Ravindra Jadeja fined 50% match fee; found guilty of Level 1 offence but cleared of original charge

Ravindra Jadeja was fined 50% of his match fee

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been fined 50% of his match fee after his altercation with England fast bowler James Anderson on day 2 of the 1st Test between England and India at Trent Bridge.

He has been pronounced guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.

While the England team had levelled a Level 2 offence against Jadeja, David Boon, match referee for the Trent Bridge Test, did not find him guilty of the offence he was charged with and, instead, found him guilty under Article 2.1.8, for conduct that was contrary to the spirit of the game, which is a Level 1 offence.

The hearing on the matter was presided by Boon in Southampton on Thursday evening. It was attended by the two players and their legal counsels, witnesses, MV Sridhar of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Phil Neale and Paul Downton of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and the ICC’s Ethics and Regulatory lawyer.

Boon carefully considered the statements of the two players, video footage and also cross-examined the witnesses before reaching a decision.

Boon had the authority, under ICC guidelines, to find Jadeja guilty of a lesser offence if he didn’t find Jadeja guilty of the offence that he was charged with.

Speaking on his decision, Boon stated: “Under Article 6.1 of the Code, I had to be comfortably satisfied that the offence had occurred in order to find Mr Jadeja guilty of an offence under Article 2.2.11.

“While I was in no doubt that confrontation did occur, and that such conduct was not in the spirit of the game and should not have taken place, I was not comfortably satisfied that this was a level 2 offence. Therefore, in exercising my discretion under Article 7.6.5 of the Code and having heard all the evidence, I was comfortably satisfied that Mr Jadeja had committed a level 1 offence under Article 2.1.8 of the Code.”

James Anderson’s hearing will take place on August 1. He’s charged with a Level 3 offence, and faces a potential ban of up to 4 Tests. While the hearing for Level 1 and Level 2 offences can be conducted by the match referee, the hearing for a Level 3 offence has to be presided over by a Judicial Commissioner.

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