Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella has been fined 10 per cent of his match fee and also received an official reprimand after being found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Code following an incident on day three of the second Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa at the Sinhalese Cricket Club (SSC) in Colombo.
Dickwella admitted to the charge and accepted the sanction imposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees without the need to convene a disciplinary hearing.
Through his admission, Dickwella was found to have breached Level 1 Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which states: “Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the above offences, conduct that either (a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute’.
The incident happened on Saturday in the 59th over of South Africa’s first innings when Dickwella claimed a catch on a bounce and celebrated it by throwing the ball in the air.
Commenting on his decision, Mr Crowe said: “While claiming an unfair catch is a serious offence, we noted that this is Niroshan’s first Test and in excitement he claimed the catch. We are sure that in future when a catch of this nature is in doubt, he will indicate such.”
The charge was leveled by on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Nigel Llong, third umpire Billy Bowden, all from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, and fourth umpire Ranmore Martinesz.
All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee.
