St Lucia: The ICC suspended Wednesday fast bowler Shannon Gabriel for four ODIs in the wake of his ‘inappropriate’ comments directed at England captain Joe Root during the West Indies-England third Test which ended Tuesday .
Gabriel’s remarks were in breach of the ICC ‘Code of Conduct’, for which he was also docked 75 percent of his match fees.
Gabriel, who received three demerit points due to the incident, had accumulated a total of eight demerit points during a specified period of 24 months, the ICC stated.
“During the third day of the St Lucia Test against England Monday, Gabriel was found guilty of breaching article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an international match,” said the ICC in a statement.
While what exactly Gabriel said wasn’t audible, but according to a ‘BBC’ report, the England captain Root was heard saying, “Don’t use it as an insult. There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
Gabriel admitted the offence after the end of the match Tuesday and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Jeff Crowe and no formal hearing took place.
Gabriel’s eight demerit points, pursuant to article 7.6 of the ICC Code, have been converted into four suspension points. Four suspension points equate to a ban from two Tests or four ODIs/T20Is, whatever comes first for the player.
AFP