The Hindu : Sport : Collins reprimanded

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 14, 2006

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Sport

Collins reprimanded

Special Correspondent

Gros Islet: West Indies fast-medium bowler Pedro Collins has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct, according to an ICC press release. The release says Collins pleaded guilty to `excessive appealing' to match referee Jeff Crowe in a hearing after play concluded here on Sunday.

Collins was found to have breached 1.5 of the ICC Code which relates to "the practice of celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given." The incident related to Collins's reaction as he dismissed V.V.S. Laxman caught behind on Saturday, the first day of the second Test match.

India's Virender Sehwag was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for the same breach in the first Test in Antigua. That decision, in the wake of the leniency with which Brian Lara's petulance was viewed, had raised the question of whether the opener was a victim of double standards. The move to reprimand Collins, and not fine him, raises the same issue.

Crowe's reasoning

Explaining why the outcome of the two cases differed, Crowe said, "Consistency is definitely something we are keen to establish but, at the same time, there needs to be a recognition that each case has a slightly different set of circumstances. In this instance the batsman appeared to start to walk after getting a healthy edge to the ball before the umpire had a chance to make a decision. "But despite that, Pedro still has to realise he needs to adhere to correct procedure and this reprimand is designed to reinforce that point."

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