Georgetown (Guyana), March 30: South African Robin Peterson was officially reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (icc) for smashing wickets after hitting the winning boundary in the nail-biting match against Sri Lanka on Wenesday.
After Lasith Malinga took four wickets off as many deliveries, the match was poised for a close finish and Peterson hit the winning boundary for a memorable win. In celebration, he smashed the stumps at non-striker`s end to invite ICC`s wrath.
Peterson later pleaded guilty to the level 1 charge which refers to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings.” "Robin apologised to the umpires on the field after the incident and the umpires expressed the view that there was no malice involved in his actions," match referee Jeff Crowe said.
"Also, I accepted that it was a momentary mistake in the heat of the moment, an out-pouring of relief after a tense and dramatic finish to the match. "However, all players have the highest standard of behaviour, no matter what the situation, as that is part and parcel of being a high-profile sportsman and hitting the stumps with the bat is not acceptable at any time," he said.
"And as well as stressing that point to robin, I also explained that his action could easily have damaged a very expensive and highly sensitive piece of television equipment, the stump camera," Crowe added.
Bureau Report
