By IANS
Dubai : West Indies captain Chris Gayle has been fined 70 percent of his match fee for breaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) code of conduct for slow over rate during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Gayle breached Level 2.11 of the ICC code, which relates to unfair play due to his side bowling its overs too slowly. The team was found to have been six overs short of the required over-rate, an offence to which Gayle pleaded not guilty.
The other players in the West Indies team were each fined 35 percent of their match fees for the same offence.
The verdict was issued following a hearing conducted by ICC Match Referee Chris Broad after play concluded Sunday.
“During the hearing, neither the captain, coach nor manager was able to persuade me that the shortfall in overs was beyond their control or that the allowances permitted to teams by the match officials were not appropriate,” said Broad.
“I saw very little evidence that the West Indies team, after learning of their slow over-rate predicament, actually tried to speed things up. Therefore, they left me with little option but to enact this penalty,” he added.
The charge was brought by match officials Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.
If a player is found guilty of a Level 2, 3 or 4 offence then he has a right of appeal. Such an appeal must be lodged in writing with the ICC’s legal counsel within 24 hours of the player receiving the original verdict.