Mumbai, Oct 19: West Indies player Chris Gayle was today fined 30 per cent of his match fee for arguing with Australian batsman Michael Clarke during their ICC Champions Trophy super eight match here. Match Referee Mike Procter in a hearing during the day found Gayle guilty of breaching C 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players; 'failing to conduct play within the spirit of the game'. Gayle got into an argument with Clarke while bowling during the Australian run chase at the Brabourne stadium last night.
However, Clarke was found 'not guilty' of the same charge in a separate hearing, an ICC media release said. "What started off as banter between the two players got out of hand and Chris Gayle went over the top in his reactions," Procter said after the hearing. "We do not want robots on the field and we want to ensure players play with enthusiasm and passion.
We saw a great deal of that during an excellent match yesterday, but there is a line between what is acceptable and what is not and Chris crossed it," he said. The two on-field umpires, Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen, as well as third umpire Aleem Dar laid the charges, and the trio attended both hearings. (Agencies)
