England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second day of the third Test against India at Trent Bridge. Broad was found to have breached Article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an International Match."
In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of the fast bowler, for whom it was the first offence since the introduction of the revised Code in September 2016. The incident occurred in the 92nd over of India's first innings, when following the dismissal of Rishabh Pant, Broad walked towards the batsman and spoke in an aggressive manner, which had the potential to provoke an aggressive reaction from the dismissed batsman.
Broad admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing. The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Chris Gaffaney and third umpire Aleem Dar. Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player's match fee, and one or two demerit points.
India outclass England
India staged a stunning comeback in the five-match Test rubber by thrashing England by 203 runs in the third Test at Trent Bridge. In their pursuit of 521 runs for victory, England resumed their innings at 311/9 on the final morning and lasted a little over two overs before losing the final wicket of James Anderson (11) to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. England's innings closed at 317.
Earlier on day 4, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah wrecked the English line-up to return with five wickets. He was complimented well by the senior pro Ishant Sharma (2/70) while fellow quicks Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya contributed with one wicket apiece.
England will have to blame themselves as the top order flopped against a disciplined Indian attack. England's opening conundrum continued to haunt them with both Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings failing in both the innings while skipper Joe Root and No.4 Ollie Pope also had a poor outing.
The home side's innings would have folded up earlier, but the in-form duo of Jos Buttler (106) and Ben Stokes (62) delayed the inevitable with a 169-run fifth wicket stand. Bumrah ended their partnership with the wicket of Buttler before Pandya sent back the injured wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow for a duck.
With the team tottering at 231/6 and more than three sessions to spare, it was only a matter of time for the visitors to clean up the English tail that wagged a bit in the form of Adil Rashid (33 not out) and Anderson (11) taking the game to the final day.
