23 September 2007

India may be celebrating their progression to the ICC World Twenty20 final, but fast bowler Sreesanth has been fined 25 percent of his match fee and the rest of the team also punished for maintaining a slow over rate in their victory over Australia in Durban.

Sreesanth's fine came as a result of excessive appealing after a delivery he bowled to Matthew Hayden in the fourth over of Australia's innings. He pleaded guilty to the Level 1 offence, with match referee Chris Broad commenting:

"When appealing for a decision a player has to realize he only needs to ask the question once and not over and over again, especially after the umpire has already turned down
the appeal.

"Sreesanth was out of order and the incident set a poor example for the millions of people watching either at the venue or on television.

"It was a point he accepted by pleading guilty and, given the fact he has already made regular appearances in Code of Conduct hearings over the past 12 months, he can consider himself fortunate not to be facing a heavier punishment.

"One pleasing aspect of the hearing was that the India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, accepted his role in the conduct of his players and, as such, I am sure he will remind Sreesanth of his responsibilities to himself, his team and the game in future.

"In addition to the fine levied, I also warned Sreesanth about his conduct going forward and if he continues to breach the Code of Conduct he can expect more severe penalties to come his way."

The slow over-rate maintained by India, which saw them fall one over short after time allowances had been taken into consideration, which presumably included Australian indecision surrounding the identity of a runner for Mike Hussey, saw all members of the team fined five percent of their match fee with Dhoni, as captain, copping a ten percent fine.

© Cricket World 2007

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