West Indies batter Rashada Williams has been punished by International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct in the clash against Ireland on February 17. Williams faced a 15 per cent fine for pushing Ireland’s Leah Paul in frustration after getting run out.
Williams was found violating the Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match.”
The incident took place in the sixth over of West Indies innings. Paul bowled one short and outside off stump. Williams pushed it on the back foot but found Amy Hunter inside the 30-yard circle. There was miscommunication between Williams and skipper Hayley Matthews. In the end, Williams was well short of the crease as Paul took the bails off.
Frustrated after run out, Williams pushed Paul with her left hand. The incident did not escalate as Irish bowler did not react after getting pushed and felt that it happened in follow-through.
Hunter made up for the dropped catch before as Williams departed after scoring 17 runs from 20 deliveries. Williams shared a 28-run opening partnership with Matthews.
However, Williams’ wicket did not have a major impact on the game. Matthews led the run chase of 138 and had support from Chinelle Henry. Matthews finished the run chase with a boundary off the penultimate delivery of the innings. West Indies won the match by six wickets and ended their long-running 15-match losing streak in the format. Matthews remained unbeaten for 66 off 53 deliveries including eight fours and one six.
In their next encounter, West Indies beat Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan by three runs to stay barely alive in the tournament. They have two wins from four games. The 2016 champions’ qualification chances for semifinal hang by a thread as they need Ireland to beat India by a big margin on February 20.
