Sri Lanka’s Chandimal to plead not guilty
NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has pleaded not guilty to balltampering charges, prompting a hearing into the episode which will be held after the ongoing second test against the West Indies, the International Cricket Council has said.
The angry Sri Lankans initially refused to take the field on Saturday and later agreed to play ‘‘under protest’’ after umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould changed the ball and awarded West Indies five penalty runs in the contest in St Lucia.
Chandimal (28) was charged on Sunday with a breach of the article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct which deals with unfair altering of the condition of the ball.
‘‘Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has pleaded not guilty . . . and, as such, Javagal Srinath, of the elite panel of ICC match referees, will hold a hearing following the conclusion of the St Lucia test
. . .’’ the ICC said in a statement.
The same charge was levelled against Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera rubbing a piece of sandpaper on the ball against South Africa in March.
‘‘The officials laid the charge after footage from the final session’s play on Friday appeared to show the Sri Lanka captain taking sweets from his pocket and putting these in his mouth, before applying the artificial substance to the ball which the umpires viewed as an attempt to change its condition,’’ the ICC said.
‘‘Video evidence will be used in the hearing, which will also be attended by the match officials as well as members of the Sri Lanka team management.’’
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the team had denied any wrongdoing and that it would take every step to defend its players ‘‘in the event any unwarranted allegation’’.
Australia has arrived in Nottingham at one of the lowest points in its ODI history as it desperately tries to keep its series against England alive at Trent Bridge.
Tim Paine’s side trails the world’s topranked team 20, having lost 41 when the sides met in Australia earlier this year.And the news did not get any better for the Australians when the latest ICC oneday international rankings were released yesterday.
A year out from the World Cup in England and Wales, the reigning champion has slumped to sixth, its lowest ranking in 34 years.
Australia has been overtaken by Pakistan’s Champions Trophywinning side, which has replaced it in fifth.
Justin Langer’s first squad was always going to be up against it in the fivematch series without its two best batsmen in Steve Smith and David Warner.
Star quicks Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are also sidelined through injury, leaving an inexperienced bowling attack tasked with trying to stifle an aggressive batting lineup.