Moeen Ali reversed his decision to retire from Test cricket to play in the Ashes 2023 but the ICC has reprimanded him almost immediately after he did something against the rules on Day 2 of the first Test against Australia. Because of this action, the all-rounder has now been fined 25 per cent of his match fees.
The incident occurred in the 89th over
When England was bowling during the first innings against Australia and he was fielding in the 89th over of the innings, Moeen can be seen applying cream on his hand. He was using this cream to dry his hands. But when this action was seen as a breach by the ICC, who then looked into the substance.
Despite finding it to be not in violation of their rules, the fact that Moeen had not informed the right officials was seen as a breach of Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct.
"Moeen Ali was found to have breached Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game," the statement read.
"In reaching his decision to sanction the player along with the Level 1 sanction he imposed, the Match Referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger only to dry his hands. The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently, it did not change the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions – Unfair Play – The Match Ball – Changing its Condition," it added.
This was Ali's first offence in the last 24 months, which is why the punishment was not so severe. However, a demerit point has been added to his account.
Ali took two wickets
On DAY 2, Ali took two wickets, first that of Travis Head and then Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was bowled by Ali. However, with Usman Khawaja's century, Australia returned to 311 for 5 by the end of the second day in response to England's 393 runs scored in the first innings.
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