ICC fines West Indies' coach Stuart Law for questioning the umpire

On Sunday, the cricket fans got to witness the final day of a test match at its level best played between West Indies and Pakistan. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan were playing their last international match. At one stage, it seemed as if Pakistan will have it easy. But Roston Chase stood as unshakable as a mountain in their path. He stayed not out on a solidly built 101. But Shannon Gabriel threw away his wicket in the last ball of the penultimate over, as Chase’s heroics went in vain. But Windies coach Stuart Law grabbed the focus recently for all wrong reasons.

He was fined 25% of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching Code of Conduct. ICC did not stop there. In addition to the 25% match fee penalty, ICC added one demerit point to the West Indian national team coach Stuart Law’s disciplinary record.

What was the issue ?

The incident happened on the second session of the final day when West Indies’ sixth wicket fell. Shane Dowrich was undone by Yasir Shah, as the on-field umpire declared him out for ball hitting the bat and then the pad. Dowrich immediately reviewed the decision, as he was sure there was no bat involved. Unfortunately for the third umpire, there was no ultra-edge at his luxury.

The replays did not give conclusive evidence to show that the ball had hit the bat. But it did not show any clear evidence of ball not hitting the bat either. Hence, the third umpire played safe and stayed with the on-field decision. Law was furious at this, and he rushed to the third umpire’s room immediately after his verdict. Law questioned the third umpire about what made him declare Dowrich out.

But in cricket, you cannot change a decision made by the third umpire. Furious at the proceedings, Law came out of his room lashing a few words towards the third umpire, which are not very modest to mention here.

What does the ‘law’ say?

Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel states that if any individual is found to have violated the rule, he will be penalized by the ICC. Law was convicted of breaching the ‘law’. After the match, Law admitted his mistake in front of the match officials. There was no formal hearing requires as Law accepted the sanction proposed by Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees without any hesitation whatsoever.

What Law did was unjust, but in these kinds of close matches players and coaches often lose their ‘cool’. Pakistan will not be too happy with the umpiring as well, as they felt some decisions went against them too. But at the end of the day, it was a great match to witness.