Ramdin suspended for two ODIs

Wednesday, 12 June 2013 01:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNCricinfo: West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin has been suspended for two ODIs, and fined 100% of his match fees, for breaching the Code of Conduct when he claimed a catch off Misbah-ul-Haq during the Champions Trophy game against Pakistan at The Oval.

Ramdin has decided not to appeal the decision, a West Indies team spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo, which means he will miss their last two group matches against India and South Africa.

“This is regarded as a serious offence as it is the responsibility of all players to act in the spirit of the game,” ICC match referee Chris Broad said. “I hope Mr. Ramdin has learnt his lesson from this incident and that we will not see such behaviour by him or any player in the future.”

The incident took place in the ninth over of Pakistan’s innings, when Misbah bottom-edged a Kemar Roach delivery to Ramdin. The wicketkeeper initially appeared to have caught the ball but lost control of it as he fell forward, and it slipped out of his gloves on to the grass. Instead of bringing his mistake to the notice of the umpires or his team-mates, Ramdin returned the ball to the square-leg umpire and joined his team-mates in the celebratory huddle. Square-leg umpire Nigel Llong, however, alerted the third umpire and the replay revealed the chance had been dropped. Misbah, who was on 0, was called back and went on to hit an unbeaten 96.

Misbah had said that Ramdin’s actions were not in the spirit of the game. “What can I say about that?” he said when asked about the catch. “I think he should have told them what happened, but I don’t know what he was thinking at that time. I would not be very happy if my wicketkeeper did that. If we don’t know anything, then it’s fine, but if you know clearly that it’s not a catch, you should not claim that because it’s not in the spirit of the game.” West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo, however, had defended Ramdin, saying the wicketkeeper did not act deliberately. “Unfortunately, he did not catch it,” Bravo said. “He’s a very honest player, and as I said, history shows if you check the records that we don’t have any stigma or negatives around us as a team. We have been true in our cricket careers and history has shown that we play the game in true spirit of the way it should be played. I don’t think we did something like this deliberately.”

The charge – under article 2.2.11 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to ‘conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game’ – was laid by the on-field umpires Steve Davis and Llong, third umpire Tony Hill and fourth umpire Richard Kettleborough. Ramdin had pleaded not guilty and attended a hearing adjudicated by Broad on Monday.