Last Update on: March 16th, 2021 at 12:50 pm
To add insult to the injury on the Sri Lanka team, who conceded a 3-0 ODI series drubbing by the hands of the West Indies, a 40 percent match fees has been levied on them by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for slow over-rate during the third and last ODI in Antigua on Sunday.
Richie Richardson, an ICC Elite Panel Match Referee, imposed this charge on the visitors after they were found 2 overs short of the cut-off time after time allowances were taken into consideration.
Abiding by Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, all players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
There will no formal hearing for the sanctions as skipper Dimuth Karunaratne pleaded guilty to the offence and has accepted the penalties.
Also as per Article 12.9.1 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League Playing Conditions, a team is penalised one point for each over short. Hence, two points will be deducted for Dimuth Karunaratne’s side from their points tally during the Super League.
Danushka Gunathilaka reprimanded for giving a send-off to Nicholas Pooran
Sri Lankan all-rounder Danushka Gunathilaka has also been reprimanded for giving a send-off to West Indian batsman, Nicholas Pooran after dismissing the left-hander in the 35th over of the chase.
Gunathilaka is charged for breaching Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player, which is a Level 1 offence.
The article deals with “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
He has been handed 1 demerit points – it was the all-rounder’s first offence in a 24-month period. The officials – on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Leslie Reifer, third umpire Gregory Brathwaite, fourth umpire Nigel Duguid- levelled the charges which he has accepted and hence there was no need for a formal hearing.
Speaking of the series, after a close 2-1 series victory in the T20I series, Kieron Pollard’s team has thrashed the visitors 3-0 in the ODIs.
The action moves to the longer format for the 2-match Test series. Sri Lanka, who lost their previous Test series to England at home, have a massive challenge against a full-strength West Indies side; West Indies will be high on confidence after an away series triumph over Bangladesh, whilst missing a few first-choice players.