Australian paceman Mitchell Starc fined after being told to pull his head in by Test captain Steve Smith
Australia go one-up in the three-match series as the Black Caps suffer a convincing 208-run loss in the first
Mitchell Starc has been fined nearly $8000 by the International Cricket Council for his wild throw at a New Zealand tailender after copping a public rebuke from captain Steve Smith.
Starc was cited by ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama and docked half his match fee, or $7725, for throwing a ball at a player in an inappropriate or dangerous manner.
It is the second time this year Starc has fallen foul of match officials, after being reprimanded for his send-off, described as an "exaggerated celebration", to India's Murali Vijay during last summer's Sydney Test.
Almost a year after being labelled "soft" by former great Shane Warne for his meek body language, Starc was told to rein in his aggression by his new captain after Australia's thumping victory in the first Test over New Zealand.
The left-arm speedster fell foul of Smith who moved swiftly and decisively to stamp an immediate imprint on his team, after Starc responded to back-to-back boundaries from Mark Craig with a wild throw which was closer to the batsman than the stumps. Wicketkeeper Peter Nevill could not prevent four overthrows.
The incident drew condemnation from a member of the fast bowling fraternity and also raised the ire of the captain, who issued a public bake before having the chance to address his bowler privately.
Smith, in his first Test in charge since formally taking over from Michael Clarke, had spoken on the eve of the game of the need to respect the opposition. "I thought it was pretty disappointing. He's done it a few times and I'm going to have a word to him when we get back down in the sheds," Smith said of Starc. "So I don't think it was necessary at the time and hopefully he can improve and get better from that."
Smith, however, said Starc did not need to apologise but wants the behaviour to stop. "I just don't think he needs to do it in the future. There wasn't an opportunity for a run out there and I think it was just a bit of frustration," Smith said. "I think he just needs to let it out in other ways."
Former Australian limited-overs paceman Dirk Nannes said Starc's actions were not on. "He had three stumps to aim at and he threw it straight at the batsman," Nannes said on ABC Grandstand. "He's been hit for three fours, he's frustrated, but I'm sorry, that's not right what we've just seen there."
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http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...teve-smith-20151109-gkueot.html#ixzz3qyf74kTf
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You can have the netball, not convinced we can't do better in the cricket yet
for calling out Starc's petulant bullshit
