Gabriel fined 50% of match fee for Sarfraz incident

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Shannon Gabriel, the West Indies fast bowler, has been fined 50 percent of his match fee and handed three demerit points after an incident involving Sarfraz Ahmed on the fourth day.

At the end of the 103rd over of Pakistan’s first innings, Gabriel’s 22nd, he deliberately made contact with Sarfraz at the non-striker’s end when collecting his cap from umpire Richard Illingworth who then had a word with Gabriel.

Illingworth, along with the other umpires, later reported the incident and Gabriel was found to have breached Article 2.2.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “Inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other Person (including a spectator) in the course of play during an International Match”.

Gabriel admitted the offence and accepted the sanction from match referee Chris Broad so there was no need for a hearing.