BRISBANE: Australia captain Michael Clarke has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for using offensive language against England paceman James Anderson during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.
Clarke was found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct relating to “using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an international match”, the governing body said in a statement.
The stump microphone caught Clarke using foul language as he told England’s number 11 batsman to get ready for a broken arm moments before Mitchell Johnson dismissed Anderson to wrap up Australia’s 381-run victory.
The on-field umpires had to step in to calm the players down as tempers threatened to boil over.
No formal hearing was required after Clarke admitted the offence and accepted the punishment from match referee Jeff Crowe, the statement added.
Clarke has insisted that the sledging came about because both teams wanted to win so badly.
“I certainly understand and respect that there’s a line and both teams shouldn’t over-step that line and I hope that hasn’t been the case through this Test match but I think the rivalry and the banter on the field, it’s give-and-take both ways,” Clarke told reporters on Sunday.
“I think I’ve heard a lot worse said on a cricket field than what any of the Australian players or the England players have said throughout this Test match.” (Reuters)