Agency, Southampton :
The International Cricket Council has found England pacer James Anderson and Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja not guilty of breaching its Code of Conduct in the disciplinary hearing on Friday.
The Judicial Commissioner, probing the James Anderson-Ravindra Jadeja altercation, found both the players not guilty after a marathon six-hour hearing, clearing the decks for their participation in the remainder of the Test series. The hearing took place via video-conference and put an end to the suspense surrounding the fate of the two players.
“His Honor Gordon Lewis AM, the Judicial Commissioner, has found both England’s James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja of India not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct,” the ICC said in a statement.
“Witnesses, including some Indian and English players, provided evidence and were cross-examined by the respective legal counsels,” it added.
The ECB and Anderson were represented in the hearings by Nick De Marco while Adam Lewis QC represented Jadeja.
The hearing was also attended by the two team managers, the ECB’s Paul Downton, the BCCI’s Sundar Raman and MV Sridhar, the ICC’s General Manager (Cricket), Geoff Allardice, and the ICC’s Ethics and Regulatory lawyer, Sally Clark.
Anderson and Jadeja were charged under Level 3 and 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel by India team manager Sunil Dev and England team manager Phil Neale respectively following an alleged brawl that took place on the second day of the drawn first Test at Trent Bridge.
The Indians alleged that Anderson pushed and abused
Jadeja when the players were leaving the ground for the lunch break and pressed with the charge.
The England team then filed a counter charge of Level 2 against Jadeja but match referee David Boon downgraded it to a level 1 offence and docked him 50 percent of his match fee.
Miffed at the decision, the BCCI appealed against the verdict and the ICC accepted the plea.
All Level 3 breaches carry a penalty between four and eight Suspension Points while Level 2 offences carry a fine between 50-100 per cent of applicable match fee and/or up to two Suspension Points.
