Moeen Ali fined for using a drying agent on his bowling hand against Australia
Moeen Ali was fined 25 per cent of his match fees after the England spinner was caught spraying his bowling hand with a desiccant on day two of the Ashes
Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his £15,000 match fee after being caught spraying his bowling hand on the second day of the first Ashes Test.
The England spinner, who turned 36 today, used a desiccant on his hand on the boundary line in the 89th over of Australia’s innings before bowling the next over.
Match referee Andy Pycroft was convinced that Moeen had only used the spray to dry his hands and not as an artificial means of altering the condition of the ball, which would have been a more serious offence.
However, Moeen’s use of the substance went against the referees’ pre-series instructions not to use anything on their hands without prior permission – and violated Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct.
Moeen bowled 29 overs in his first Test match since September 2021 on Saturday. He has previously had problems with red ball cricket with his spinning finger, where he has developed calluses, and the spray could have been used to ease any pain.
Moeen Ali has been fined after using a desiccant on his hand on the second day of the test
Ali has previously had problems with his spinning finger where he has developed calluses
Ali, who bowled 29 overs on Saturday, has admitted the offense and accepted the penalty
Moeen, who also received a penalty point on his criminal record, admitted the offense and accepted the sanction.
The ICC said in a statement: “Ali was found to have violated Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Staff, which pertains to engaging in conduct contrary to the spirit of the game.
The incident occurred in the 89th over of Australia’s innings when Ali sprayed desiccant on his bowling hand at the boundary line before bowling the next over, defying the umpires’ pre-series instructions about not using something on their hands without prior permission.’
In February, Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja was also fined 25 per cent of his match money by the same match referee for a similar incident against Australia. He was seen applying soothing cream to a swelling on the index finger of his bowling hand without prior permission from the umpires.