Moeen punished for spraying substance on hand during Ashes
England’s returning cricketer Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee after admitting to spraying an unauthorised drying agent on his hands.
The all-rounder was standing on the boundary on the second day of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia.
Moeen – who has returned to the Test side for the first time in two years – has also been handed one demerit point for going against the spirit of the game.
If a player gets four points in 24 months, they can eventually be suspended.
An ICC statement said: “England player Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the first Test against Australia in Birmingham on Saturday.
“Ali was found to have breached Article 2.20 of the , which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.
“In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Ali’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.
“The incident occurred in the 89th over of Australia’s innings, when Ali sprayed a drying agent on his bowling hand at the boundary line before coming on to bowl the next over, thus defying the umpires’ pre-series instructions about not using anything on their hands without prior approval.
“Ali admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
“In reaching his decision to sanction the player, the Match Referee was satisfied that Ali had used the spray only to dry his hands. The spray was not used as an artificial substance on the ball and consequently it had not changed the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions – Unfair Play – The Match Ball – Changing its Condition.”