incident that took place during the 10th match of the tri-series against Australia in Sydney on Sunday.

Sharma was reported by the umpires – on-field officials Daryl Harper and Tony Hill and third umpire Bruce Oxenford – and charged under paragraph 1.6 of the Code of Conduct which deals with “pointing or gesturing towards the pavilion in an aggressive manner by a bowler or other member of the fielding side upon the dismissal of a batsman”.

The charge related to an incident during the Australia innings when Sharma pointed Symonds towards the pavilion after bowling him in the 47th over with the home team’s score being 296-4.

Sharma pleaded guilty to the charge and he was fined 15 per cent of his match fee.

Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, explaining his decision, said: “The gesture was a direct breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. I took into account the fact that Sharma may have been provoked and that this was his first offence and hence the penalty was at the lower end of the scale.

“Clearly both teams are still sensitive to each others’ actions in the middle. ICC has recently reiterated that a zero tolerance attitude will be shown to abusive or insulting language and actions.

“So hopefully the teams in these remaining matches in the CB Series will focus on the business of playing and entertaining,” said Mr Crowe.

The penalty range for a Level 1 offence is between an official reprimand and a fine of up to 50 per cent of the player’s match fee. For Level 1 offences, there is no right of appeal and the referee’s decision is final.

Present at the Code of Conduct hearing were: Match Referee Jeff Crowe; umpires Daryl Harper, Tony Hill, Bruce Oxenford and Darren Goodger; India manager Dr B.R. Soni; Interim coach Lalchand Rajput; and the player Ishant Sharma.

The full ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials can be found at:
http://in.yimg.com/icccricket/pdfs/code-of-conduct-for-players-and-officials.pdf