ICC takes action against Ireland's Andrew Balbirnie for fuming at umpire

In what was his 100th T20I for Ireland, Andrew Balbirnie was fined 25 percent of his match fee. The former skipper of the team breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. The law relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”Andrew Balbirnie was fined after he expressed his dissatisfaction with the umpire’s decision during the 16th over of the innings. The batter was given LBW but he fumed at the umpire, claiming that the bat hit his gloves before striking his pads.

According to the ICC, Level 1 breaches “carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.”

Apart from being docked 25% of his match fees, one demerit point has been added to Andrew Balbirnie’s disciplinary record. It was his first offense in 24 months. The further offense might also see him getting banned for a few games.

The charges against Andrew Balbirnie were levelled by on-field umpires Bismillah Jan Shinwari and Izatullah Safi, third umpire Ahmed Shah Pakteen, and fourth umpire Ahmed Shah Durrani. The cricketer admitted the charges and there was no need for an official hearing. The sanctions were proposed by David Boon.

Andrew Balbirnie had a decent game with the bat as he played a vital hand at the top for his team. He scored 45 runs off 44 balls with a strike rate of around 100. His innings powered Ireland to a total of 152 runs, but his effort went in vain as Ireland lost the game by 10 runs.

Brilliant game, really happy with how we performed – Ireland skipper Paul Stirling after loss

Ireland skipper Paul Stirling opened up about the loss his side his side faced in the game against Afghanistan. He said that it was a great game for them and there were a lot of positives for them. He talked about how his team is learning to play the spin and is optimistic about winning the last game. He said:

“Brilliant game, really happy with how we performed. Delany got us back into it when we thought we were out. A lot of positives and looking forward to tomorrow. (Team cohesion) It’s good, it’s something we naturally have and don’t need to work on. We know we only have a day left and hopefully, we can close it out with a win. 

“They (Ireland’s seamers) bowled excellently up top but Afghanistan bowled very well in the middle, a bit of tit for tat. We’ve been working on it (playing spin) in the nets but it just hasn’t been happening for us, they’re world-class bowlers, some of the best in the world so it hasn’t happened for us. Really important position for us to come in and hit sixes at the back end,” he concluded.