Mitchell Johnson and
Scott Styris have been fined by the match referee after a heated clash during New Zealand's win in the first ODI in Napier. The two men were cited for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct with Johnson docked 60% of his match fee and Styris hit with a 15% fine.
The incident occurred in the 46th over of New Zealand's chase, when Styris struck Johnson for two boundaries. The players bumped shoulders and then appeared to clash heads. Initially, there was a verbal exchange between the two but at that point Johnson approached Styris and made what the umpires felt was deliberate and inappropriate physical contact with his opponent.
Johnson, who was charged with a Level 2 offence, pleaded guilty at an early stage to avoid a full hearing. Styris also avoided a full hearing and was charged with a Level 1 offence. The umpires felt Styris contributed to the verbal exchange that preceded the physical contact and that his actions contravened clause 2.1.8 which covers actions that are contrary to the spirit of cricket or bring the game into disrepute.
"Sometimes in the heat of competition players cross over the line of what is acceptable behaviour and that has clearly happened in this case," the match referee Ranjan Madugalle said. "I made it clear to them that as role models it's important that they conduct themselves not only within the laws of cricket but also in keeping with the spirit of the game."..... more
